Back in October of 1988, one of the most iconic—and controversial!—sitcoms of all time premiered on ABC. When it first launched, Roseanne was a show that was meant to serve as an honest portrayal of what it was like to raise kids in Middle America. Almost immediately, it gained a loyal fan base, largely due in part to the star, Roseanne Barr, a real-life Midwest mom who, before achieving incredible success in comedy, was living a working-class life in Colorado.

Barr’s authentic voice, both in the writing of the show, as well as the acting, helped make the sitcom legendary—it won slews of Emmys and was frequently the ratings winner…

And, speaking of ratings winner, the recent reboot of the classic show sure did not disappoint in that department. On its March 27th premiere, Roseanne pretty much killed the competition! Its network, ABC, announced that roughly 18.2 million viewers tuned in to see what the Connor family had been up to for the past 20 years.

Now, if you know anything about Nielsen ratings, then we’re guessing that your mouth is pretty much on the floor right now. Because network television viewership has been on a slow, steady decline over the years, it’s VERY rare to see numbers so high.

In fact, the last time that this came close to happening was The Big Bang Theory’s season premiere back in 2014. This means that this recent Roseanne reboot show was the highest rated comedy episode to air on ANY network in the past four years. Pret-ty incredible, if you ask us!

In response to the phenomenal turn-out, the star herself tweeted her appreciation to her legions of die-hard fans:

What the President had to say about Roseanne’s big news

It’s been a shocking week for Roseanne Barr: 1) A reboot of her sitcom that ended over 20 years ago had a blockbuster premiere that no one saw coming and 2) Donald Trump congratulated her for it.

Sure, it may sound like the zany plotline of one of the show’s episodes, but it’s true. The President of the United States actually took time out of his schedule to pay attention to Roseanne’s ratings—and he even found a way to take the credit for it!

In a campaign rally in Ohio, Trump said this about Roseanne’s record-breaking premier: “Look at Roseanne! I called her yesterday. Look at her ratings!” the President cheered. “They were unbelievable! Over 18 million people! And it was about us [the Trump administration]!”

Although Trump didn’t elaborate on why he feels that he, himself, should be celebrating alongside the Roseanne cast and crew, it might have something to do with Roseanne Barr voicing her support for the President on a late-night show just days earlier.

Yep, folks, truth IS stranger than fiction…

We’d love to hear your thoughts on all things Roseanne. Were you a fan of the original show? If so, what do you think of the reboot? Are you surprised that Donald Trump weighed in on the ratings news?