While reboots and revivals continue to dominate television, Everybody Loves Raymond won’t be joining that trend anytime soon, and actor Brad Garrett (Robert Barone) has a clear reason why.
At the premiere of Pixar’s Elio in Los Angeles, Garrett told People magazine that a revival of the beloved CBS sitcom is not happening. He explained, “I’m just saying that because that’s something that Ray [Romano] and [series creator] Phil [Rosenthal] have always said.” In short: it’s not just his opinion, it’s the stance of the show’s key creators.
Garrett pointed to the irreplaceable loss of cast members Doris Roberts (Marie Barone) and Peter Boyle (Frank Barone), who passed away in 2016 and 2006 respectively. The two played Raymond and Robert’s parents and were central to the heart and humor of the show.
“There is no show without the parents,” Garrett emphasized. “They were the catalyst. To do anything resembling Raymond without them wouldn’t feel right, not to the audience, and not to the legacy of the show.”
Despite the firm “no” on reboots, Garrett expressed deep gratitude for the series, which ran from 1996 to 2005 and earned him three Emmy Awards for Best Supporting Actor.
Now that Everybody Loves Raymond is streaming on Paramount+ and Peacock, Garrett says he’s revisited the series and has a whole new perspective.
“They took on a new look to me,” he said. “I was very hard on the episodes back then. But when you step back and watch like a viewer, you start appreciating them differently. I even rated them, and yes, I was tough on some!”
Garrett isn’t alone in this view. Both Ray Romano and Phil Rosenthal have been consistent about not wanting a revival. Rosenthal once told the New York Daily News:
“We don’t even get two words out before we say no. We’re missing key ingredients. We could create something new, but it wouldn’t be Everybody Loves Raymond.”
Romano echoed that sentiment in 2023, saying the show was deeply personal and he’s “protective” of it.
“We knew we had run our course after nine seasons,” Rosenthal added. “We wanted to stop before we became lousy.”