As it’s been proven in recent years, just because a TV show may have ended at some point in the past, its story isn’t necessarily over. Such as been the case with continuation series and revivals like Fuller House, Will & Grace and more, with even more on the way in the future. Unfortunately, Everybody Loves Raymond fans hoping to see that sitcom’s modern day return should limit their hopes, as former star Brad Garrett says that any revivals or reunion specials are far from likely, due to the deaths of Peter Boyle and Doris Roberts. In his words:
The bottom line is, so much of that show were the parents. There’s just no way that anyone — the writers or Ray or anyone or myself — could really see doing the show without them,
Ain’t that the truth? That would be like bringing back Friends and just making it about Gunter and Ursula. (Well, maybe not quite that dramatic.) But so much of what drove Everybody Loves Raymond’s storylines, as well as the overall chemistry between Brad Garrett and Ray Romano’s brothers Robert and Ray, was informed by Peter Boyle’s patriarch Frank and Doris Roberts’ matriarch Marie. They’re two of the most memorable parents in sitcom history, so without them, a new season of Everybody Loves Raymond would basically feel like a completely different series.
Peter Boyle died back in 2006, just a year after Everybody Loves Raymond wrapped up its nine-season run. Meanwhile, Doris Roberts died in 2016. Plus, the young star Sawyer Sweeten committed suicide in 2005. But even if those three stars were still with us, there are no guarantees that an Everybody Loves Raymond return would be inevitable.
In his talk with TVGuide, Brad Garrett said that even though he’ll occasionally wonder what Ray and Robert are up to these days, the show managed to wrap up everyone’s stories accordingly. And that’s another reason why a potential revival doesn’t have much of a chance of getting made.
The great thing about Ray is he wrapped up the show when they really felt they were out of episodes. And he did it in the prime and I don’t think he’d want to start that up again, nor really should he. He went out on top and it’s a great thing to be able to say. But I am looking forward to the other reboots, especially the Roseanne one. But I do not see Ray doing that at all and I understand why.
In my book, any show that ends on breakfast has ended in the perfect way. And for what it’s worth, there was possibly going to be a spinoff series planned to follow Everybody Loves Raymond, but it didn’t come to life for a pretty lame reason. For those who just really want to see this basic concept at play, there are several international remakes out there. Plus, Everybody Loves Raymond fans got to experience a mini-reunion from the sitcom earlier this year when Monica Horan made a guest appearance on Patricia Heaton’s The Middle.
While we won’t see more from Everybody Loves Raymond in the future, we have other revivals like Roseanne coming to the small screen in the near future. Head to our fall TV premiere schedule to see what other new and returning shows are coming soon.
