Roseanne's Nuts

Roseanne's Nuts premiered on Lifetime Television on July 13, 2011, with two half-hour episodes.^[18] The show became Lifetime's fourth most-watched unscripted series launch in total viewers, adults 18–49 and adults 25–54.^[19] The first episode drew 1,638,000 viewers with an 18–49 Rating/Share of 0.7.^[19][2] The second episode retained 90% of the first episode lead-in for the key demos and was watched by 1,488,000 viewers with a Rating/Share of 0.6.^[19][2]

During its second week the first episode brought in 1,037,000 viewers with a Rating/Share of 0.4, a three-point decrease from the premiere. The second episode remained at a 0.4 Rating/Share with 977,000 viewers. It did the same as repeats of Pawn Stars that aired before Rosanne's Nuts, but Pawn Stars had more total viewers.^[3] During its sixth week it dropped to 711,000 viewers, losing more than half its premiere audience and scoring a 0.3 Rating/Share.^[7] The season finale brought in 629,000 viewers with a 0.2 Rating/Share.^[12]

Lifetime sent only the first episode to critics in advance.^[20] Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times wrote a positive review. She said, "There are no overproduced glamorous outings, no sound-track manipulated showdowns, no manufactured feuds — everyone in the pilot has the easy genial mien of friends helping out an odd but beloved neighbor. There's even a trio of local musicians providing a transitional tune", calling the result, "occasionally weird, occasionally hilarious show that is simultaneously a window into the life of an eccentric performer and a wickedly fun send-up of the genre, dating all the way to Paris Hilton and The Simple Life. She also compared a scene in the first episode where Barr hunts wild pigs to Sarah Palin's Alaska as a spoof.^[21]

David Wiegand of the San Francisco Chronicle gave a positive review and welcomed Barr back to television. He wrote: "She's foulmouthed, abrasive and suffers absolutely nothing gladly. Yet, as always, her own foibles crack her up as much as they do her boyfriend or visiting eldest son. The fact that she's completely unafraid to hold herself up to ridicule endears her to her audience". He also noted that a reality show format "probably fits Barr better than, say, another sitcom [...]". He ended his review: "The wild pigs might not want to stick around, but the rest of us should be willing to give Roseanne's Nuts a shot for a few episodes, at least.^[20] Scott D. Pierce of The Salt Lake Tribune wrote in his review, "As reality shows go, Roseanne's Nuts is pretty mild. Oh, she's bleeped a lot. And there's some blurring of nudity. (Ick.) But mostly it's just Roseanne being Roseanne on a macadamia nut farm".^[22]

Brian Lowry of Variety gave the show a negative review saying, "Like so many former primetime titans, it's perplexing to see Barr reduced to this [...]" and "Why Barr wanted to participate in this sort of "celebreality" unscripted sitcom—especially if she hates Hollywood as much as she says—is a little less obvious, especially since she professes not to need the money and, given her syndication bounty, shouldn't".^[23] David Hinckley of the Daily News gave it two out of five stars. He said, "Roseanne fans will be reassured, though not surprised, to hear that she sounds and acts exactly the same on the plantation as she did on her sitcom set".^[24]

• Roseanne's Nuts at IMDb