ABC has picked up the “Roseanne” revival for another season, the network announced on Friday.
The news comes as little surprise after the premiere of the new, 10th season bowed Tuesday to massive ratings, besting even the original series finale nearly 20 years ago.
“We’re thrilled that America has welcomed the Conner family back into their homes. The show is as fresh and relevant today as it was when it left the air 21 years ago. We can’t wait to see what the ‘Roseanne’ team has in store for next year,” ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey said in a statement.
The two-part premiere was watched by 18.2 million total viewers, making it the most-watched scripted program on ABC since 2008.
The unexpected success even caught the attention of President Trump, who counts star and executive producer Roseanne Barr as one of his supporters and dialed her up to personally deliver his congratulations.
In an interview with the New York Times on Wednesday, Dungey attributed the show’s success to its realistic portrayal of a blue-collar family. The show over-performed in Middle America, with Tulsa, Oklahoma, counting as its biggest market. Los Angeles and New York weren’t even in the top 20.
“We had spent a lot of time looking for diverse voices in terms of people of color and people from different religions and even people with a different perspective on gender,” she said. “But we had not been thinking nearly enough about economic diversity and some of the other cultural divisions within our own country. That’s been something we’ve been really looking at with eyes open since that time.”
The cast from the show’s original run returned for the new go-round, including Barr, John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, Sara Gilbert, Michael Fishman and Lecy Goranson. Sarah Chalke, Emma Kenney, Ames McNamara and Jayden Rey also star.
“Roseanne” is produced by Carsey-Werner Television. Barr and Gilbert executive produce with Tom Werner, Bruce Helford, Whitney Cummings and Tony Hernandez.
“Roseanne” airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on ABC.