- (Mark) Morning, Granny Rose. - I grew up watching this as a kid,
so watching it now is just-- it's kind of surreal, actually.
- (Roseanne) Not on the real news!
- Oh my god, 'cause fake news.
♪ (industrial intro) ♪
♪ (slow blues music) ♪ - Oh my gosh. Is this--
Oh! What show is this?
- I have no idea what it is. I just know her name's Roseanne.
- Roseanne is back. That's right!
- Oh, Roseanne.
- Ah. Roseanne. I love....
We just watched the first episode.
- Honestly, I could just vibe to this music.
- I did love this show back in the day.
- I have such a pure love for family sitcoms
that are dysfunctionally wacky!
- Ever since Full House did the Fuller House,
all these old shows are coming back.
- (Roseanne laughing) - Isn't that her signature laugh?
- She still sounds the same. Oh my gosh, that takes me back.
- I actually love television theme songs.
I'm kind of a nerd when it comes to that,
and this is one that I would listen to all the time.
- (FBE) So that was the opening for the new season of Roseanne.
- Yeah. - I guess I was a kid
when it was really in its heyday.
- Growing up as I did in kind of a smaller town,
you could relate to the Connors,
and I think that it's good that they're back.
- Roseanne's been tweetin' some stuff that I don't agree with,
and so, I thought, I'm not giving her my money this time.
- I never watched the show. I just didn't--
didn't strike me at all.
- (FBE) The show originally ran from 1988 to 1997,
so we have the original opening to show you now.
- It ran that long?
♪ (slow blues music) ♪ - Looks like the same.
- It's pretty much the same.
Still them going around the table, which is brilliant.
- It makes sense. Why would you change
your iconic thing when that's what people know it as?
- I grew up watching this as a kid, so watching it now is just--
it's kind of surreal, actually.
- It's a reflection of the times in a big way.
- The hairstyles, the clothing.
I was trying to tell me kids, this is what it was like
(laughs) when I was a kid.
- And the laugh again.
- You look at the world right now, and you're like, it's so chaotic.
I wish we could go back to the simpler times.
I'm actually getting a little teary-eyed,
a little misty-eyed thinking about it.
- (FBE) We now have some clips from the earlier episodes
of the new season to show you. - Okay, cool.
- I know I'm gonna love them. Dammit!
- (Jackie) Okay, you guys have got to talk this out...
- (chuckles) "Nasty woman."
- Aw, gotta love Laurie Metcalf, man.
- (Jackie) Knee still giving you trouble, Roseanne?
Why don't you get that fixed with the new health care
all you suckers got promised? - (studio audience) Oh!
- (Roseanne) It works good enough to kick your ass, snowflake.
- Oh, that's a zinger.
- (Jackie) All you people go straight to the violence.
- Wow. - (Roseanne) Oh, that's such
a stereotype. - (Jackie huffs)
- (Roseanne) Where are you going?
- (Dan) I just realized we got kids in the house,
and I can't remember where we hid our gun.
(studio audience laughs) - (laughs) Ha-ho! Ah!
I love it. That's my kind of humor, though.
- I wanna watch this show for the lady wearing
the "Nasty woman" shirt.
- There are families out there that probably are dealing with this
where you have Trump supporters and Hillary supporters,
and sometimes people don't know how to handle it,
because it becomes very emotional.
- (Mark) Good morning, Granny Rose.
- Morning, Mark. - (Mark) Morning, Grandpa.
- (Dan) Morning, son.
- (Darlene) Oh, come here. I gotta fix your hair.
You got a little piece. - (chuckles) His eyes.
- (Roseanne) Darlene says just ignore it.
He's "exploring." - Ohhh.
- (Dan) May the winds fill his sails and carry him
to the boys' section of Target. - (chuckles) Wow.
So they really are touching on everything.
- They wanna be relevant, and what's going on now,
being more acceptable of what this kid is trying to do.
- I appreciate the fact that she's bringing all these issues to light.
It's working. That would be something that would bring me in.
- (Jackie) How could you have voted for him, Roseanne?
- (Roseanne) He talked about jobs, Jackie.
He said he'd shake things up! - I'm assuming they're talking
about Trump? - (Roseanne) I mean, this might come
as a complete shock to you, but we almost lost our house
the way things are going. - (Jackie) Have you looked
at the news? 'Cause now things are worse.
- (Roseanne) Not on the real news. - Oh my god, 'cause fake news.
- Oh, the real news and the fake news.
- Being able to bring humor to that I think is really important,
because whether they have two polarizing viewpoints,
it still brings 'em together and hopefully has a discussion
and ultimately a resolution. - (Jackie) You just can't stand
for anybody to have their own opinion...
- Ah! I loved this part.
- (Jackie) So you tell 'em how stupid they are all the time,
and you get them to question what they believe in their heart
is the right thing to do until they make some enormous mistake
that tears America apart and brings the world
to the brink of nuclear apocalypse! - (chuckles) Oh my gosh.
- (Jackie) I didn't mean to imply that you're some right-wing jackass.
I should've tried to understand why you voted the crazy way
that you did. - Oh my god.
That's what us liberals do. (laughs) We don't stop.
- (Roseanne) ...understood that, you know, you want the government
to give everybody free health care 'cause you're a good-hearted person
who can't do simple math. - Ugh.
(inhales deeply) Ugh!
Watching them two go at it reminds me of discussions
that I've had with people who just will not budge
about any viewpoint. - They're just taking jabs.
