The marketplace made Roseanne a hit, just like the marketplace made Tim Allen's Last Man Standing a hit.
ABC President Channing Dungey wasn't having any of that.
Posted on 10/17/2018 8:20:24 AM PDT by EdnaMode
ABC’s Roseanne-without-Roseanne spin-off The Conners couldn’t come anywhere close to the blockbuster premiere rating of its predecessor, yet still had a strong number that led Tuesday night in the ratings.
The debut airing delivered 10.5 million viewers and a 2.3 rating among adults 18-49.
That’s down 55 percent from the premiere of Roseanne last spring, but was very much on par with Roseanne‘s finale and even managed to edge out NBC’s This Is Us for the night.
When Roseanne returned on ABC earlier this year, the first episode delivered a staggering 18.2 million viewers and a 5.1 rating among adults 18-49 in the overnight Nielsens. The series fell from that height, of course, and its finale ended up at 10.3 million viewers and a 2.4 rating.
ABC did not expect Roseanne premiere-level numbers, of course. Internal industry marketing research suggested viewer interest in the spin-off was tracking about half that of viewer interest in Roseanne before its return.
The episode, titled “Keep on Trucking,” confirmed previous reports that Roseanne Conner died of an opioid overdose. Roseanne Barr didn’t much appreciate that plot twist, saying in a statement that the “opioid overdose lent an unnecessary grim and morbid dimension to an otherwise happy family show.”
ABC has had some rough sledding this season. The network understandably axed its top comedy Roseanne due to Barr’s tweets but also less understandably canceled Last Man Standing — which Fox picked up and is now using it to easily beat every other show on Friday nights. In the ratings so far this fall, ABC has slipped into fourth place behind Fox (and that’s even if you take sports coverage out of the equation).
Still, The Conners should help matters. If this was any other new comedy premiere, the network would be overjoyed by this number. There’s a big question mark moving forward, however, in terms of how many of these viewers are merely curious about how Roseanne Barr’s character was killed off and how the family reacts vs. how many are actually interested in sticking with the show in coming weeks. Our critic Kristen Baldwin watched The Conners first two episodes and there’s a pretty big mood swing coming next week, check out her review.
The marketplace made Roseanne a hit, just like the marketplace made Tim Allen's Last Man Standing a hit.
ABC President Channing Dungey wasn't having any of that.
Agreed. I think it will drop huge next week.
Never trust someone with a first name that hides their gender...
I believe ABC buried the last Rosanne episode and I’ve yet to find that last episode anywhere on the web. Am I correct ?
How long before Roseanne returns or makes a gest appearance. She would have a bunch of money if she does either.
Here’s How Roseanne Responded to Her Character Being Killed Off
Roseanne tweeted this morning “I’m not dead, bitches!”
They could bring her back, much like Bobby’s death in the “DREAM SEASON” on DALLAS, a whole season that turned out to be a dream.
http://www.ultimatedallas.com/episodeguide/dreamzonefaq.htm
Why is it termed as the dream season?
“Season nine followed the aftermath of the death of Bobby Ewing. When Patrick Duffy decided to come back as Bobby in the spring of 1986 the producers decided to make the whole of Season Seven a DREAM. So Pam woke up and Bobby was alive , it had all been her nightmare.”
Some comedy.
It could be like Dallas, where the whole current season is a dream sequence and the characters wake up to Rosanne in the shower with Patrick Duffy...
Wonder if this will effect ABC’s overall numbers.
Like maybe people will stop watching ABC?
And streaming services and Facebook and....
I was tired of the damn show before it ever aired!!
They are known for doing things like that ;)
However this season is in the can (meaning it’s all been filmed) I bet.. So maybe next season?
They will resurrect Roseanne just like they did her husband’s character.
Hopefully not too slow or insufficiently painful
After the premiere, Roseanne Barr tweeted . . .
I AIN’T DEAD, BITCHES.
I hope most of that was directed at the traitorous, back stabbing cast.
#TheConners 2.3 A18-49 premiere rating has something for both crazy fans and anti-fans.
Fans of Roseanne Barr? It was down 56% from the #Roseanne premiere!
Anti-fans of Roseanne Barr? It was down just 8% from the #Roseanne finale!
12:14 PM - 17 Oct 2018
https://twitter.com/TVGrimReaper/status/1052593709605257216
I will second the thought that the Conners ratings will drop from its premiere episode.
A lot of people were just watching to see what it was like without Roseanne. Now that they have seen it there will be no reason to tune in again.
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