Beloved sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond will “never” be getting a reboot, according to star Ray Romano.
The comedy starred Romano as Raymond “Ray” Barone, an Italian-American sportswriter living on Long Island and negotiating the day-to-day issues surrounding his family and friends.
The series ran for nine seasons from 1996 to 2005, and at its peak was watched by 20million households in America alone. The show also won 15 Emmy Awards, and reruns air around the world to this day.
Considered a classic of the genre, many fans have wondered whether a reboot would be on the horizon, given the revivals of sitcoms like Roseanne, Frasier, and Will & Grace in recent years. However, the show’s creator/star Romano shut down any talk of a return immediately during a televised cast reunion.
The comedian joined co-creator Phil Rosenthal, as well as cast members Patricia Heaton, Brad Garrett, Monica Horan, and Sullivan Sweeten for Everybody Loves Raymond: 30th Anniversary Reunion, broadcast yesterday (November 24) in front of a live studio audience.
“Let’s get one thing out of the way — this is a reunion” Romano said, with Rosenthal adding: “Not a reboot.” “We’re never going to do one, because we’re missing three cast members, three family members,” Romano explained. “We’d never try to do the show without them.”
The cast members in question are Peter Boyle and Doris Roberts, who played Romano’s onscreen parents, as well as Sawyer Sweeten, who played one of his sons. Boyle died shortly after the show’s end in 2006, while Sweeten and Roberts passed away in 2015 and 2016 respectively.
“It wouldn’t be the same,” Rosenthal continued. “We have too much respect for the show itself and for the beautiful audience. … And thankfully, the show is still on every day, all over the world.”
Elsewhere in the reunion, the group shared their favourite episodes of the show, as well as an anecdote where Rosenthal claimed he discovered Romano “in bed”, watching the comedian perform on a late-night TV show.
One sitcom that will be getting a revival is Malcolm In The Middle, with star Frankie Muniz recently sharing a behind-the-scenes look at the new episodes.