They need to sign up for one of those YouTube fights.
- It wasn't super leaning in one direction.
It was just a character who supports Trump
and a character who doesn't, and they were arguing.
- It's good to have conversations about this.
And what I hate the most is when people don't wanna
have conversations, because their minds are so made up.
- (Roseanne) Okay, I'm gonna ask you something...
- I love this scene a lot.
- (Roseanne) I think you can handle it.
Do you feel like you're a boy or a girl?
- (Mark) A boy. - Wow.
- (Roseanne) So what's up with the girls' clothes?
- (Mark) This just feels like me.
I like colors that pop. - I mean, I do too.
- (Roseanne) You've got to pick your fights in life.
How important is this to you?
- (Mark) It's important. - Aww.
- (Roseanne) Well, you know it's gonna be rough on you
at school, right? But we'll back ya up.
- That's [bleep] good.
- That is not where I thought the conversation was gonna go.
I thought she was gonna be more hard-lined
and say you can or cannot do this, etc.
But I was surprised and rather happy that it did go that way.
- It's a good, honest conversation to have.
If this is something you feel strongly about,
I'm gonna back you up.
- I was writing it off before I really gave it a chance,
but I did love the original, and it really did deal
with society's issues. And it looks like the reboot
is doing the same thing, so maybe I'll give it a chance
and try to listen to the other side.
- (FBE) So the first episode of the Roseanne reboot
received massive views. - Yeah, I mean,
there was a lot of people that liked the show.
- (FBE) 18 million people tuned into the premiere.
It was so popular that the show is already renewed
for a second season after just one episode.
- Wow.
- Is there nothing else to watch on TV?
- What do you think it is about the show
that made it so popular that after 20 years of the air,
it could get those kind of numbers?
- (sighs) I really just think it's about the fact
that they're addressing current issues.
- This show is just taking a different stance,
the opposite way than what most Hollywood really goes
with their movies and TV shows.
- Hollywood is generally more left-leaning and stuff,
and this is kind of showing the opposite end of the spectrum.
And that's not shown in a lot of programs,
so anybody leaning in the other direction
finally feels like they have a voice.
- It's hitting on some real [bleep]. We're talking about this.
These are active conversations that people are having every day.
And it's showing a glimpse of inside the homes
of many people in America.
- (FBE) Roseanne follows the everyday life of the Connors,
a working class American family.
Some feel part of the reason the show is so popular
is because Roseanne is playing a Trump supporter,
and in her real life, Roseanne has also
been a vocal Trump supporter. So some feel the show is appealing
to people who feel the same way. - I could see that for sure.
- As long as the show is addressing social issues
in the right manner and keeping an open mind,
and hopefully making people have an open mind about it,
then I think it's great. - (FBE) There's been a lot
of controversy around this show with those who are
opposing the reboot, saying that it is, quote, "pro Trump,"
and that it'll be a weekly lecture on how Trump is great,
while others are saying that despite her political views,
the show is showcasing the current times
and the viewpoints from both parties
considering how progressive the show is
with all the other issues it addresses.
- Yeah. It's actually more fair than I--
I didn't give it a fair shot. Maybe it's more just,
you know, what good TV does, which is reflect
what's going on in society.
- I don't wanna watch it, because I know
she's a Trump supporter. But it's, like,
after seeing those clips, you do see that
there's different views on what's happening right now.
- I don't really identify with, you know, a Republican viewpoint,
but I have older family members that do.
And I think it's relatable that you've got that dynamic.
- I didn't feel like those views were being shoved in my face.
I thought it was kind of universal.
No matter what your political view is, you could be entertained by it.
- (FBE) The show explores various sensitive topics,
such as Roseanne's grandson, who insists on dressing
in girls' clothing, but still identifies himself as a boy
as well as the different political viewpoints within the family
with Roseanne and her sister at opposing ends
of the political spectrum. Some are saying that there are
similarities to the show "All in the Family,"
being that Roseanne is almost anti-conservative,
because it shows the extreme sides of the political parties,
and in general, is focusing on issues that American families
have always had. - Oh, Archie Bunker, yeah.
It definitely has elements of that.
- Any show, I think, that addresses a controversial issue
is gonna be under the magnifying glass.
And I'm sure "All in the Family," different time, no internet,
no social media. You know, I'm sure people were talking about it,
but not to the extent that obviously we'll be talking about Roseanne.
- I do think that's exactly what good sitcoms do.
They do tackle some really hard-- bring levity and even humor
into some really hard topics.
- (FBE) Finally, Roseanne ran for nine years in a different era.
After seeing a little bit from the show today,
do you think the sitcom will be able to survive that long
in today's climate? - Yeah. I mean,
I think we're in such a weird time with politics, and anything
that is going to be so heavily political
is gonna get so many views.
- If 18 million people watched the first episode,
then it definitely has the potential to go nine seasons.
- I just don't think in the climate that we have in television
that it's gonna last as long.
- It's gonna be like the flavor of the month.
It probably will be very hot this season,
but depending on what the political climate is
and the social climate is, it could tail off,
and people will just get tired of it.
- Thanks so much for watching this episode of Adults React.
And shoutout to ZReidSingz.
- Subscribe if you wanna see more episodes,
and shoutout to Maggie Pearce.
- Thanks for watching. Bye.
- Hey, guys. Vartuhi here, producer at FBE.
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