The premiere of ABC’s “Roseanne” reboot delivered blockbuster ratings for ABC.
According to fast national data posted by Showbuzz, Tuesday’s premiere drew a whopping 5.1 adults 18-49 rating and averaged 18.16 million overall viewers from 8-9PM.
The numbers are the best posted by a regularly scheduled scripted program this season (the special, post-Super Bowl edition of “This Is Us” is the only scripted broadcast that drew bigger numbers).
No one is operating under the expectation that “Roseanne” will remain in this ratings ballpark moving forward. The massive start, however, gives reason to believe it will remain a strong performer in the weeks ahead. It could lose two-thirds of this week’s adults 18-49 audience and still be one of TV’s top few comedies.
Lead-in support from “Roseanne” greatly helped “black-ish” (which drew season highs of 2.6 in the demo and 8.71 million in viewers) and the premiere of “Splitting Up Together” (2.2, 7.20 million).
“For The People” closed ABC’s night with a 0.9 rating and 3.58 million viewer mark at 10PM. The numbers are not especially strong, but they do represent the new drama’s best performance yet.
