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The Roseanne revival upends the tv industry—and gives ABC its first no. 1 show in 24 years.

- Jason Lynch

It only took a few moments for Disney-ABC’s upfront presentation last Tuesday to morph in Roseanne Barr lovefest.

With the surprise breakout success of ABC’s Roseanne revival less than two months earlier, the network felt as if it had won the lottery—ending up with the season’s No. 1 entertainment show among adults 18-49 for the first time in 24 years—and took great pleasure in reveling in its unexpected good fortune in front of the assembled buyers at New York’s Lincoln Center. “If anyone came to play a drinking game based on how many times we mention Roseanne, you’re welcome,” said Ben Sherwood, co-chairman of Disney Media Networks and president of Disney-ABC Television Group.

From opening the event with a surprisingly strong taped performance of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” in front of American Idol’s judges (“I was glad to be able to sing well in public. That’s taken me about 30 years to get over what happened before,” Barr told Adweek, referring to her infamously horrific rendition of the national anthem at a 1990 San Diego Padres game) to joking onstage that Sherwood is “the guy that really writes most of my tweets,” Barr could do no wrong in front of buyers and network execs. The adoration she and the cast have received since the premiere, says Barr, is “very gratifying.”

What a difference a year makes. During last year’s upfront presentation, buyers weren’t sure what to make of the Roseanne cast’s awkward appearance, and wondered whether ABC had made a mistake in bringing back the sitcom—about the blue-collar Conner family, struggling to make ends meet in fictional Lanford, Ill.—after a two-decade hiatus.