‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ is more than just a saying, 30 years on

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Last month in Los Angeles, fans packed a studio at CBS Television City for a special event: a reunion with the cast of the hit show “Everybody Loves Raymond.” The gathering, a live taping of a 90-minute 30th anniversary celebration, will air on CBS this Monday.

Kim Brazier, a dedicated fan who traveled from Gulfport, Mississippi, described attending as a dream come true. She explained that ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ is the only show she watches, enjoying it constantly – while getting ready in the morning and even as a relaxing way to fall asleep.

Everybody Loves Raymond was a hugely popular sitcom that aired from 1996 to 2005. It humorously portrayed the everyday life of the Barone family. Ray Romano played Ray, a sports writer, and Patricia Heaton played his wife, Debra. Together, they raised three children, dealing with the usual challenges of marriage and parenthood. Things were often complicated by Ray’s parents, Marie and Frank, and his brother Robert, a police officer – both of whom lived nearby and were always getting involved in the family’s business.

The reunion was filled with warm memories as Ray Romano and the show’s creator, Phil Rosenthal, filmed a special episode in a set that looked exactly like the living room viewers had come to know and love. Romano even brought the original Barone couch – which he now owns – back from his house to make the set perfect.

Throughout the afternoon, the actors came onto the stage individually, joining the panel one at a time. This included Monica Horan, who famously played Amy, Robert’s love interest on the show.

The group fondly remembered their time working together, sharing stories about their favorite episodes. Throughout the conversation, clips played on nearby screens, including a collection of bloopers where Romano and Garrett’s funny improvisations made the rest of the cast laugh. Everyone – Rosenthal, the cast, and the audience – watched with smiles, happily reliving those special moments.

About ten days after the initial discussions, Romano described returning to the set in a Zoom interview with Rosenthal. He said it was a deeply emotional and almost dreamlike experience. At first, it felt incredibly strange, like stepping back in time. But after they started joking around and relaxed, it quickly felt like they’d never been away.

Similar to the reunion special, the original series was filmed with a live audience present. This was intentional, as the creators wanted to feel the energy of the room and hear the audience’s reactions to the jokes. As Ray Romano explains, they had comedians and comedy writers on staff and really wanted to hear the laughs.

The show was filled with laughter. According to Rosenthal, the cast frequently had to wait for the audience’s laughter to subside after a joke. Sometimes, the laughter was so prolonged that it had to be removed during editing. The audience only fell silent when Ray Romano genuinely needed them to – once, he accidentally cut his hand while filming a cheese-cutting scene, required stitches at the hospital, and then came back to complete the episode.

On stage, Romano shared how the show came about, tracing its roots back to his 1995 stand-up debut on “Late Show with David Letterman.” He described a five-minute set centered on the challenges of parenting young children and how it shifted his comedic focus. He recalled that the most recent joke he’d written was from when his twin sons were babies—a bit about using his car keys to make them giggle, which he acted out for the audience. After the crowd laughed, he playfully added, “I’m glad you found that funny, because if you hadn’t, I would’ve had to rub my nose on your stomachs!”

Rosenthal, who was a writer for the TV show “Coach” at the time, was watching Romano perform with his wife, Horan. They both immediately connected with the comedy. “I was laughing hysterically,” Rosenthal recalls. “We had just become parents, and his jokes felt very real to what we were going through.”

Two weeks after Letterman’s company offered Romano a deal, he and Rosenthal started working on the sitcom together, combining their different styles. Rosenthal explains that the show became a mix of his experience with sitcoms and Romano’s insistence on authenticity. He emphasizes that everything needed to feel genuine. “It had to be real and honest,” Rosenthal says. “We didn’t want to force laughs. Our writers had a rule: ‘Is this believable?’ We always asked ourselves if we were pushing things too far and risking the audience losing connection with the show.”

The show was inspired by the creators’ personal experiences. The Barone children were modeled after Romano’s own siblings, and jokes from his appearances on Letterman were woven into the scripts. The character of Robert was based on Romano’s brother, a police officer in New York City. In fact, his brother’s jokingly resentful comment after Romano won an award – “Everybody loves Raymond” – became the show’s title and a memorable line delivered by Robert in the very first episode.

