The “Comedy Central Roast of James Franco” on Monday drew 3.1 million total viewers with its premiere, out-drawing the network’s roast of Roseanne Barr last year, Comedy Central said Tuesday.
In the 18-49 demographic most important to advertisers, the roast grabbed 2.4 million total viewers, which also out-performed Comedy Central’s roast of Barr.
While Franco’s roast surpassed Barr’s skewering in total viewers and the key demo — by 18 and 30 percent, respectively — it still couldn’t beat out the network’s 2011 roast of Charlie Sheen, which grabbed a record-setting 6.4 million total viewers. (That roast premiered on the same night that “Two and a Half Men” returned to the air with Sheen’s replacement, Ashton Kutcher.)
With two encores factored in, Franco’s roast amassed 5.2 million total viewers.
