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Ray’s getting the band back together once again — and by the band, we mean the cast and crew of Everybody Loves Raymond, who are set to reunite for a 30th anniversary reunion special in November.
This is being called a 30th anniversary engagement by CBS, but it’s actually just shy of the show’s milestone, as it premiered in September 1996. That doesn’t make it any less exciting that we can expect a fun 90-minute reunion special hosted by Ray Romano and series creator Phil Rosenthal.
Joining the pair will of course be stars Brad Garett, Patricia Heaton, Monica Horan, Sullivan Sweeten, and Madylin Sweeten, who will open up about their experiences filming the nearly decade-long series, which originally wrapped up in May 2005. Other cast and crew members — and even some special guests — will also attend and share memories, as well as unseen footage and outtakes.
Plus, the special will include a heartfelt tribute to actors Peter Boyle and Doris Roberts, who played Ray’s parents Frank and Marie Barone. Boyle died aged 71 in December 2006, just a year-and-a-half after the show ended, following a battle with heart disease, while Roberts died in her sleep at age 90 in April 2016 after enduring a stroke.
Everybody Loves Raymond ran for a wonderful nine seasons and ended up becoming a major hit and American sitcom mainstay following the come-up of its first season. The show went on to win a whopping 15 Emmy awards during its storied run, including two accolades for best comedy series.
The upcoming reunion special is currently set to air November 24 on CBS.
While Everybody Loves Raymond is getting a reunion special, don’t hold your breath for a reboot. In June, Romano said that unlike the beloved sitcom of our youth Malcolm in the Middle, Everybody Loves Raymond would not participate in the reboot trend.
“There won’t be a reboot,” Romano told The New York Post while attending a 30-year anniversary celebration of the series at the Paley Museum in New York City. “The obvious is Peter [Boyle] and Doris [Roberts], and one of the kids — they’re no longer with us. We’re all heartbroken. They’re a big part of the show, the dynamic.”
He added: “Without them, I don’t know what the dynamic is. We love the show too much, we respect it too much to even try to do it.”
Photo by Richard Cartwright/CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images.
Lex Briscuso is film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.
