Everybody Loves Raymond is an American television sitcom created by Philip Rosenthal that aired on CBS from September 13, 1996, to May 16, 2005, with a total of 210 episodes spanning nine seasons.

The cast members were Ray Romano, Patricia Heaton, Brad Garrett, Doris Roberts, Peter Boyle, Madylin Sweeten, and Monica Horan.

[5] In a Hollywood Reporter poll of all-time television programs surveying 779 actors, 365 producers and 268 directors, Everybody Loves Raymond ranked 96th.

[6] The show is centered on the day-to-day life of an Italian-American named Raymond "Ray" Barone, a sportswriter for Newsday living with his family on Long Island.

Ray and Debra have a daughter Ally (Alexandra) and twin sons Michael and Geoffrey; the Barone children are regular characters but not a major focus.

Out of the three unwanted visitors, Debra is particularly resentful of Marie, an insulting, controlling, manipulative woman who criticizes her passive-aggressively and praises Ray, clearly favoring him over other son Robert.

Ray typically falls in the middle of family arguments, incapable of taking any decisive stand, especially if it might invoke Marie's disapproval.

[7] Ray Romano, a comedian for 12 years by the time Everybody Loves Raymond first aired, was one such comic to get development deals following a five-minute performance on the Late Show with David Letterman in the middle of 1995.

David Letterman executive producer Rob Burnett recalled that "by the end [of the monologue] we already had lawyers lined up to work a deal with him.

Around a dozen candidates for the show-runner position were considered before Coach writer Philip Rosenthal,[8] who sent a Frasier spec script to Letterman's Worldwide Pants.

[11] After viewing the tape, Rosenthal met with Romano in person at Art's Delicatessen & Restaurant on Ventura Boulevard about being a potential show runner.

[16] Rosenthal also incorporated his own family experiences into the show, with his mother and wife serving as the basis for Marie and Debra respectively.

"[18] The title Everybody Loves Raymond originated from a response Romano's brother Richard made after Ray won a CableACE stand-up award: "I had a day where people were shooting at me, and you're bringing home trophies.

"[24] For the non-titular lead roles of Everybody Loves Raymond, casting director Lisa Miller chose Patricia Heaton and Brad Garrett, who made several appearances in sitcoms before; and Doris Roberts and Peter Boyle, both film actors.

[27] Miller explained that she had to "Taft-Hartley" Romano, who did not have much acting experience before Everybody Loves Raymond, in order to get around legal Screen Actors Guild requirements to star in the show.

[28] Garrett explained that while CBS initially wanted a small, Danny DeVito-esque character who had a "bulldog" attitude towards Raymond, he, a much taller actor, portrayed Robert as more "beaten-down" and "succumb to the fact that he's a loser" when auditioning.

"[25] Boyle, an actor recommended for Frank by Moonves,[31] had a troublesome time getting to his audition location due to schedule changes and poor directions, which made him very grumpy and "in character" when he arrived.

[citation needed] For Everybody Loves Raymond, Rosenthal went for a classic sitcom style a la The Honeymooners (1955–56), avoiding references to current culture in order to give it a timeless quality.

[40] Jeremy Stevens stated that the show differed from most sitcoms of its time for its focus on storytelling and reflection on most people's real lives.

[37] Julie Pernworth, a comedy development president at CBS, categorized Everybody Loves Raymond as "one of the most traditional sitcoms to come along in a long time.

"[41] As Rosenthal put it, Raymond was a "sophisticated" version of a family sitcom, which was emphasized via the show's piano-heavy background music and the use of The New Yorker typeface for credits.

[42] In composing the show's theme, Terry Trotter and Rick Marotta used the first few measures of a song from Woody Allen's film Manhattan (1979) and improvised the rest of the piece.

"[7] According to TV critic Jones Ostrow, Raymond "explored the tortuous/loving relationships of parents and adult children, of couples, of siblings and the Peter Pan syndrome that attaches to baby boomer males, sports nuts in particular.

Ray Romano and Peter Boyle appeared as their respective characters in the episode "Lucas Raymondicus" of Cosby, another CBS show, in 1997.

An Israeli remake called "Mishpacah Lo Bochrim" (משפחה לא בוחרים) (You Can't Choose Your Family) premiered in October 2012, and was cancelled after 10 episodes aired.

A Czech remake called "Rudyho Má Každý Rád" (Everybody Loves Rudy) premiered on ČT1 on August 31, 2015, comprising 12 episodes.

[56] On January 26, 1999, the cable channel TBS paid Everybody Loves Raymond distributor Eyemark Entertainment for four years of syndication rights of the show starting in the fall of 2004.

The sixth-season DVD set contained the episode "Marie's Sculpture", which previously had not aired in the United Kingdom and was not released until almost five years after the end of the 6th season.

"[64] Common Sense Media's Betsy Wallace, who awarded the show four out of five stars, wrote: "the cast is stellar and plotlines shed light on universal human insecurities, such as doubting that your spouse still finds you attractive as you grow older.

"[65] Plugged In (publication) said in their review, "Seven years and a mantle full of Emmys later, Raymond is still smartly scripted, now with new characters added to a maturing, expanding family.