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Sitcom Star Doubted Friend's Show Would Succeed
1 Aug
Summary
- Kevin James was skeptical about Ray Romano's sitcom
- James learned from Romano how to underplay scenes
- Both shows became hits, airing in reruns for years
In 2025, comedian and actor Kevin James reflected on his initial doubts about his friend Ray Romano's sitcom, "Everybody Loves Raymond." James, who went on to star in his own successful sitcom "The King of Queens," said he couldn't believe Romano, whom he knew from the stand-up comedy circuit, had landed his own show on CBS.
"I couldn't believe it, because he's such a low-energy guy," James recalled on a recent podcast. "Sitcom guys were, to me, like the big, wacky [characters]. I'm like this, this is death. It's not gonna happen."
However, James soon learned how wrong he was. When his own sitcom premiered on CBS two years later, he found himself overshadowed by the attention Romano was receiving. "Red carpet things were so rough because they knew him, but my show had just come out, so they're taking a thousand pictures of Ray," James said.
Despite his initial skepticism, James said he "learned everything from Ray on how to do a sitcom," including the importance of underplaying a scene. "I was like, 'Wow. I have to watch him and learn from him, because I'm gonna be too big on camera,'" he explained.
Both "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "The King of Queens" went on to become long-running hits, with the former earning one Emmy nomination for James in 2006. The shows continue to air in reruns, and the two comedians even shared the screen when Romano guest-starred on James' series "Kevin Can Wait" in 2016.
