Kevin James thought pal Ray Romano's sitcom had no chance because he's such a 'low-energy guy': '...

Turns out James was wrong about a little show called &34;Everybody Loves Raymond.&34; Kevin James thought pal Ray Romano's sitcom had no chance because he's suc

Turns out James was wrong about a little show called "Everybody Loves Raymond."

Kevin James thought pal Ray Romano's sitcom had no chance because he's such a 'low-energy guy': 'This is death'

Turns out James was wrong about a little show called "Everybody Loves Raymond."

By Raechal Shewfelt

Published on July 31, 2025 08:46PM EDT

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Kevin James on 'The King of Queens' and Ray Romano on 'Everybody Loves Raymond'. Credit:

Robert Voets/CBS/Everett; CBS/Everett

Kevin James didn't realize how much everybody was going to love Raymond.

In fact, the comedian and actor was concerned when he found out that his friend Ray Romano, whom he knew from the stand-up comedy circuit, landed his own sitcom on CBS. James wasn't sure his buddy's show would make it.

"I couldn't believe it, because he's such a low-energy guy," James said on a recent episode of the *Sibling Revelry With Kate Hudson and Oliver Hudson* podcast. "Sitcom guys were, to me, like the big, wacky [characters]. I'm like this, this is death. It's not gonna happen."

It turns out James needn't have worried.

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*Everybody Loves Raymond* was a huge hit, running for nine seasons from 1996 to 2005 and winning 15 Emmys along the way. Romano played the title character, a sportswriter dealing with a colorful family including wife Debra (Patricia Heaton), brother Robert (Brad Garrett), and parents Marie (Doris Roberts) and Frank (Peter Boyle).

James really learned how wrong he had been when his own sitcom, *The King of Queens*, premiered on the same network two years later.

"The first few years of going with Ray — even when our shows came out, we'd go to the CBS functions and things like that," James recalled. "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."

Ray Romano and Kevin James on 'Kevin Can Wait'.

Michael Parmelee/CBS via Getty

James said he remembers "kind of standing there and nothing's clicking." When he would attempt to get closer to Romano, the photographers would ask to get more shots of Romano by himself.

"It was tough," said James, whose own series ended up running for nine seasons as well. It earned one Emmy nod, for James, in 2006.

***Sign up for **'s free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.******* He added that he "learned everything from Ray on how to do a sitcom." One lesson he picked up was how to underplay a scene.

"[Romano] was so good on his sitcom, and the way he threw things away. I was like, 'Wow. I have to watch him and learn from him, because I'm gonna be too big on camera,'" James said. "So even in the *King of Queens*, when I see episodes now, I'm like, 'Throw it away, kid. What are you doing?' I'm like, 'Gee whiz. I wish I could go back and redo it.'"**

Audiences approved of both shows, which continue to air in reruns. Romano and James also got to share the screen when Romano guest-starred on James' show *Kevin Can Wait* in 206.

Listen to James' full appearance on *Sibling Revelry* above.

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Source: "AOL TV"

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