‘90s Sitcom Star Ray Romano Begged for Major Change to Hit TV Show

Ray Romano didn’t want his hit TV show to be called Everybody Loves Raymond—but he was outvoted by network executives. The CBS sitcom, which debuted in 1996, was permanently named after a line that was in the pilot script, even though the comedian was told it was a "working title."

“The line ‘everybody loves Raymond’ was in the pilot script, and [show creator] Phil [Rosenthal] said, ‘I'm going to use it as a title,’” Romano revealed at a 30 Years of Everybody Loves Raymond: A Behind-the-Scenes Tribute event at the Paley Center, per The Independent.

“And I said, ‘No, no, no, no.’” Romano continued. “I was a comic. I was self-deprecating. I can’t have that as a title. It’s just opening yourself up to get attacked. …I begged the head of CBS. I said, ‘Please, I can't, I'm gonna have to live with that.’”

Romano revealed that he was told that if the show became a top 10 hit, he could rename it. Some of Romano’s test names—which were never used— were That Raymond Guy, Nice Being Raymond, and Ummm Raymond, the outlet reported.

Romano complained about the title during the height of the show’s success. During a 2002 appearance on Larry King Live, the actor explained that the Everybody Loves Raymond title invited “hatred” from critics. 

"It came about from a sarcastic comment my brother made, who is a police officer. And he said, ‘Look what I do for a living, and look at Raymond—yeah, everybody loves Raymond,’” Romano said. “So we used it as a working title. And it just grew on CBS, and we couldn't get rid of it.”

Not only was Everybody Loves Raymond a big hit, but it ran on CBS for nine seasons and won 15 Emmy Awards. But there probably won’t ever be a reboot with the same title.

In December 2024, Romano told Yahoo Entertainment he has no interest in rebooting the series. “I'm just a little protective of Everybody Loves Raymond, just because it was very personal to me,” he explained. “I mean, it was based on my life and I was such a part of the creative side of it and all. [I don’t] want it rebooted in America."

Related: 'King of Queens’ Star Reveals Why a Reboot May Never Happen