Bad news for any Everybody Loves Raymond fans hoping for a revival – show creator Ray Romano has poured cold water on hopes of a return.
Recent years have seen classic sitcoms such as Frasier, Roseanne and Will and Grace have new life breathed into them for a contemporary audience.
Everybody Loves Raymond, which starred Romano as the titular character, ran between 1996 and 2005. A popular programme that followed Raymond’s life as a sports journalist and a busy family man, it seemed like a prime candidate for a future revival.
However, the actor and comedian has stated that he had no plans on bringing the show back for the 2020s.
“As far as a reboot, well, it’s now out of the question because unfortunately the parents are gone: Peter Boyle and Doris Roberts,” he said on the HBO talk show Real Time with Bill Maher.
Ray Romano— (Getty Images)
Boyle and Roberts played Raymond’s parents on the sitcom.
Roberts died aged 90 in 2016, while Boyle died in 2006, shortly after the show ended. Roberts won four Emmys for her performance as the feisty matriarch, Marie.
“They’re never as good,” Romano continued, speaking of reboots in general. “We want to leave with our legacy with what it is.”
The show was praised for its comic depiction of family life in Long Island, New York. Patricia Heaton played Debra Barone, Raymond’s wife and the mother of their three children.
Rounding out the ensemble cast was Brad Garrett as Robert, Raymond’s elder brother who lived across the street with their parents.
Romano went on to explain that he was satisfied with ending the show after nine years and eight seasons, despite others wanting to continue.
“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 eight, because we just felt it, we felt it [was] time,” he said.
Earlier this year, Romano revealed that he is “lucky” to be alive after doctors discovered a 90 per cent blockage of his main artery after years of high cholesterol.
“I got kind of lucky that we found it,” he stated on the WTF with Marc Maron podcast.
