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