Roseanne Barr-Less Show ‘The Conners’ Has Much Lower Ratings in Premiere: Reports

Compared with the premiere of “Roseanne” last year on ABC, spinoff show “The Conners’” premiere saw much lower ratings.

The show’s premiere had about 10.5 million viewers and a 2.3 rating among adults 18-49, according to Entertainment Weekly, which according to many figures, is a good result.

However, that’s far lower than the premiere of “Roseanne” in the spring of 2017. The publication said that it’s down 55 percent.

When “Roseanne” returned in March 2017, the show had 18.2 million viewers and a 5.1 rating about the 18-49 demographic. The series finale concluded with 10.3 million viewers and a 2.4 rating, according to the Entertainment Weekly report.

“The Conners” premiere confirmed reports that Roseanne’s character died of a drug overdose, which prompted a response from star Roseanne Barr on Oct. 16.

In the statement, Barr wished the “very best” for the cast and crew of the new show but criticized ABC’s management.

Earlier this year, “Roseanne” was taken off the air after she made a controversial tweet about former President Obama’s senior adviser, Valerie Jarrett, that some described as racist. After hysteria over the tweet, she was fired and the show was canned.

“While we wish the very best for the cast and production crew of The Conners, all of whom are deeply dedicated to their craft and were Roseanne’s cherished colleagues, we regret that ABC chose to cancel Roseanne by killing off the Roseanne Conner character. That it was done through an opioid overdose lent an unnecessary grim and morbid dimension to an otherwise happy family show,” Barr said via the Rabbi Shmuley Boteach’s Facebook page.

“This was a choice the network did not have to make. Roseanne was the only show on television that directly addressed the deep divisions threatening the very fabric of our society,” she wrote in the statement.

She added: “Specifically, the show promoted the message that love and respect for one another’s personhood should transcend differences in background and ideological discord. The show brought together characters of different political persuasions and ethnic backgrounds in one, unified family, a rarity in modern American entertainment. Above all else, the show celebrated a strong, matriarchal woman in a leading role, something we need more of in our country.”

Actress Roseanne Barr speaks during SiriusXM's Town Hall with the cast of Roseanne in New York City on March 27, 2018. Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images for SiriusXM

Report Says ABC Might be Regretting Move

ABC executives are reportedly regretting the firing of Barr and fear “The Conners” won’t perform as well.

“We didn’t think it through properly. What Roseanne did was wrong but we shouldn’t have rushed to fire her. It was almost a knee-jerk reaction by Ben [Sherwood] and Channing [Dungey] who should have launched an investigation,” said one executive in a Daily Mail report last week. “This would have given them more time to listen to the public, advertisers and cast members to determine the best decision.”

John Goodman, “The Conners” star, said that the show is “hollow” without Barr. “It felt great to be back, but there’s a hollow center. I miss Rosie [Barr] real bad,” the 66-year-old actor told USA Today.