Kevin James Doubted Ray Romano's Sitcom Success. Here’s Why
Actor and comedian Kevin James was pretty much convinced that Ray Romano wouldn't be successful on a sitcom.
"I couldn't believe it, because he's such a low-energy guy," James said on a recent episode of the Sibling Revelry podcast. "Sitcom guys were, to me, like the big, wacky [characters]. I'm like this, this is death. It's not gonna happen."
As it turns out, James was wrong. Everybody Loves Raymond ended up being wildly successful since its premiere in 1996. The show ran for nine incredible seasons and picked up 15 Emmys until it wrapped in 2005.
Kevin James Struggled Getting 'King of Queens' off the Ground
James recalled starting his own sitcom, The King of Queens, two years later. And while he may have been confident, given Romano's success, things didn't really click right away.
"The first few years of going with Ray — even when our shows came out, we'd go to the CBS functions and things like that. Red carpet things were so rough because they knew him, but my show had just come out, so they're taking a thousand pictures of Ray," James admitted.
"It was tough," he continued. "[Romano] was so good on his sitcom, and the way he threw things away. I was like, 'Wow. I have to watch him and learn from him, because I'm gonna be too big on camera. So even in the King of Queens, when I see episodes now, I'm like, 'Throw it away, kid. What are you doing?' I'm like, 'Gee whiz. I wish I could go back and redo it.'"
Fortunately for James, King of Queens also ended up being a success. The series, which premiered in 1998, didn't win any Emmys but had serious staying power, running for nine total seasons.
Ray Romano Won't Be Doing an 'Everybody Loves Raymond' Reboot
Romano has no interest in revamping Everybody Loves Raymond.
"No, there won’t be a reboot,” Romano told the New York Post in June. "The obvious is Peter [Boyle] and Doris [Roberts] and one of the kids — they’re no longer with us. We’re all heartbroken. They’re a big part of the show, the dynamic. Without them, I don’t know what the dynamic is. We love the show too much, we respect it too much to even try to do it."
Meanwhile, James returned to the sitcom world in 2016 with Kevin Can Wait. Though not a direct King of Queens spinoff, the show mirrored much of the same comedy and also featured James' longtime friend and King of Queens co-star, Leah Remini.
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