Roseanne #2

ABC’s reboot of the sitcom Roseanne continues to be the surprise hit of the season. Per data from analytics firm Samba TV shows that the number of households who are fans of Fox News that watch Roseanne have skyrocketed 65% meanwhile viewership among households who are fans of cable shows like MLB Channel, The Oprah Winfrey Network, and BET, which tend to attract younger and more diverse audiences, have fallen by around 40%. This has to do with Roseanne Barr continuing to promote President Donald Trump and her right-wing conspiracy theories on Twitter. This has struck a nerve among many conservatives who had previously felt their views were being underrepresented in the media. ABC has already renewed Roseanne for another season, which they are proud of due to the immense negative publicity surrounding ABC’s reboot of American Idol.

 

Another issue being brought up regarding the renewal of Roseanne is the fact that the reboot is straying from the original characters and plot. While the original focused on Roseanne coming to terms with the physical abuse she suffered for years due to her father, and why she was against corporal punishment. However, in an episode this season she is seen pinning her “bratty teenage daughter Harris” and spraying her with a kitchen sink hose.

 

 

 

Barr, Jonathan. Is ABC’s Monster Hit ‘Roseanne’ Scaring Away Liberal Viewers? Forbes.com. April 14, 2018. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanberr/2018/04/14/is-abcs-monster-hit-roseanne-scaring-away-liberal-viewers/#45ac5245750f. Received April 15, 2018.

Roseanne #1

As Roseanne aired their second episode of the new revival season, it delivered a 3.9 rating in adults 18-49, which is down 25% from the premiere last week. However, it is still Tuesday’s number one show by a large margin and is effecting ABC’s other comedies. Roseanne is up against The Voice (NBC), NCIS (CBS), Lethal Weapon (FOX) and The Flash (The CW). It has also already been picked up for a second season next year. The huge success of the reboot has captured many peoples attention, but mainly ones in political circles due to the enormous viewership in “Red America”.  With the star, Roseanne Barr, who has a heavy media presence, between exhibiting conspiracy theories and quixotic readings of the president’s intentions, she is striking up a chord within America. People are opting to not watch the reboot because of Barr’s political views. However, many that do watch Roseanne say that it does not influence their political views and are able to separate a TV show from their own personal views. It will be interesting to see how Roseanne continues to do as the “newness” of the reboot wears off.