The couch from sitcom Roseanne is the star of the show as an oversized, inflatable replica of the sofa that appeared in the Conners’ family room turns up at GalaxyCon. GalaxyCon brings together fans of comic books, sci-fi, fantasy, anime, wrestling and other aspects of pop culture. Those events happen in Richmond, Virginia, from March 15-17; Raleigh, North Carolina, July 25-28; San Jose, California, August 16-18; and in Miami, with the date to be announced. 

Cozi TV and Carsey-Werner Television are behind the couch stunt. 

Cozi TV will air “Roseanne Couch Week” July 8-12. The event begins nightly at 11 p.m. ET and is hosted by an animated, crocheted couch. Four Roseanne episodes show per night, and the couch “will spill the stuffing on behind-the-scenes stories and favorite moments from the show,” Cozi teased. 

NBCUniversal Local owns Cozi, which said Roseanne is transitioning from standard to HD episodes. 

Roseanne, starring Roseanne Barr, was on ABC from 1988 to 1997. It returned briefly in 2018, but was canceled after off-color comments were made by Barr. Roseanne was remade into The Conners, which does not have Barr in the cast. 

Season six began on ABC this month. John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, Sara Gilbert and Lecy Goranson are in the cast. 

Cozi airs Roseanne weeknights at 10 p.m. to midnight ET. 

The Conners will be distributed globally, across platforms and in syndication by Lionsgate and its syndication-focused subsidiary Debmar-Mercury in partnership with series producer Werner Entertainment, the companies said Wednesday.

Lionsgate Worldwide Television Distribution Group will handle global distribution of the ABC sitcom, as well as to subscription video-on-demand (SVOD), advertising-supported VOD, basic cable and free ad-supported television (FAST) platforms. Debmar-Mercury will distribute the series in domestic syndication. The deal covers all five seasons of the series as well as rights to future seasons with ABC maintaining its first-window rights.

The Conners is expected to debut in domestic syndication in fall 2024. While Debmar-Mercury and Lionsgate are distributing this show, production entity Carsey-Werner — launched by Marcy Carsey and Tom Werner — still distributes many of the shows it has produced over the years.

The Conners stars Sara Gilbert, John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf and Lecy Goranson and is a spinoff of ABC’s hit sitcom Roseanne, which was produced and is still distributed by Carsey-Werner, aired from 1988 to 1997, and made Roseanne Barr a household name. The show began as a revival of Roseanne in 2018 but was canceled after Barr sent out a volley of tweets considered to be racist. Barr was then fired, with her character written out and the show retitled. 

The Conners returns to ABC later this year — depending on when the writers’ and actors’ strikes are resolved — for season six. Nearly 5 million people watched the season-five series finale. 

“This agreement shows Lionsgate’s ability to marshal all of its resources, combining the strength and prowess of our global distribution with Debmar-Mercury’s unparalleled syndication expertise in support of a remarkable brand and series,” Lionsgate president of worldwide television distribution Jim Packer said in a statement.

“In the tradition of some of the most successful, longest-running multi-cam sitcoms, The Conners promises to be a great addition to TV stations lineups, and will offer a proven competitive advantage to broadcasters for years to come,” Debmar-Mercury co-presidents Ira Bernstein and Mort Marcus said, also in a statement.  

The deal was negotiated by Packer, Bernstein and Marcus for the studio, and UTA and Jackoway Austen on behalf of Werner Entertainment.   

The television industry put up some lofty audience viewing and content production numbers in 2018 as it continued to adjust to the changing viewing habits of consumers.

In 2018 more scripted shows were available to consumers than at any other time in history, yet it was big sports events like the Super Bowl that drew the most viewers to TV sets during the year, according to Nielsen.

Fox News Channel continued to dominate cable viewing among total viewers, averaging a record 2.4 million primetime viewers and 1.4 million viewers on a total day basis to lead all cable networks.

