Many classic sitcoms have gotten reboots and revivals, and Ray Romano has revealed if there’s any chance of that happening with Everybody Loves Raymond.
On Friday, Romano appeared on Bill Maher’s HBO series Real Time, and he was asked about the possibility of bringing back the Emmy-winning sitcom. The actor, who recently starred in the Max sci-fi dramedy series Made for Love, suggested that an Everybody Loves Raymond revival is “out of the question.” This is largely due to beloved stars from the original series having since passed away, while Romano also shared his belief that reboots are just “never as good” in comparison.
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“As far as a reboot, well, it’s now out of the question because unfortunately the parents are gone — Peter Boyle and Doris Roberts,” Romano explained. “[Reboots are] never as good. We want to leave with our legacy with what it is.”
Everybody Loves Raymond followed a sports writer whose home life is constantly interrupted by his intrusive family members. In the comedy series, Boyle and Roberts respectively played Frank and Marie Barone, the parents of Romano’s Ray Barone and Brad Garrett’s Robert Barone. Patricia Heaton also starred as Debra, Ray’s wife, while their daughter and twin sons were played by real-life siblings Madylin Sweeten, Sawyer Sweeten, and Sullivan Sweeten. Boyle died at age 71 in 2006, while Roberts passed away at age 90 in 2016. Sawyer Sweeten also died by suicide in 2015 at the age of 19.
Ray Romano and Everybody Loves Raymond’s Creator Chose to End the Series
Further addressing the show, Romano also recalled how the show came to its end in the first place, concluding after eight seasons despite its continued acclaim and high ratings. He admitted how everybody else would have been on board to return for Season 10, but Romano and creator Phil Rosenthal came to feel that it was simply “time” for the show to wrap up, even before Season 9 had started. As Romano said, “The rest of the cast was happy to go on, but myself and Phil Rosenthal, who ran the show, we wanted it to end in Season 8, because we just felt it. We felt it [was] time.”
Romano made his directorial debut with last year’s Somewhere in Queens, in which he also starred alongside Laurie Metcalf. After his recent appearances in Pete Davidson’s Peacock comedy series Bupkis, Romano will next be seen in the upcoming film Project Artemis with Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, and Woody Harrelson.
As for the fans who want to revisit Everybody Loves Raymond, the classic series can be streamed on Peacock.
