After CBS aired an Everybody Loves Raymond reunion special in November, Ray Romano told The Hollywood Reporter that he would have liked to see a few more things make the cut.
“Some of the compilations we had to cut down, the gag reel had to be cut down,” Romano said. “My wife [Anna] did a half-hour interview, and they showed her for three seconds. My father and [Raymond creator] Phil [Rosenthal]’s father did guest spots together a few times, and they weren’t actors but they were always hysterical. We showed that during the live taping but had to cut it down. But you also don’t want to go too long. We could have used another 10 minutes.”
CBS is giving Romano, Rosenthal and the rest of the Raymond family considerably more than another 10 minutes. The network will air a second special, Everybody Loves Raymond: 30th Anniversary Reunion Part 2, on Dec. 2. The hour-long special will feature moments that didn’t make it into the first, 90-minute special, including more clips and outtakes from the series and unaired interviews with writers, producers and guest stars. Romano and Rosenthal also filmed new wrap-arounds in which they discuss the experience of filming the reunion.
Rosenthal and Romano hosted the reunion special on a re-created set from Everybody Loves Raymond, which ran from 1996-2005 on CBS. Joined on stage by castmembers Patricia Heaton, Brad Garrett, Monica Horan, Madylin Sweeten and Sullivan Sweeten, they reminisced about the making of the show and their late co-stars Doris Roberts, Peter Boyle and Sawyer Sweeten. The special also included a number of pre-filmed segments with writers on the series, members of Romano’s family and others discussing the show’s legacy.
The Nov. 24 special drew solid ratings, averaging 6.32 million viewers. A Nov. 28 repeat and seven days of streaming and other delayed viewing brought the total to 10.08 million.
Fulwell Entertainment produced the reunion special. Rosenthal and Romano executive produced with Rory Rosegarten, Eddy Yablans, Gabe Turner, Emma Conway and Eric Pankowski for Fulwell.