Roseanne Reboot Reaches 25 Million Viewers, Won't Mention Trump By Name

After 20 years off TV, Roseanne returned with a revival on ABC last week. It was a massive success, picking up 25 million viewers and an astounding 7.3 rating for adults 18-49, according to numbers posted by The Hollywood Reporter today.

25 million includes people who watched the episode live on March 27, as well as 6.6 million people who watched later. The total figure is even bigger, as it does not include the 4.3 million people who watched the re-broadcast on Sunday evening, nor does it count people who will watch it on Hulu or ABC's other streaming destinations in the days ahead.

The first two episodes aired on March 27, while the third is coming on Tuesday, April 3, and THR mentions that it will be telling to see how the next episode fares in terms of viewership. Nine episodes in all are planned for the first season of the revival. ABC quickly renewed the show for a second season after the huge success of the premiere.

What might have buoyed Roseanne's appeal, especially the follow-on viewers, was the subject matter. It was revealed in the first episode that Roseanne the character is a Trump supporter, just like Roseanne Barr the actress. Sara Gilbert, who plays Darlene Conner and is an executive producer of the reboot, told Watch Watch Happens Live that Roseanne's character is a Trump supporter but the family as a unit is not.

"She's the only one--and we never say his name, actually, in the show," Gilbert explained.

Trump spoke with Barr over the phone to congratulate her on the show's success. For her part, Gilbert says the new Roseanne is "not about politics."

"It's really about what happens to a family when there's a political divide, which is something that I think the entire country can relate to and something we need to talk about," Gilbert said. "So, with our show, it's never about 'doing an issue' or 'doing politics,' it's 'how do these things affect a family unit?'"