President Trump called Roseanne Barr, congratulated her on ratings success

The revival of “Roseanne” debuted to the second-best ratings of any scripted TV episode all year — and it looks like President Donald Trump took notice.

According to the New York Times, President Trump called Roseanne Barr, the creator and star of “Roseanne” and an avid supporter of the President, to congratulate her on the revival’s success.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed the call. The New York Times cited a source who said Trump was “enthralled” with “Roseanne’s” “huge” ratings, and the President also thanked Barr for her support. The show earned 18.2 million viewers, second only to the post-Super Bowl episode of “This Is Us,” which earned 26.97 million viewers.

The revival of “Roseanne” features many of the original’s characters, including Barr, Sara Gilbert, and John Goodman. Roseanne is a Trump supporter in the show, with her TV sister Jackie Harris (Laurie Metcalf) written as a Hillary supporter.

At the revival’s premiere, executive producer Whitney Cummings said the show aims to be about “the circumstances that led to the current administration” rather than the administration itself. “We’re not talking about Mueller and Trump and Russia, we’re talking about not having healthcare and just the circumstances of a heartland, blue collar family.”

“There’s a lot of blue collar families and not a lot of blue collar shows,” said star and now executive producer Gilbert. “I think people who end up in writing rooms sometimes don’t come from that background or they lose touch with that background and write stories that tell of more privilege. I think there’s a lot of people who don’t feel represented on television.”

Related stories

Sara Gilbert on 'Roseanne' Ratings Success: 'Broadcast TV Is Not Dead'

Our Staff Picks: TV Shows to Watch the Week of March 26, 2018

'Roseanne' Cast Says Reboot Is About More Than Politics, Aims for Blue Collar Representation

Subscribe to Variety Newsletters and Email Alerts!