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Cinemablend
Cinemablend
Entertainment
Megan Behnke

Kevin James ‘Couldn’t Believe’ Everybody Loves Raymond Ended Up Being A Hit, And He Explained Why He Thought It Was ‘Death’ At First

Ray Barone (Ray Romano) and Doug Heffernan (Kevin James) speak at The King of Queens.

Everybody Loves Raymond is arguably one of the best sitcoms of all time, and it’s still a favorite among fans, thanks to streaming. The show ran for nine seasons and over 200 episodes from 1996 to 2005. While it remains a cultural phenomenon, King of Queens star Kevin James didn’t think the show would do all that well. With that, the fan-favorite actor revealed why he didn't think it would actually become a hit.

Before James starred on The King of Queens, he appeared on Everybody Loves Raymond (not as Doug Heffernan, though). James was also a writer on the show early into its run. The actor recalled on Kate Hudson and Oliver Hudson’s podcast, Sibling Rivalry, how he would follow Ray Romano around when he landed King. James' goal was to learn everything from Romano about how to lead a sitcom. They had also been friends for a while due to their stand-up work. Given his knowledge of Romano's approach, James was puzzled as to how Everybody Loves Raymond came to be:

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