By Nellie Andreeva • March 28, 2018

Roseanne made a triumphant return Tuesday night, blowing past projections with a 5.2 adults 18-49 rating and 18.2 million total viewers for the debut of its revival, which remarkably drew 10% more viewers than the original series finale 21 years ago.

While nostalgia was expected to bring in eyeballs, no one predicted such a huge turnout on premiere night for the blue-collar family sitcom with a Donald Trump-supporting protagonist, especially among the younger demographic. But then, few predicted that Trump would become the Republican nominee and would win the presidential election when he first announced his candidacy.

Both Trump and Roseanne were able to tap into the often overlooked and underserved working-class audience, especially the portion that holds mostly conservative views. Not surprisingly, the top TV markets where Roseanne delivered its highest ratings were in states handily carried by Trump in the election. No. 1 was Tulsa in Oklahoma, which Trump won with 65.3% of the vote. It was followed by Cincinnati, Ohio and Kansas City, Missouri. The only marquee city from a blue state in the Top 10 was Chicago at No. 5 — the area where the series is set. ABC focused some of its marketing efforts in the region with a preview of the revival at the 54th Chicago International Film Festival.

The top market of the country, New York, was not in the Top 20; No.2 Los Angeles was not in the Top 30. And yet, Roseanne delivered the highest demo rating for any comedy telecast in 3 1/2 years, since the fall 2014 season premiere of TV’s biggest comedy series of the past five years, The Big Bang Theory.

There no doubt was an element of nostalgia and curiosity about how the characters from the original series have changed and about the new generation of the Conners. But Roseanne went beyond that. Its youngest 18-49 viewers when the series originally aired on ABC from 1988-97 are now at the very top or outside of that ad-friendly demographic range, in which last night’s premiere posted a staggering 5.2 Live+same day rating with no lead-in. It came largely from new viewers who were children or not even born during Roseanne‘s initial run.

Somehow Roseanne transcended age, recruiting droves of young viewers for a show whose two leads, Roseanne Barr and John Goodman, are both 65, well outside of the 18-49 demo. It tapped into the zeitgeist of Middle America, tackling its economic problems — and political leanings — head-on. There was curiosity how Roseanne would address Trump, which the show did in the first episode. In an encouraging sign, the novelty did not wear off, with the second episode rating even higher than the opener.
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And then there was Barr. Always a firebrand, she did not shy away from controversy, flipping off Jimmy Kimmel and talking candidly about her political views while promoting the show, generating a slew of provocative headlines in the process.

That could’ve gone either way, possibly alienating viewers. But it worked, leaving many TV insiders shellshocked today by the magnitude of the revival’s ratings success that revealed the untapped potential of comedies that provide realistic portrayals of blue-collar America. What’s more, Roseanne did that while also making a social commentary, something rarely seen since All in the Family, Norman Lear’s 1970s classic that has long been rumored to get a reboot.

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http://deadline.com/2018/03/roseanne-rev...ing-1202354973/

"Roseanne Barr Calls Valerie Jarrett a Combo of ‘Muslim Brotherhood & Planet of the Apes’"

Actress-comedian Roseanne Barr took a swipe at former Obama senior advisor Valerie Jarrett on Tuesday, saying the longtime political operative is what you’d get if the “muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby.”
“muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj,” Barr tweeted, with “vj” appearing to stand for Valarie Jarrett. Barr’s tweet was in response to a news article about Jarrett’s alleged role in a CIA plot to spy on the president of France.

muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj

— Roseanne Barr (@therealroseanne) May 29, 2018

When confronted on Twitter by CNN reporter Andrew Kaczynski about her tweet involving the Sunni Islamist organization, the 1968 sci-fi film, and Jarrett, Barr replied, “It’s a joke.”

In a tweet sent moments later, Barr wrote, “ISLAM is not a RACE, lefties. Islam includes EVERY RACE of people.”

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http://www.breitbart.com/big-hollywood/2...weet-comparing/

LATEST UPDATE:

‘Roseanne’ Canceled By ABC Following Star’s Racist Tweets


ABC has abruptly canceled Roseanne Barr’s hit comedy series revival following a morning in which the star launched a tirade of racist and anti-semitic tweets.

http://deadline.com/2018/05/roseanne-can...ets-1202399123/