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‘Roseanne’ Revival’s Huge Debut Stuns Hollywood, Prompts Soul-Searching
ABC
Roseanne made a triumphant return Tuesday night, blowing past projections with a 5.2 adults 18-49 rating and 18.2 million total viewers for the debut of its revival, which drew 10% more viewers than the original series finale 21 years ago.
RELATED
'Roseanne': Season 2 Cast Deals In Place For Renewal, Now Pending After Big Debut
While nostalgia was expected to bring in eyeballs, no one predicted such a huge turnout on premiere night for the blue-collar family sitcom with a Donald Trump-supporting protagonist, especially among the younger demographic. But then, few predicted that Trump would become the Republican nominee and would win the presidential election when he first announced his candidacy.
Somehow Roseanne transcended age, recruiting droves of young viewers for a show whose two leads, Roseanne Barr and John Goodman, are both 65, well outside of the 18-49 demo. It tapped into the zeitgeist of Middle America, tackling its economic problems — and political leanings — head-on. There was curiosity how Roseannewould address Trump, which the show did in the first episode. In an encouraging sign, the novelty did not wear off, with the second episode rating even higher than the opener.
ABC did a major marketing campaign for Roseanne, including a three-day stunt during SXSW in Austin that drew huge crowds, and a tie-in with NASCAR, which is hugely popular in the flyover states.
ABC
And then there was Barr. Always a firebrand, she did not shy away from controversy, flipping offJimmy Kimmel and talking candidly about her political views while promoting the show, generating a slew of provocative headlines in the process.
That could’ve gone either way, possibly alienating viewers. But it worked, leaving many TV insiders shellshocked today by the magnitude of the revival’s ratings success that revealed the untapped potential of comedies that provide realistic portrayal of blue-collar America. What’s more, Roseanne did that while also making a social commentary, something rarely seen since All in the Family, Norman Lear’s 1970s classic that has long been rumored to get a reboot.
The TV business always has been reactionary, so when something works, others immediately look for ways to replicate it. ABC, NBC and CBS all have classic sitcom revivals featuring the original casts on deck with Roseanne, Will & Grace and CBS’ upcoming Murphy Brown.
RELATED‘Roseanne’ Revival Premiere Gets Easter Sunday Rerun On ABC
Fox, which was on the revival forefront with dramas 24: Live Another Day, Prison Break andThe X-Files, is the only major network without a sitcom re-do, so its executives likely will take a look at the library. Like Roseanne, Fox has a popular blue-collar sitcom in Married… with Children, but its two stars, Ed O’Neill and Katey Sagal, are on other comedy series, ABC’s Modern Family and CBS’ Superior Donuts, respectively. Also hard to pull off would be That ’70s Show or Malcolm in the Middle revivals with the original stars.
CBS also has a classic, hugely popular blue-collar family comedy in its library, Everybody Loves Raymond, though several of the Emmy-winning series’ celebrated cast members are no longer alive.
ABC
Meanwhile, if Roseanne continues to be a ratings juggernaut, ABC, which is close to renewing the revival for a second season, should look into bringing back its other big blue-collar sitcom hit of the 1990s, Home Improvement, which starred another open Trump sympathizer, Tim Allen.
ABC was strongly criticized by the right in May when it canceled Allen’s long-running sitcom Last Man Standing despite its strong viewership. It was a rare broadcast comedy with a central character who is a political conservative and devout Christian adhering to traditional American values that appeals to viewers in the Heartland.
With The Middle going away, there is a vacuum in representing middle-class families on broadcast TV, and the success of Roseanne no doubt will help get more blue-color sitcoms on the air. We might see that happening as soon as next month when the broadcast networks pick their new series for next season out of the dozens of pilots currently in production.
http://deadline.com/2018/03/roseann...-hollywood-prompts-soul-searching-1202354973/
*dreams of Home Improvement reboot*
- Nellie Andreeva
March 28, 2018 6:16PM PDT
ABC
Roseanne made a triumphant return Tuesday night, blowing past projections with a 5.2 adults 18-49 rating and 18.2 million total viewers for the debut of its revival, which drew 10% more viewers than the original series finale 21 years ago.
RELATED
'Roseanne': Season 2 Cast Deals In Place For Renewal, Now Pending After Big Debut
While nostalgia was expected to bring in eyeballs, no one predicted such a huge turnout on premiere night for the blue-collar family sitcom with a Donald Trump-supporting protagonist, especially among the younger demographic. But then, few predicted that Trump would become the Republican nominee and would win the presidential election when he first announced his candidacy.
Somehow Roseanne transcended age, recruiting droves of young viewers for a show whose two leads, Roseanne Barr and John Goodman, are both 65, well outside of the 18-49 demo. It tapped into the zeitgeist of Middle America, tackling its economic problems — and political leanings — head-on. There was curiosity how Roseannewould address Trump, which the show did in the first episode. In an encouraging sign, the novelty did not wear off, with the second episode rating even higher than the opener.
ABC did a major marketing campaign for Roseanne, including a three-day stunt during SXSW in Austin that drew huge crowds, and a tie-in with NASCAR, which is hugely popular in the flyover states.
ABC
And then there was Barr. Always a firebrand, she did not shy away from controversy, flipping offJimmy Kimmel and talking candidly about her political views while promoting the show, generating a slew of provocative headlines in the process.
That could’ve gone either way, possibly alienating viewers. But it worked, leaving many TV insiders shellshocked today by the magnitude of the revival’s ratings success that revealed the untapped potential of comedies that provide realistic portrayal of blue-collar America. What’s more, Roseanne did that while also making a social commentary, something rarely seen since All in the Family, Norman Lear’s 1970s classic that has long been rumored to get a reboot.
The TV business always has been reactionary, so when something works, others immediately look for ways to replicate it. ABC, NBC and CBS all have classic sitcom revivals featuring the original casts on deck with Roseanne, Will & Grace and CBS’ upcoming Murphy Brown.
RELATED‘Roseanne’ Revival Premiere Gets Easter Sunday Rerun On ABC
Fox, which was on the revival forefront with dramas 24: Live Another Day, Prison Break andThe X-Files, is the only major network without a sitcom re-do, so its executives likely will take a look at the library. Like Roseanne, Fox has a popular blue-collar sitcom in Married… with Children, but its two stars, Ed O’Neill and Katey Sagal, are on other comedy series, ABC’s Modern Family and CBS’ Superior Donuts, respectively. Also hard to pull off would be That ’70s Show or Malcolm in the Middle revivals with the original stars.
CBS also has a classic, hugely popular blue-collar family comedy in its library, Everybody Loves Raymond, though several of the Emmy-winning series’ celebrated cast members are no longer alive.
ABC
Meanwhile, if Roseanne continues to be a ratings juggernaut, ABC, which is close to renewing the revival for a second season, should look into bringing back its other big blue-collar sitcom hit of the 1990s, Home Improvement, which starred another open Trump sympathizer, Tim Allen.
ABC was strongly criticized by the right in May when it canceled Allen’s long-running sitcom Last Man Standing despite its strong viewership. It was a rare broadcast comedy with a central character who is a political conservative and devout Christian adhering to traditional American values that appeals to viewers in the Heartland.
With The Middle going away, there is a vacuum in representing middle-class families on broadcast TV, and the success of Roseanne no doubt will help get more blue-color sitcoms on the air. We might see that happening as soon as next month when the broadcast networks pick their new series for next season out of the dozens of pilots currently in production.
http://deadline.com/2018/03/roseann...-hollywood-prompts-soul-searching-1202354973/
*dreams of Home Improvement reboot*
