Only Half Of “Roseanne” Fans Show Up For “The Conners” In ABC “Strong” Series Debut

HOLLYWOOD, CA. (THECOUNT) — More than half of ABC’s Roseanne audience chose not to follow the family over to the new post-Roseanne spinoff, The Conners.

The debut delivered 10.5 million viewers and a 2.3 rating among adults 18-49, which is down 55 percent from the premiere of “Roseanne” last spring.

Although shedding half its viewers, the numbers for the debut are considered “very strong,” leading “The Conners” to the number one slot in Tuesday night’s ratings.

That’s down 55 percent from the premiere of Roseanne last spring, but was on par with Roseanne‘s finale and even managed to edge out NBC’s This Is Us for the night. source

When Roseanne returned on ABC earlier last March, the first episode delivered a staggering 18.2 million viewers and a 5.1 rating among adults 18-49 in the overnight Nielsens. The series then fell from that height and its finale concluded with 10.3 million viewers and a 2.4 rating.

ABC did not expect Roseanne premiere-level numbers, of course. Internal industry marketing research suggested audience interest in the spin-off was tracking about half that of viewer interest in Roseanne before its return.