The “Roseanne” return was an instantaneous and enormous hit for ABC — and the viewers just keep on coming.
The sitcom’s comeback episode has added 6.59 million more viewers with three days of delayed viewing, breaking TV’s record. Considering its 18.45 million “live” viewers, the revival premiere’s Live + 3 grand total now tops 25 million overall audience members.
Nothing “working class” about those Nielsen numbers.
The 72-hour “Roseanne” lift actually makes last Tuesday’s premiere bigger than the show’s Season 9 start back in 1996. This one episode has technically now out-delivered the previous 79 half hours of the ABC comedy.
Of course, short of VCRs — which of course Nielsen didn’t measure — delayed viewing did not exist in “Roseanne’s” original heyday. The ratings currency company’s L3 records go back to September 2007.
Television’s previous record holder was the 2014 debut of “How to Get Away With Murder,” which added 5.93 million viewers at the time. That’s a 10 p.m. show, which always lends itself to lots of catch-up viewing. “Roseanne” airs at 8/7c.