30 Years Later, This Sitcom on Paramount+ Remains One of the Greatest of All Time

3 days ago 6

Peter Boyle as Frank and Robert Culp as Warren in Everybody Loves Raymond

Published Apr 11, 2026, 5:10 PM EDT

Shawn Van Horn is a Senior Author for Collider. He's watched way too many slasher movies over the decades, which makes him an aficionado on all things Halloween and Friday the 13th. Don't ask him to choose between Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees because he can't do it. He grew up in the 90s, when Seinfeld, Everybody Loves Raymond, and TGIF were his life, and still watches them religiously to this day. Larry David is his spirit animal. His love for entertainment spreads to the written word as well. He has written two novels and is neck deep in the querying trenches. He is also a short story maker upper and poet with a dozen publishing credits to his name. He lives in small town Ohio, where he likes to watch professional wrestling and movies.

Sitcoms peaked in the 1990s. It was the decade of Seinfeld, Friends, and Frasier ruling NBC. Meanwhile, shows like Family Matters and Step by Step built ABC's TGIF lineup, and animated hits The Simpsons and South Park shaped pop culture. Three decades ago, in 1996, CBS premiered one of the greatest sitcoms ever made with Everybody Loves Raymond. Created by Phil Rosenthal and starring a then unknown Ray Romano, Everybody Loves Raymond could have been just another in a long line of family-centered sitcoms based on the life of a stand-up comedian. However, the series took the mold and perfected it by taking outrageous characters and letting them play in hilarious situations. After nine seasons, Everybody Loves Raymond stopped producing new episodes in 2005, but it still lives on today as the perfect binge rewatch on Paramount+.

'Everybody Loves Raymond's Ray Barone Is Often the Worst Person

Family sitcoms were everywhere in the 90s. You know the type. There's a husband and wife, some cute kids, maybe a blended family, and a studio audience, with thirty-minute episodes where there is some light drama between everyone, then a resolution as everyone hugs and makes up, and a lesson is learned. Those types of sitcoms are predictable, which is also why they're effective. At the end of a long day, millions of people just want to unwind by relaxing in front of the TV and finding something to laugh at that we don't have to think too much about.

Ray Romano smiling in Everybody Loves Raymond

Everybody Loves Raymond is that and more. Like similar series, much of it is centered around the family living room and kitchen table. Ray Barone (Romano) is a sports writer and a bit of a dolt like other sitcom dads of the era, such as Tim Allen's Tim Taylor on Home Improvement. He has a put upon wife, the smart one who keeps everything going, and a woman out of his league in Debra Barone (Patricia Heaton). They have three kids, too, although it's not really much about them this time around. Everybody Loves Raymond introduces those tropes, then does its own thing.

The series has a bit of an edge, which, while not quite pushing the limits of a Seinfeld or Married... With Children, is also not interested in being cute. To put it mildly, like the characters of those aforementioned series, Ray Barone is a self-centered jerk. Life is often about what he wants to do. He's not above whining and complaining if he has to watch his own kids, or if he has to do something with the family when he wants to watch basketball or go golfing. What keeps Everybody Loves Raymond funny is that there isn't a meanness to his stupidity. He's used to being spoiled. It's how he was raised. And as frustrating as he can be, Ray always comes around, only if temporarily, and feels bad when he messes up. Most redeeming of all, after years of marriage, the love remains. Debra is often annoyed with his antics, yet Ray looks at her with awe, ready for sex anytime. There's something sweet about that. After so much time together and three kids later, Ray is still excited about being with his spouse.

A Hilarious Supporting Cast Carries 'Everybody Loves Raymond'

There are a lot of laughs to be found in the scenarios Ray Barone ends up in. That can only go so far though. A great sitcom needs a phenomenal supporting cast. What would Frasier be without Niles (David Hyde Pierce), Daphne (Jane Leeves), and Martin (John Mahoney)? Even the biggest Seinfeld fan will tell you that Jerry Seinfeld was the weakest character and actor in his own show. The same goes for Everybody Loves Raymond. Although Romano did win an acting Emmy and was nominated for others, he's surrounded by heavyweights with more range and more compelling characters.

Debra isn't there simply to roll her eyes and be part of Ray's story. She's a woman with her own thoughts and wants, someone good who can also lose it when pushed too far. Brad Garrett makes his voice go deep and his talent deeper as Ray's brother, Robert, a cop and a giant of a man who is stunted and lacks confidence due to a lifetime of being second best. He's the heart of the whole show. It's Ray's parents who bring the most laughs. Frank (Peter Boyle) often gets the best one-liners as the grumpy dad who makes fun of his wife. He'd be the most insensitive character of all if not for those moments where he opens up. By far, Everybody Loves Raymond's best character is Ray's mother, Marie (Doris Roberts). On the surface, she's a sweet and innocent grandmother who loves to cook. Below that is a woman who must be in control at times and doesn't know what to do when it's taken from her.

Everybody Loves Raymond is a series centered on a highly dysfunctional family. It's episode after episode of people fighting, then forgiving each other. It could be hard to watch if you grew up in a home like that. It's also what makes the series so genuine. The stories are based on the real lives of Romano, Phil Rosenthal, and the writers. Good and bad, the characters remind us of our own families. Everybody Loves Raymond felt real. Then, and now, despite all of the bickering and yelling, it's a hilarious, feel-good comfort watch which never gets old no matter how many times you've seen it.