Despite Roseanne making fun of fellow ABC comedy black-ish by reducing its importance as a show about marginalized struggles, the show has fallen in the ratings since its one-week break.
The revival series garnered 10.3 million total viewers, meaning it’s down 23 percent in total viewers and 26 percent in its key demographic. The series has also dropped to a 2.5 rating, a half point down from its revival premiere.
Technically, Roseanne still beat out its competition, but the show is proving that its strength can be tested and broken; you’d think a one week break should make people, especially hardcore fans, eager to catch up on the storyline. Instead, Roseanne‘s base didn’t show up in expected numbers.
Compare that to black-ish, which did better for itself this week. It brought in 4.6 million viewers and rated 1.2, which is an improvement in its total viewers. While it didn’t best other shows, the uptick proves that black-ish is still relevant and still entertaining, regardless of what type of jokes Roseanne might try to make about it. Since black-ish is considered an easy renewal for a fifth season, there will be time for black-ish to come back on top.