Everybody Loves Raymond Information

Everybody Loves Raymond is an American television sitcom starring Ray Romano, Patricia Heaton, Brad Garret, Doris Roberts, and Peter Boyle. It originally ran on CBS from September 13, 1996, to May 16, 2005. Many of the situations from the show are based on the real-life experiences of Romano, creator/producer Phil Rosenthal and the show's writing staff. The main characters on the show are also loosely based on Romano's and Rosenthal's real-life family members.

The show reruns in syndication on different channels, such as TBS, TV Land, and in most TV markets on local stations. From 2000 to 2007, KingWorld distributed the show for off-network syndication and Warner Bros. Television Distribution handled international distribution. In 2007, CBS Television Distribution took over King World's distribution. CBS only owns American syndication rights; ancillary rights are controlled by HBO and Warner Bros. Television (WBTV distributes the series outside the US in conjunction with HBO; while HBO Home Entertainment and Warner Home Video own DVD rights worldwide).

Show background

The show revolves around the life of Italian-American Raymond Barone, a sportswriter for Newsday living with his family in Lynbrook, New York. Whiny and flippant, Raymond does not take many things seriously, making jokes in nearly every situation, no matter how troubling or problematic. In addition, he often avoids responsibilities around the house and with his kids, leaving this to Debra; though he does have a career.

Raymond and his wife, Debra, live with their daughter Ally and identical twin sons Michael and Geoffrey (originally Matthew and Gregory in the pilot). The Barone children, played by real-life siblings, are regular characters but not a major focus. Raymond's parents, Marie and Frank, and older brother Robert live across the street, and frequently make their presence known to the frustration of Raymond and Debra. Debra's frequent complaints about Raymond's family are a running joke. Out of the three unwanted visitors, Debra is particularly put off by Marie "? an insulting, controlling and manipulative, though loving, woman who constantly criticizes and antagonizes Debra and coddles Ray, clearly favoring him over Robert, whose impending birth (as was established in the episode "Good Girls") drove her into marriage.

Raymond often finds himself in the middle of all the problems and arguments and proves himself incapable of taking any sort of stand, especially if there is the chance that it will bring down his mother's wrath on him. His biggest nemesis is his brother Robert, who is insecure and jealous of Raymond for being the favorite son, as well as of Raymond's relative success in both his professional and family life. Robert and Raymond are frequently seen fighting like children and picking on each other.

Raymond and Robert's father, Frank, is a very crass and obnoxious person, constantly making insulting and sarcastic remarks to everyone with whom he comes into contact. Largely an absentee father when the boys were growing up, Frank does not like to show his feelings, although, in an effort to make the character a bit more sympathetic, throughout the years several episodes were crafted to show that he actually does love his family. Frank is the only one who has the nerve to criticize Marie and often comes to Debra's defense from Marie's jibes.

Raymond and Debra constantly have marital disagreements, with Raymond's preferring to watch sports television instead of talking with Debra about important matters. Like his father, Raymond works full time, leaving all the child-rearing responsibilities to Debra, and he has to be bullied into helping with any work around the house. A recurring theme on the show has them having a long interaction each night while in bed before going to sleep.

Cast and characters

Actor	Role	Years	Seasons	Episodes
Ray Romano	Ray Barone	1996"2005	1"9	210
Patricia Heaton	Debra Barone			209
Brad Garrett	Robert Barone
Doris Roberts	Marie Barone			210
Peter Boyle	Frank Barone			206
Madylin Sweeten	Ally Barone			146
Sullivan and Sawyer Sweeten	Michael and Geoffrey Barone			136
Monica Horan	Amy MacDougall-Barone	1997"2005		64

• Raymond "Ray" Barone (Ray Romano) is a sportswriter for Newsday. He lives in Lynbrook, Long Island with his wife, Debra, and their three children Alexandra ("Ally"), Geoffrey, and Michael. His parents, Frank and Marie, and brother Robert live across the street. Raymond's character is loosely based on the real-life Romano, as he is the father of twin boys and a girl. Ray is emotionally unable to take any sort of stand on anything, especially if it brings him to any sort of conflict with his mother"?the exception is when he protests about sex or some trivial matter. Raymond's mother favors him over Robert.