Here are five interesting TV ratings and audience numbers for the year that was:

104.1M — The biggest audience drawn for any television show in 2018 for NBC’s Feb. 4 Super Bowl LII coverage, according to Nielsen. NBC’s post-game coverage of the Philadelphia Eagles’ upset win over the New England Patriots was the second most watched show of the year with 73.9 million viewers.

19.9 million — The average audience for ABC’s reboot of the 1990s comedy series Roseanne last March, making it the most watched TV series of the year, according to Nielsen. Roseanne was eventually cancelled in May after series star Roseanne Barr posted a racially insensitive tweet. A series spinoff, The Conners, debuted this past fall.

2.4 million — The average number of primetime viewers tuning into Fox News in 2019, making it the most watched cable network in primetime among total viewers for the third consecutive year. Fox News was also the most watched cable network on a 24-hour basis for the third year in a row, according to Nielsen.

495 — The number of scripted series that streaming services along with broadcast and cable networks offered in 2018, according to FX. The number was up from 487 the year prior and nearly double the 266 shows that aired in 2011. Online services such as Netflix and Amazon generated the most shows with 160, while the number of broadcast and basic cable shows dropped in 2018 compared to four years prior, according to FX.

429% — The percentage increase of viewers who tuned in to watch an episode of AMC’s Better Call Saul after the episode’s premiere, which was tops among time-shifting viewer percentages for all cable and broadcast shows, according to Nielsen. 

Roseanne, depicting a working-class family and its President Donald Trump-supporting matriarch, was television’s big story last season, averaging nearly 19 million viewers on a live-plus-seven-day basis.

Roseanne Barr’s racist tweet led to its cancellation, but the network wasn’t done with the idea: The Conners premieres Oct. 16, and ABC hopes the gang can do some semblance of the robust ratings Roseanne garnered last year.

Ignoring the fiasco of the tweet, other networks are chasing The Conners into Middle America, hoping to win viewers with heartland themes built around the everyman as hero: Last Man Standing on Fox; NBC’s stacked Chicago shows on Wednesdays; FBI and God Friended Me on CBS; and a handful of series on the streaming networks.

“When something like Roseanne happens, the industry as a whole looks to replicate that in some way, shape or form,” media consultant Bill Carroll said.

Very few network executives will ever concede to targeting one section of the country or the other, and anyone on the broadcast side of the business is thinking broad appeal for anything on air. But these days, the aim seems to be at the very “flyover” states once ignored by tastemakers. And while series on the streaming networks have for years focused not so much on vast appeal, but on select viewers interested in gripping stories, some on the streaming side say their shows, too, shoot for viewers in the heartland.

Before Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan premiered on Prime Video Aug. 31, placing Clancy’s ace analyst in the heat of the Middle East, showrunner Carlton Cuse said he saw Ryan as a “classic American hero” when TV’s defense-minded antiheroes, on the likes of Homeland and 24, bend the rules to complete their missions. “He’s a guy with morals, and a sense of altruism and patriotism,” Cuse said.

Jack Ryan aims to depict the federal defense agencies, such as the CIA and FBI, in a noble light when many are quick to criticize them, Cuse added. Patriotic civil servants play well in Middle America.

“It’s the type of show that’s not made for TV critics, it’s made for viewers,” he said. “We think it has broad appeal — and appeals to a whole section of the country.”

Same goes for drama One Dollar, which premiered Aug. 30 on CBS All Access. The show, which tells the story of multiple murders through a dollar bill that changes hands among connected characters, is set in Pittsburgh, where showrunner Craig Zobel said it can depict the city’s current class clash between the big brains of Carnegie Mellon and Uber and Pittsburgh’s steel-production past.

“The idea was to set something that wasn’t New York or Los Angeles,” he said. “It’s indicative of another part of America we don’t see all the time on TV.”

