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Pro-Trump comedy 'Roseanne' soars to huge opening ratings. Even President Trump is stoked
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FILE - In this image released by ABC, Roseanne Barr, left, and John Goodman appear in a scene from the reboot of "Roseanne," premiering on Tuesday at 8 p.m. EST. For the reboot, Roseanne will be at odds with her sister Jackie, played by Laurie Metcalf, over President Donald Trump. Barr said she thought it was important to show how the Conner family deals with the same issues many American families are facing. (Adam Rose/ABC via AP, File) - photo by Herb Scribner
Roseanne is back and its pro-Trump stance seems to have garnered some viewership, attention and praise.

The hit ABC reboot show debuted after a 20-year hiatus on Tuesday night, earning a 5.1 rating in the 18- to 49-year-old demographic with a total of 18.1 million viewers, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The high viewership made the Roseanne reboot the highest-rated regularly scheduled scripted show of the last few seasons, as well as the highest-rated sitcom in recent memory, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The numbers are high for a sitcom. In fact, NBCs reboot of Will and Grace earned a 3.0 rating with 10 million viewers in its premiere last season, THR reported.

The only competition for Roseanne numbers was The Voice on NBC, which earned a 1.6 rating, THR reported.

President Donald Trump called Barr to congratulate her on the television shows successful relaunch.

It was about the most exciting thing ever, and it was just very sweet of him to congratulate us, Barr said on "Good Morning America."

The show made headlines over the last year when actress Roseanne Barr, who has been outspoken about her support for President Donald Trump, said that her character on the Roseanne show would also be a Trump supporter.

The opening episode jumped right into pro-Trump politics. According to Fox News, Roseanne and character Aunt Jackie (Laurie Metcalf) hadnt spoken since the 2016 election, when Roseanne voted for Trump and Jackie voted for Hillary Clinton though the two candidates were never explicitly mentioned by name.

The two characters try to mend their severed relationship, but it falls apart when Roseanne calls Jackie a snowflake.

According to Fox News, eventually Jackie breaks down and admits that Roseannes constant questioning of the Democratic candidate put seeds of doubt in her head. She even admits to voting for Jill Stein and blames herself for being part of the reason Trump got elected.

Still, Roseanne has received high praise from reviewers, according to CNN.

In fact, TV critic James Poniewozik wrote for The New York Times that the show succeeds thanks to its vintage behaviors.

"Close your eyes, and you could be listening to vintage 'Roseanne.' This is good and bad. The series's voice is intact, but the zinger-based dialogue and rhythms can feel dated," he wrote. "But the beauty of the show's language is how many feelings those zingers can communicate."

Meanwhile Kevin Fallon of The Daily Beast wrote that Roseanne is a proactive change of pace for modern television, offering a show that takes most viewers outside their comfort zones.

He said the show doesnt lean left or right, but it presents another side to politics that mainstream television networks often ignore.

No ones ideology is ruled the right one or the wrong one, though this may be the sole TV show in which its the protagonist who is a Trump supporter, he wrote. Were being dragged out of our echo chambers and, albeit with the soundtrack of a studio audience laughter, forced to hear another side of the conversation one that, by the way, reflects the point of view of a large swath of the country.
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