• Debra Barone (Patricia Heaton) is Raymond's wife, and the mother of Ally, Michael and Geoffrey. As a housewife, Debra claims she is frequently overworked, under-appreciated and stressed out; major reasons for this are not only because she has to deal with all the housework and her three rambunctious children with almost no assistance or support from Raymond"?especially where his mother is concerned"?but also because she must constantly put up with Raymond's intrusive family members. However on frequent occasions this frustration boils over and is vented, primarily towards Raymond.
• Robert Barone (Brad Garrett) is Raymond's older brother and the son of Frank and Marie. Standing at 6' 8" 1/2, he is the tallest Barone, and has several quirks, the biggest being a nervous habit of touching food to his chin before eating it, once referred to as "crazy chin." Robert is a very caring uncle and still cares for Raymond, but is often jealous of the attention that Raymond receives from their mother, to the exclusion of his every achievement. Robert has been a New York City police officer for over 20 years, and attains the rank of lieutenant by the end of the series. His height, appearance and demeanor are the source of much humor. However, despite his huge size, Robert is a very skilled dancer.

• Marie Barone (Doris Roberts) is Raymond's mother, the wife of Frank, and the matriarch of the Barone family. Intrusive, controlling, manipulative and over-nurturing (at least with Raymond), she is a housewife who excels in cooking, cleaning, and other things dealing with keeping a good home and family. Marie and Frank live across the street from Raymond and Debra in Lynbrook, Long Island, New York which often irritates the latter couple.

• Francis "Frank" Barone (Peter Boyle) is Raymond's father and Marie's husband, a retired bookkeeper, and registered real estate agent, with a stubborn masculine personality. A war veteran, Frank served in the Korean War, which he frequently brings up, to the annoyance of everyone, especially his sons. He is a member of the Order of the Caribou Lodge, and was named Man of the Year by his lodge.

• Amy McDougall/Barone (Monica Horan) becomes Robert Barone's second wife (in season 7), and is the best friend of Debra, who introduces her to Robert. A recurring character for the first six seasons of the series, Amy became a main character (and Monica Horan was added to the main cast introductions) in season seven. Many issues cause Amy and Robert to break up in the first six seasons, with one being caused by Raymond. Quite often, Amy apologizes to someone even if she did not do anything wrong. She was born to very religious parents who, according to Amy, "wouldn't yell if they were on fire." (In real life, Horan is the wife of creator/executive producer Philip Rosenthal.)

• Alexandra "Ally" Barone (Madylin Sweeten), is the daughter of Raymond and Debra. She is the oldest of the Barone children. She is not seen much, even though she is credited in the main cast. She is said to be a better cook than her mother, and maybe someday her grandmother. (In real life, Madylin is the sister of Sawyer and Sullivan Sweeten.)

• Geoffrey Barone (Sawyer Sweeten) and Michael Barone (Sullivan Sweeten) are twin sons of Raymond and Debra. Their original names (in the pilot) were Gregory and Matthew. (In real life, Sawyer and Sullivan are brothers of Madylin Sweeten.)

Episodes

DVD releases

HBO Home Video released the Complete Series of Everybody Loves Raymond on DVD in Regions 1, 2 and 4. Region 4 Complete Box Set was released on August 13, 2008. In Australia, the first five seasons were re-released in 2006 in slimmer packaging (originals were wide spine cases). Also some were released with a cardboard slip cover. Also, in North America, the first two seasons were each re-released in 2010 in standard keep cases with cardboard slipcovers in a double-season pack. It is unknown whether or not they will be sold individually like this. Also, in 2012, the sixth and seventh season two-pack was reissued in the keep case packaging. It is also unknown whether or not the remaining seasons will be reissued in the slimmer packaging. As of September 2012, all episodes are available on Netflix for streaming.

