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Two days after ABC’s reboot of Roseanne turned in massive numbers that seemed to surprise and delight everyone, including President Trump, the network renewed the show for a second season, or if you count the nine seasons that ran from 1988 to 1997, its 11th.
This season will air nine episodes, two of which aired in the one-hour premiere, while next season ABC has signed up for 13 new episodes.
Roseanne debuted on Tuesday, March 27, to 18.2 million viewers in Nielsen’s overnight ratings and a huge 5.2 in the key adult 18-49 demographic. After one day of delayed viewing, those numbers had grown to nearly 22 million viewers and a 6.2 in the demographic. The return of Roseanne was the biggest Tuesday night debut of any scripted show in six years and the biggest premiere of a sitcom in almost four.
A renewal was a no-brainer.
“We’re thrilled that America has welcomed the Conner family back into their homes. The show is as fresh and relevant today as it was when it left the air 21 years ago. We can’t wait to see what the Roseanne team has in store for next year,” said ABC Television Entertainment President Channing Dungey in a statement.
In the revival, Roseanne is a Trump supporter, while her sister, Jackie (Laurie Metcalf) is a liberal who voted for Jill Stein. The two have been estranged for the past year over the election results but now are speaking again.
Dungey told the New York Times that the day after after the 2016 Presidential election, ABC executives convened and decided to take a look at who they were programming to and how they were programming to them. Taking a deep dive into the data revealed that there were several groups who weren’t seeing themselves reflected in network TV’s primetime offerings.
“We had spent a lot of time looking for diverse voices in terms of people of color and people from different religions and even people with a different perspective on gender,” Dungey told the paper. “But we had not been thinking nearly enough about economic diversity and some of the other cultural divisions within our own country. That’s been something we’ve been really looking at with eyes open since that time.”
Trump also looked at the huge ratings and told supporters at a rally in front of union workers in Ohio: “Look at Roseanne! Look at her ratings! They were unbelievable! Over 18 million people! And it was about us!”
The new version of the old series features most of the original cast, including star and namesake Roseanne Barr as well as John Goodman and Laurie Metcalf, who was nominated for a best support actress Oscar this year. Also starring are Lecy Goranson, Sara Gilbert, Michael Fishman Emma Kenny, Ames McNamara, Jayden Rey and Sarah Chalke, although playing a different role than Becky, who she played in the original show’s later years.
Guest stars include Estelle Parsons, Sandra Bernhard, Natalie West, James Pickens Jr., and Adilah Barnes.
Roseanne is produced by Carsey-Werner Television. Executive producers include Roseanne Barr, Sara Gilbert, Tom Werner, Bruce Helford, Whitney Cummings and Tony Hernandez.
READ MORE: The New York Times
[Images courtesy of ABC/Adam Rose]