A year ago, Amazon chairman and CEO Jeff Bezos said he wanted a global hit or two out of Amazon Studios, something akin to Game of Thrones. “We’re a mass-market brand,” then-studio head Roy Price told Variety. Yet Amazon’s big fall release, Matthew Weiner anthology series The Romanoffs, which premiered on Prime Video Oct. 12, is hardly mass-market. Its pilot, set in Paris (with subtitles), feels like an independent film, running nearly 90 minutes and featuring a main character with racist tendencies.

Networks Soldier On

President Trump’s surprise win for the White House gave voice to overlooked voters in the heartland, and it appears to have prompted networks to make sure they don’t overlook them. The 2017-18 broadcast season featured a glut of military themed programming, including SEAL Team on CBS, Valor on The CW and The Brave on NBC. At the time, The CW president Mark Pedowitz downplayed any notion of programming to red or blue states.

“It doesn’t matter what the attitude of the country is,” Pedowitz said. “If it’s right, people will watch it.”

People, for the most part, did not watch. SEAL Team returned this season, while the other shows did not. (History also cancelled military drama Six, about Navy SEALS, after two seasons this past summer.)

Do red states and blue states actually like different programs? A study from E-Poll showed that Democrats’ favorite show for the 2017-2018 season was Game of Thrones, followed by How to Get Away With Murder, This Is Us, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Broad City. Chicago Fire, Chicago PD and Chicago Med also made the top 10, as did Stranger Things.

Republicans favored Grey’s Anatomy, How to Get Away With Murder, Supernatural, This Is Us and Criminal Minds. The Walking Dead, at No. 6, was the lone non-broadcast show on the GOP list. Roseanne came in at No. 71 among Democrats and No. 31 among Republicans.

Another E-Poll study showed viewers who are Democrats prefer shows that are “sexy, edgy, emotionally involving, ethnically diverse or have strong characters.” Republican viewers, for their part, like programs that are “family-friendly, funny, plot-driven or have storylines that involve ‘good vs. evil.’ ”

Everyone’s Invited

Similar to network executives, few showrunners will say they are targeting a certain section of the country. New ABC comedy The Kids Are Alright, which leads out of The Conners, shows a family of eight boys growing up with ultra-conservative parents in the early ’70s, against the backdrop of the Vietnam War and other social strife. “I haven’t thought, this is a red-state show, this is a blue-state show,” creator/showrunner Tim Doyle said. “I haven’t approached it as, I’m reaching out to this audience or that audience.”

Neal Baer, showrunner on drama Designated Survivor — which will premiere on Netflix after two seasons on ABC — said people are too complex to program to individually. “You have to be really careful about saying you’re going to pitch to this group or that group and how that affects your storytelling,” he said.

Network executives don’t love talking about red states and blue states watching their shows, either. After all, it’s entertainment, not cable news. Andy Kubitz, executive VP, programming strategy, ABC Entertainment, said Roseanne wasn’t so much about politics as it was about social issues, seen through the eyes of working-class folks.

“I don’t believe the Roseanne conversation has much to do with red state and blue state,” he said. “The first episode touched on politics, but the rest was about real issues in America that no one else is talking about on television.”

Among the broadcast rookies, FBI, which premiered Sept. 25, shows the inner workings of the bureau’s New York office. Last Man Standing started Sept. 28. Airing for six seasons on ABC before it moved to Fox, it’s about a politically conservative guy, played by Tim Allen, who works for a sporting goods chain. God Friended Me, which debuted Sept. 30, is about an atheist podcaster who is friended on social media by God.

If The Conners looks crafted for the heartland, NBC’s comedies, which include Will & Grace, whose reboot was birthed by a video the four cast members did about Trump weeks before the presidential election, are designed more for urban viewers. Pedowitz said CW hit Supernatural connects with a broad swath of the country, while Crazy Ex-Girlfriend appeals to niche viewers.

“We’re broadcasters — we’re designed to hit the whole country,” he said. “But within the whole country you’re going to hit pockets.”

