On Tuesday night "The Conners" appeared on ABC. This came months after ABC fired Roseanne Barr for a tweet. Now that the ratings are in, ABC is very likely regretting the move of firing her.
When compared to the "Roseanne" reboot one year ago, the ratings for "The Conners" were down 35% in viewership. This is according to a report from Deadline. While ABC did not expect "The Conners" to match the numbers of "Roseanne," they did expect the numbers to be much closer.
From here, ABC executives only expect the numbers to go down. Many fans were disgusted at how Roseanne was killed off the show, which was by an opioid overdose. Her character had a massive following for many decades and the way they got rid of her rubbed many people wrong.
Barr took to Twitter to fire back in typical fashion:
https://twitter.com/therealroseanne/status/1052371163161088001
Barr also released a statement with regards to her character's death, through her friend Rabbi Shmuley Boteach. Per USA Today:
“While we wish the very best for the cast and production crew of ‘The Conners’ … we regret that ABC chose to cancel ‘Roseanne’ by killing off the Roseanne Conner character. That it was done through an opioid overdose lent an unnecessary grim and morbid dimension to an otherwise happy family show. … This was a choice the network did not have to make.”
https://twitter.com/therealroseanne/status/1052407501801619458
Many Twitter users made no secret that they side with Barr in this battle.
How ABC treated Roseanne’s character is how blue collar voters feel treated by the Dems. Not worth saving. https://t.co/GJWIu6tYTd
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) October 17, 2018
It really was a tacky and unprofessional way to handle her “death”. Other celebrities have done way worse and been forgiven. Ashamed of @ABCNetwork and the writers of @TheConnersABC ??
— Laurie Robertson (@LaurieRobertson) October 17, 2018
I was an avid Roseanne watcher and watched all of your reruns over and over but I will not be watching the. Conners without you Roseanne. This is ridiculous.
— Wanda Ranger (@WandaRanger) October 17, 2018
John Goodman made it know that he also misses Roseanne.
John Goodman on "Roseanne" spinoff: “It felt great to be back, but there’s a hollow center. I miss Rosie real bad”@therealroseanne https://t.co/EXIwjcy5mz
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) October 17, 2018
ABC had to see this coming. The reason people watched the show "Roseanne" is because of ROSEANNE. She was the centerpiece of the show. To get rid of her was stupid enough, but to do it so cruelly with a drug overdose was insane. This drove many "Roseanne" fans away from "The Conners."
What are your thoughts? Will you be tuned in? Let us know in the comments on Facebook.