Ray’s television mother was inspired by Rosenthal’s own mom, with a little bit of Ray Romano’s mother mixed in. Rosenthal jokingly shared at a celebration that his mother always claimed the character was an over-the-top portrayal of her.

A photo shows Phil Rosenthal and Ray Romano standing on the set of the TV show “Everybody Loves Raymond,” which has been rebuilt to look as it did during the original series. The photo was taken by Sonja Flemming for CBS.

In the series, Brad Garrett starred as Ray’s brother, while Patricia Heaton played his wife, Debra. (Photo: Sonja Flemming / CBS)

Around twenty actresses auditioned for the role of Ray’s wife, but Patricia Heaton really stood out. She was the only one who actually kissed Ray Romano during the audition – all the other actresses just pretended to. It wasn’t until a cast reunion years later that Heaton found out she was the only one who had actually kissed him!

The reunion brought to light that Romano was surprised by Garrett’s role as Robert. Romano’s actual brother is shorter, but Garrett stands at 6 feet 8 inches tall, which led Romano to playfully suggest they’d accidentally cast two brothers in the show.

You know, it’s funny how things work in Hollywood. Apparently, my wife, who’s a fantastic actress, almost didn’t get the part of Amy. I was super careful not to even hint that she should be considered, because I didn’t want anyone thinking I was playing favorites. It wasn’t me who suggested her, actually! One of the writers on the show was the one who really championed her for the role, which I was really grateful for.

The reunion paid tribute to the late actors Boyle and Roberts, who passed away in 2006 and 2016. The filming happened around what would have been Boyle’s 90th birthday, and his wife, Lorraine, was there to see it. Ray Romano shared that Boyle was a much warmer person than his famously grumpy character, Frank. Romano recalled Boyle giving him advice during a nervous first rehearsal: “Relax – just let it flow, like water.”

I always thought of Ms. Roberts as the mother figure of the show, both on and off camera. She was famous for making huge pots of soup for everyone in her dressing room and really taking care of us all. I remember her being incredibly professional and always looking out for me – she’d even gently point it out if someone was accidentally blocking my light during filming. She was so protective!

A touching moment occurred later when Madylin Sweeten and her younger brother, Sullivan, who played Ray and Debra’s children Ally and Michael Barone, joined the discussion. Madylin was just five years old when the show started, and Sullivan was only sixteen months old. Sadly, Sullivan’s twin brother, Sawyer, who played Michael’s twin, Geoffrey, passed away by suicide in 2015, shortly before turning twenty.

Sullivan spoke fondly of his brother, Sawyer, explaining he focuses on happy memories, many of which were made while filming their show. Madylin added that she and Sullivan volunteer with the National Suicide Prevention Hotline, and emphasized that the majority of people who reach out for help ultimately survive.

Now a 34-year-old mother, Madylin thought back to her childhood on a popular TV show. She admitted she didn’t fully understand how significant the show was at the time, recalling being disappointed one year when work commitments kept her from being in a school play. Watching old footage of her and her siblings on stage brought tears to her eyes, especially seeing her brother Sawyer as a child.

It was clear why the actors felt like a true family. Their strong connection and natural chemistry were evident throughout the studio, and it’s a bond that continues to this day.

Rosenthal explains that after working with someone for nine years, it’s special to maintain that connection. Romano agrees, saying he and Phil see each other frequently, and Rosenthal adds that their families even vacation together. They also mentioned having recently had lunch with some of the show’s writers.

The cast clearly loves working together, and the fans who came to the taping were just as enthusiastic. The audience laughed, cheered, and applauded throughout the show, proving how much it still means to people. Twenty years after it ended, Everybody Loves Raymond still has a dedicated following.

Rosenthal said the enthusiastic fans at the reunion meant everything to the band. “Knowing we created something that people still care about is incredibly fulfilling,” he explained.

When asked about a possible reboot, Romano explained they felt strongly about protecting the show’s original spirit. “It was something we were very proud of, and we wanted to end it respectfully,” he said. “We wanted to finish strong, while the show was still successful, and we believe we achieved that.”

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2025-11-24 14:37