DVD Name	Ep #	Release dates
		Region 1	Region 2	Region 4
The Complete 1st Season	22	September 14, 2004	January 17, 2005	December 16, 2004
The Complete 2nd Season	25	December 14, 2004	July 4, 2005	April 27, 2005
The Complete 3rd Season	26	May 3, 2005	January 16, 2006	July 12, 2005
The Complete 4th Season	24	September 13, 2005	May 1, 2006	April 5, 2006
The Complete 5th Season	25	December 6, 2005	July 3, 2006	July 5, 2006
The Complete 6th Season	24	May 9, 2006	October 2, 2006	October 4, 2006
The Complete 7th Season	25	September 19, 2006	January 15, 2007	April 4, 2007
The Complete 8th Season	23	May 8, 2007	July 16, 2007	October 3, 2007
The Complete 9th Season	16	September 18, 2007	November 12, 2007	October 3, 2007
The Complete Series	210	October 30, 2007	September 5, 2011	August 13, 2008

International broadcasters

• Australia: the Seven Network, originally as a summer filler; Network Ten later began airing it; in 2011, regular re-runs air on Eleven and on cable network TV1 (previously on FOX Classics)
• Austria: ATV
• Belgium: Club RTL (French region)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina: RTRS, RTVUSK, TVSA, Fox Life and others
• Bulgaria: the first seasons on Kanal 1, repeated on bTV; repeats currently broadcast on BTV Comedy & Fox Life
• Canada: the first seasons aired on Global; V in French language translation
• Chile: Sony Entertainment Television
• Croatia: NOVA TV and RTL 2
• Denmark: All seasons aired on TV3 later [[TV3+]]; The show was abandoned in the late 2000's. In 2012 6'eren picked up the show
• Finland: Nelonen and repeated by MTV3 Komedia and TV Viisi
• France: M6, Série Club, [[Comédie+|Comédie!]] and France 3
• Germany: Pro7 and Kabel1, followed by Comedy Central Germany; now on TNT Serie
• Greece: [[Cine+]] and later on Alpha TV
• India: Star World; since 2010, Big CBS Prime, Big CBS Love & Comedy Central
• Ireland: Comedy Central
• Israel: Channel 3 (late 1990s to 2005); reruns on Channel 2, Comedy Central and also in channel 14 (yes stars comedy) on YES broadcasts
• Italy: Canale 5, Sky TV and Comedy Central
• Latin America: Sony Entertainment Television channel
• Latvia: the first three seasons on TV3, SET Latvia, TV6
• Republic of Macedonia: Sitel TV
• Malaysia: NTV7
• Netherlands: reruns on RTL 5 (A local version of the show called "Iedereen is gek op Jack" (Everybody Is Fond of Jack) starring Jeroen van Koningsbrugge and Linda de Mol is broadcast on RTL 4 since February 2011)
• New Zealand: TV3
• Norway: TV2; currently on TV3
• Pakistan: Star World
• Poland: Comedy Central Polska (when Comedy Central Family launched it moved to that channel)
• Portugal: SIC Comédia (until the channel was canceled by ZON TV); SIC Mulher; now airs on AXN White
• Serbia: TV Avala and RTV BK Telecom; currently by Fox Life Serbia
• Slovenia: Kanal A
• South Africa: originally on SABC 3, and M-Net Series purchased rebroadcast rights and aired re-runs
• Spain: La Sexta
• Sweden: TV3 and Comedy Central
• Switzerland: SF zwei (German region), TSR (French region) and RSI La 1 (Italian region)
• Turkey: CNBC-e and the subscription-based channel ComedyMax
• United Kingdom: Channel 4 and Comedy Central

Foreign adaptations

Russian version and documentary

In 2009, series creator/producer Philip Rosenthal traveled to Russia to adapt the show for local audiences. His experience was documented by a film crew and released as the documentary feature Exporting Raymond. The Russian version is titled "???????"? (Voroniny, by family name of main character).

Other versions

The original American version of the show has been dubbed then broadcast in Poland under the title Wszyscy kochaj"? Romana (Everybody Loves Roman). It was picked up by TVN and premiered on September 2, 2011. However, due to low ratings (less than 2 million viewers a week), the station put the show on hiatus after four episodes.

Series creator Philip Rosenthal created the documentary Exporting Raymond, about his trip to Russia to serve as a consultant in an effort to adapt the format of the show for the Russian audience.

In the Middle East a sitcom called El Bab Fil Bab (?"???? ?? ?"???? ), which means Close Doors in Arabic, is produced by Sony Pictures Entertainment, translating Everybody Loves Raymond with minor changes to adapt the Eastern Culture. The first season aired in the month of Ramadan 2011; second season in 2012.