The Murphy Brown reboot on CBS reaches out to both ends of the political spectrum. The premiere saw Brown, who comes out of retirement to host a cable news show, spar with President Trump on Twitter. It also featured a cameo from Hillary Clinton, who interviews to be Brown’s secretary. (“For four years I was the secretary of a very large organization,” said Clinton.)

Murphy Brown also features Brown’s son, Avery — recall that Dan Quayle derided Murphy Brown for “mocking the importance of fathers” for depicting a single mother back in 1992 — hosting his show on a rival conservative network, the Wolf Network, that features chats with regular Americans in coffee shops and bowling alleys.

Executive producer Steve Peterman, who also worked on the original show, told The New York Times the series came back because Trump is in the White House. “If Hillary Clinton was elected there’d be no artistic reason for this show to be on the air,” he said. “But because of the election, and because the position the press is now finding itself in, there were so many reasons for this show to come back.”

Yet the idea of creating a show based on what the country appears to be feeling and thinking doesn’t quite line up with the labor-intensive, time-consuming nature of producing television. Preston Beckman, former senior strategist at Fox and chairman of media consulting outfit The Beckman Group, mentions Fox brass meeting after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks to focus on how best to program to the wounded nation, before deciding they’d never be able to react in time.

“You make decisions today and implement them one or two years down the road,” Beckman said. “Who knows where the country’s head could be then?”

The fallout from Roseanne Barr’s racist Twitter comments continued Tuesday afternoon as several Viacom networks announced the removal of reruns from the original Roseanne series beginning tomorrow.

A Viacom spokesman confirmed that the Paramount Network, CMT and TV Land will discontinue its carriage of episodes from the 1990s Roseanne series beginning May 30. 

RELATED: ABC Cancels 'Roseanne' over Racist Twitter Remarks 

The decision comes after the series’ star Roseanne Barr released a racist Twitter rant earlier in the day in which she likened former President Obama adviser Valarie Jarrett to an offspring of the “Muslim Brotherhood and Planet of the Apes.”

Hours after the Tweet -- which Barr eventually removed and apologized  for -- ABC cancelled its successful Roseanne reboot, which had already been renewed for a second season.

Comedy-themed broadcast diginet service Laff also announced that it will no longer carry Roseanne episodes. The network said in a statement: “While we believe viewers have always distinguished the personal behavior of the actress Roseanne Barr from the television character Roseanne Connor, we are disgusted by Barr’s comments this week. Therefore, we are removing the original Roseanne series from the Laff schedule for the time being, effective immediately.”

ABC broadcast network did not waste any time canceling its popular comedy series Roseanne,pulling the plug on the show's second season hours after series star Roseanne Barr's racially insensitive Twitter tirade earlier this morning. 

ABC Entertainment chief Channing Dungey announced in a statement Tuesday afternoon: "Roseanne's Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show."

Barr’'s controversial Twitter remarks were directed at former President Barack Obama’s adviser Valerie Jarrett -- an African-American woman -- whom Barr referred to as the progeny of the “Muslim Brotherhood &  Planet of The Apes.”

Barr, who is no stranger to Twitter controversy, pulled the Tweet and quickly apologized, adding that she was leaving Twitter.

[embed]https://twitter.com/therealroseanne/status/1001470384556752898[/embed]

But that wasn't enough for ABC, who ultimately cancelled the series.  Disney chairman and CEO Robert Iger in a tweet called the move to cancel the series "the right thing" to do.

[embed]https://twitter.com/RobertIger/status/1001523982997143552[/embed]

The National Association for The Advancement Of Colored People also responded to Roseanne's cancellation, with NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson saying in a statement: “Roseanne Barr’s comments were appalling and reminiscent of horrific time in our history when racism was not only acceptable but promoted by Hollywood. We applaud ABC for taking a stand against racism by canceling Roseanne today. We commend the network and its president Channing Dungey for placing the values of diversity, inclusion and respect for humanity above ratings.” 

