'Roseanne' Revial Breaks Records And Scores An Early Renewal, Here's What's In Store For Season 2

Everyone had been on edge about the Roseanne revival. Would it be as good as the original? Would the cast still have that spark? Would it even translate in the year 2018?

Well, the first episode was watched by over 18 million people. That's a record breaking number! Roseanne's premiere became the highest-rated sitcom episode in over three years.

Fans of the show had been skeptical of the revival, but I guess they decided to give it a chance because everyone seemed to be watching the first episode. There was a little bit of concern that the second episode would see significant drop off, but it still managed to keep over 15 million viewers watching!

These numbers have managed to secure it a second season! Not only will there be a season 2 of the revival, but it will have more episodes than the first.

The first season has 9 episodes, but the renewal signed them on for another 13 episodes. It's good that they've gone ahead and renewed it, because as the ratings continue to file in from DVR watches, it turns out that more than 25 million people watched the premiere.

There was a lot of concern that the show would become too political, especially because of Roseanne Barr's vocal support of Donald Trump, but it seems like they have decided to keep it Trump-free.

Star of the show, Sara Gilbert, revealed that his name won't be mentioned in the show at all. "The Conners aren't Trump supporters. Roseanne's character is a Trump supporter — she's the only one — and we never say his name, actually, in the show," she said.

The showrunner has revealed what to expect from the rest of the season and what's in store for season 2...

Bruce Helford, co-showrunner, revealed his thoughts on the show's success.

"People want to see this dialogue. They want to see a family they can relate to. They wanted to see the Conners again," he said. "And it was incredibly gratifying — beyond anything anyone expected — to have this many people watch. It's up to 25 million and we haven't even had the plus-seven [DVR returns] yet.

He was asked if he thought their star's politics were helping or hurting their ratings.

"I really don't know. I don't discuss her politics, that's her private business. There's Roseanne Barr and then there's Roseanne Conner. There are some similarities and plenty of differences. I honestly think this really was about the show come back into people’s lives. There is a nostalgia factor and the feeling of being accepted among the Conners."

They do however intend on keeping politics out of the picture.

"We never set out to be a show about politics. We set out to be a show about the Conners and how the current political climate affects the family. We made a point of not mentioning names in the beginning and I believe we will probably maintain that same thing.

There is no agenda here, in any direction. The idea is to present all sides of the dialogue. Making it specific like that isn't necessary. That's not what we're doing. We're not talking about the personalities involved. We're talking about the effects of all the politics on the lives of people like the Conners."

As for the second season? One thing they know for sure will be dealt with is DJ's wife.

"You're going to meet DJ's wife in an episode coming up this season via Skype from Afghanistan. We hope to bring her into the fold and bring her home, if not permanently, at least for a break to visit the family and see the interaction of DJ's wife and daughter and Roseanne as well as DJ's family with his wife's family.

This season, we'll also deal with opioids. You can see some of the beginnings of that storyline in this episode with the chair."

Season 2 doesn't have a set start date yet, because apparently all of the stars had only signed on for the initial episodes.

"A lot of this will depend on people's personal schedules because there were no deals for anyone to return after the first group of eight episodes. No one was committing beyond that. Personally, I would like to be on the fall schedule."

I don't know about you, but I am at least a little bit interested in seeing where the show goes in season two of the revival.

Source - The Hollywood Reporter / Fabiosa