A Dutch remake, called Iedereen is gek op Jack (Everybody is crazy about Jack) premiered in 2011. The second season started airing in March 2012.

A Israeli Remake called "Mishpacah Lo Bochrim" (???"?"? ?? "?"?"????) (You Can't Choose Your Family) premiered in October 2012, and was cancelled after 10 episodes aired.

Reception

American television ratings

Note: Each U.S. network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps. All times mentioned in this section were Eastern & Pacific

The series finale scored a 20.2 household rating, 32.94 million viewers (29% of all viewers at the time) and an 11.2 rating among adults 18"49. At 8pm, Everybody Loves Raymond: The Last Laugh averaged a 15.3 household rating, 24.52 million viewers and a 7.5 among adults 18"49. Throughout the latter six seasons of the show, Everybody Loves Raymond maintained its position on the top ten rankings.

The highest average rating for the series is in italic text.

Season	Timeslot (EST)	Season Premiere	Season Finale	TV Season	Rank	Rating
1	Friday 8:30 p.m. (September 13, 1996 " February 28, 1997) Monday 8:30 p.m. (March 3, 1997 " April 7, 1997)	September 13, 1996	April 7, 1997	1996"1997	#84	7.8
2	Monday 8:30 p.m.	September 22, 1997	May 18, 1998	1997"1998	#33	13.3
3	Monday 9:00 p.m.	September 21, 1998	May 24, 1999	1998"1999	#14	14.7
4		September 20, 1999	May 22, 2000	1999"2000	#11	17.8
5		October 2, 2000	May 21, 2001	2000"2001	#6	19.0
6		September 24, 2001	May 13, 2002	2001"2002	#6	20.0
7		September 23, 2002	May 19, 2003	2002"2003	#8	18.39
8		September 22, 2003	May 24, 2004	2003"2004 (Tied with Monday Night Football)	#10	17.38
9		September 20, 2004	May 16, 2005	2004"2005	#10	17.4

Awards

Won

Emmy Awards:

• Outstanding Comedy Series (2003, 2005) 2 wins
• Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series Ray Romano (2002)
• Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Patricia Heaton (2000"01) 2 wins
• Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Brad Garrett (2002"03, 2005) 3 wins
• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Doris Roberts (2001"03, 2005) 4 wins
• Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for "Baggage" Tucker Cawley (2003)

Screen Actors Guild:

• Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (2003)

Writers Guild of America:

• Episodic Comedy Phil Rosenthal for: "Italy", parts I and II (2002)

Nominations

Emmy Awards:

• Outstanding Comedy Series (1999"2005) 7 nominations
• Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series Ray Romano (1999"2003, 2005) 6 nominations
• Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Patricia Heaton (1999"2005) 7 nominations
• Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Brad Garrett (2000, 2002"05) 5 nominations
• Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Peter Boyle (1999"2005) 7 nominations
• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Doris Roberts (1999"2005) 7 nominations
• Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series, 3 nominations: Will Mackenzie "Robert's Date" (1999), Will Mackenzie "The Christmas Picture" (2000), Gary Halvorson "Finale" (2005)
• Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series, 6 nominations: Philip Rosenthal and Ray Romano "Bad Moon Rising" (2000); Philip Rosenthal "The Angry Family" (2002); Jennifer Crittenden "Marie's Sculpture" (2002); Tucker Cawley "Baggage" (2003); Mike Royce "Counseling" (2003); Philip Rosenthal, Ray Romano, Lew Schneider, Steve Skrovan, Jeremy Stevens, Aaron Shure, Mike Royce, Leslie Caveny, Tom Caltabiano "Finale" (2005)

Golden Globe Awards:

• Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Series-Comedy Ray Romano (2000"01) 2 nominations

Screen Actors Guild:

• Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (1999"2000, 2002"06) 6 nominations
• Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series Ray Romano (2000, 2002"05) 5 nominations
• Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series Brad Garrett (2004)
• Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series Peter Boyle (2002, 2004) 2 nominations
• Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series Patricia Heaton (2002"2006) 5 nominations
• Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series Doris Roberts (2004"05) 2 nominations