Roseanne revival premieres to massive ratings

Deadline

About 18.2 million total viewers watched last night's two-episode premiere, making it the most-watched premiere of the season, topping Young Sheldon's 17.2 million viewers. In fact, the second episode had more viewers than the first, with 17.7 million watching the 8 p.m. premiere and 18.6 million viewers for the 8:30 p.m. episode. For comparison, Will & Grace returned to strong numbers with 10.2 million viewers. The two-episode premiere even topped Roseanne's series finale in 1997 by 10%. Roseanne also boosted Black-ish to a season high. Splitting Up Together followed Black-ish with a respectable 7.2 million viewers. Roseanne's premiere marked the highest-rated comedy telecast since Sept. 22 2014. ALSO: A second season renewal is a "foregone conclusion" as preliminary conversations began long before the premiere.