The decision comes as Roseanne – which drew a lot of viewers and media attention earlier this year – was already set to return for a second season. 

Prior to Roseanne being cancelled, actress Wanda Sykes -- who had been a consultant to the show -- sent out a tweet confirming that she would not be returning to the sitcom.

[embed]https://twitter.com/iamwandasykes/status/1001494592649342979[/embed]

Series star Sara Gilbert also sent out a Tweet condemning Barr's tweet:

[embed]https://twitter.com/THEsaragilbert/status/1001513801546530816[/embed]

Following the success of ABC’s Rosanne revival, Netflix today launched its reboot of the 1960s sci-fi drama Lost In Space.

The series, like its 1960s predecessor, follows the exploits of the Robinsons, a family chosen to explore potentially habitable planets in space as Earth becomes rapidly inhabitable. When an unforeseen accident occurs during their travels, the family is catapulted of course toward an unknown planet.

While the premiere episode sets the stage for the Robinsons’ ultimate space adventure, it provides flashbacks to show how they arrived at this setting. It also reveals other survivors, including a mischievous and deceiving Doctor Smith (Parker Posey) who will play a major role in future episodes.

Netflix’s version of the series features high-quality special effects, high drama and a sleeker, more daunting-looking and technologically-advanced robot than the cheesy model in the original series.

But ultimately the strength and appeal of Lost In Space revolves around the exploits of the Robinson’s nuclear family – parents John (Toby Stephens) and Maureen (Molly Parker) Robinson and siblings Judy (Taylor Russell), Penny (Mina Sundwall) and Will (Maxwell Jenkins).

They certainly are not the perfect family – John and Maureen were headed for divorce prior to the trip, a subtle, sibling rivalry exists between the two daughters and Will has insecurity issues – but when push comes to shove the family shelves their issues and unites around each other. The series emphasizes family unity under the duress of a crisis.

Fans of the original Lost In Space will find tidbits within Netflix’s version that they can hold on to -- including the famous “Danger, Will Robinson” line uttered by the robot -- but younger viewers who’ve never heard of the series will find enough intrigue, action and drama to enjoy binge-viewing the 10-episode drama. 

Much has been written about the inevitable demise of broadcast television in the wake of fierce competition from cable networks and streaming video services such as Netflix and Hulu.

Thus far in 2018, marquee broadcast network draws like the Academy Awards, The Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics suffered significant audience losses compared to previous iterations due to a very crowded television landscape as well as shifting viewing habits in which viewers are less likely to watch shows when they are initially scheduled.

That’s why the recent ratings success last week of CBS’ 60 Minutes and ABC’s Roseanne opened eyes within the industry. CBS’ venerable news magazine drew more than 22 million viewers for its March 25 episode – the highest audience for the series in nearly a decade -- bolstered by an exclusive interview with porn star Stormy Daniels, whose claim of an alleged sexual relationship with President Trump has recently dominated headlines.

The same week, ABC’s return of its classic comedy series Roseanne shocked many industry observers by drawing more than 18.4 million viewers for its premiere, and 21.8 million in Nielsen Live+3 ratings, according to ABC. 

The performance of the series' return to television -- now the most watched new series premiere for the 2017-18 broadcast season according to ABC -- was surprising, even as many other series reboots have performed well on the ratings front.

RELATED: Series Reboots -- Something Borrowed, Something New

ABC didn’t waste any time in renewing Roseanne for an 11th season on Friday.

Both shows benefited from huge promotional buildup heading into their respective premieres, which obviously helped generate interest from casual viewers as well as hard-core fans of both veteran franchises.

The results show that unique or special event programming can still draw in huge viewership on linear television despite declining network  audiences. Time will tell if Roseanne can maintain its strong ratings momentum throughout its nine-episode run, but its off to a promising start.

