Roseanne finds success in the age of Trump
NEW YORK — The reboot of Roseanne ended the season Tuesday with a hopeful climax to a show that’s been popular and yet divisive.
Roseanne Barr, who plays the titular character on the hit ABC show, plans to go to the hospital for knee surgery when her family surprises her with a goodbye meal that includes ham, cake and casserole. Outside a storm is raging.
The flooded community has been declared part of a presidential state of emergency.
So Roseanne’s husband is suddenly flush with construction work and the family can pay for her surgery.
Barr said she was thrilled that so many people have tuned in every week and that many of the hot-button issues that were raised in the reboot will continue in the coming season.
“The show did great. Scrutiny is always good — it’s part of being successful,” she said. “It gives everyone something to talk about. And everyone gets to express their opinion, too.”
Politics made an impact in the first episode, when it was clear that Roseanne Conner embraced U.S. President Donald Trump, while her sister, Jackie, was a staunch opponent.
The Trump factor earned the show a wealth of media and other attention, including from the president himself.
He called to congratulate Barr on the show’s 18 million-plus U.S. debut audience.
“We want to be brave. We want to tackle things that other shows are worried they can’t either make funny or will make people uncomfortable,” said executive producer Bruce Helford, who also worked on the original series, which ran from 1988 to 1997.
The reboot also has prompted some outrage, including a joke about two other shows featuring minority characters that was deemed dismissive, and an episode some people called Islamophobic.
Sara Gilbert, who has returned to play Roseanne’s daughter, Darlene, and is also an executive producer, said the negative criticism illustrates a fractured media landscape.
“When you get big numbers, you kind of have to expect some kind of extra scrutiny. And because of the way the internet works, and the clicks on news articles, the most negative stories get the most pickup,” she said.
The show’s writers regroup May 29 to start working on the next season, which will have 13 episodes.
Whitney Cummings, who had been co-showrunner with Helford, will not return, but comedians Wanda Sykes and Norm Macdonald are back.