Live sports and news programming have proven to be consistent ratings draws for broadcast networks; 60 Minutes and Roseanne showed that water cooler-worthy event programming can also ring the ratings bell for traditional television in the age of video streaming. 

While a handful of high-profile rebooted shows have helped anchor the broadcast schedule this season, including NBC comedy Will & Grace, CBS cop drama SWAT and The CW’s soapy Dynasty, a couple more major rethinkings of beloved series are on tap to debut in the coming weeks. American Idol makes its premiere on ABC March 11, and comedy Roseanne debuts on that network March 27.

Related: Something Borrowed, Something New

Many believe the reboot trend is simply a function of it being harder and harder for a show to stand out among the many offerings on broadcast, cable and streaming, with a familiar title having a better chance to make itself known among distracted viewers. Others feel TV watchers are simply missing the simpler days of television viewing in a previous era. “Folks are looking to kinder and gentler times, a sense of nostalgia,” media consultant Bill Carroll said. “There’s so much controversy these days; there seems to be a division in the culture.”

TV pundits such as Carroll are quick to point out there are two types of rebooted shows. One, which includes Will & Grace and Roseanne, reassembles the cast and key writers and producers. Another, as is the case with SWAT, which originally ran on ABC in 1975 and ’76, brings back the title and concept, but with a new cast and behind-the-scenes team.

The rookie reboots are a mixed bag. Will & Grace, which first aired on NBC from 1998-2006, has averaged 9.8 million viewers this season, and a 3.1 live-plus-7 rating in viewers 18-49, earning a renewal. SWAT has averaged 9.9 million viewers and a 1.8 rating in 18-49. Dynasty is averaging 1.1 million viewers and a 0.3 in adults 18-49 on a live-plus-7 basis.

American Idol, which had its farewell season on Fox in 2016, looks to be a mix of old and new elements. Carroll says its success is reliant on two dynamics: how the judges, Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan, connect with viewers, and if the show can unearth a batch of talented and charismatic contestants for Idol fans to feel passionate for. “Lightning has to strike in two ways,” he said.

Trish Kinane, president of entertainment programming at Idol producer FremantleMedia North America, believes the judges will connect with viewers. “They bring a completely different vibe to the show,” Kinane said. “They very much bring their own style to it.”

Preston Beckman, former Fox executive vice president of strategic program planning and research and chairman of The Beckman Group consultancy, said an Idol that sticks pretty close to what worked on Fox will yield the best ratings. “I don’t think it will come back significantly higher than where it left off,” he said. “But it will do better than whatever ABC would put on in that time period if they didn’t have American Idol.”

Sampling for the new Idol should be sky high. The return of host Ryan Seacrest helps it stick close to its original formula, though the sexual harassment allegations aimed at him by a former stylist may turn some viewers away.

Beckman said ABC is also well-positioned for a strong debut for Roseanne, which comes from Carsey-Werner Television. The network is up for nine episodes, with the original cast, including Roseanne Barr, John Goodman, Sara Gilbert and Laurie Metcalf, back in the mix.

“I think it will open to a pretty good number,” Beckman said. “ABC has good middle-America comedies.”

Bergen Back as Brown
Also in the works in terms of remade shows is a redo of Murphy Brown, with CBS saying yes to 13 episodes for the 2018-19 season. Murphy Brown starred Candice Bergen as an investigative journalist and hard-nosed host of a newsmag, originally airing on CBS from 1988-98.

CBS has also ordered pilots for Cagney & Lacey, about a pair of female detectives in Los Angeles, and Magnum P.I., from Peter Lenkov, who helped bring Hawaii Five-0 back to CBS in 2010. Other reincarnated series include The X-Files and The Exorcist on Fox, MacGyver on CBS, and Battle of the Network Stars and The Gong Show on ABC.

Beckman said reboots are hardly new, though the trend perhaps stands out more in a TV landscape where so many networks must fill countless hours with original stuff. “It’s always been part of television’s tradition,” he said.