NEED TO KNOW
Ray Romano and Phil Rosenthal have been excited to get the Everybody Loves Raymond cast back together.
The cast of the beloved family sitcom, which aired from 1996 to 2005, is back together, on the very stage where they produced countless laughs, in a special airing on CBS on Nov. 24th, 2025. Speaking with PEOPLE ahead of the special, Romano and Rosenthal explain why this was the perfect time to make this special happen.
Asked why the 30th anniversary was their milestone moment, Rosenthal explains, “I tried for a 20 year reunion and I tried for a 25 year reunion, but I can only say that the newest leadership at CBS was into it, and so that’s why we’re here today.”
“Yeah, we had trouble getting it made, but we always wanted to do it,” Romano agrees, adding, “And this one just came to be.”
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The show’s cast was all in agreement that they “didn’t want to do a reboot,” Romano notes, but this opportunity felt different.
“We never wanted to do the reboot. I don’t even think we approached the cast until we got the greenlight because we had just assumed they would be on board,” Romano admits.
“Phil and I see each other a lot, so it’s like we’ve never left. Brad, I see a little bit,” he continued, to which Rosenthal noted, “He’s in Vegas.”
“He’s primarily there, and he also keeps to himself a lot, too. But when we are together and Patty too, it is so easy. We fall back into a very easy, almost familial relationship. It’s very nice,” the creator added.
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Reuniting on the set added a special element of nostalgia for both the cast and fans. Thanks to Romano and Rosenthal, there were some easily accessible original pieces they were able to bring back.
“I took the couch and it’s in my home theater. I hate saying that I have a home theater, but yeah, it’s in the theater and they came and got it and they brought it back,” Romano says.
“It’s back in there already now. Not many people sit on it because the theater has theater seats. It’s not gigantic. We have 12 theater seats and the couch is kind of on the side there upfront, but every now and then, when my boys have their crew in there, I see one of their crew members lying on it.”
He continued, “But yeah, that’s the first thing I took. That’s the only thing I wanted to take was the couch.”
Rosenthal also had a piece of the set, noting, “I took the parents’ kitchen table and chairs. That lives in the guest house and it is the kitchen table and chairs of the little guest house. It’s great. And it’s in the same disrepair that it was when we had it 30 years ago.”
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Fans in the New York metro area will get their own chance to check out the show’s set. The Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame (LIMEHOF) will open its brand new exclusive exhibit—Everybody Loves Raymond: Celebrating 30 Years—on November 28th at its Stony Brook location.
The exhibit will feature the 70-foot-wide set from the anniversary special, marking the first time it has been on public display.
“I am thrilled that we can follow up the incredible success of the Billy Joel: My Life exhibit with another blockbuster exhibition,” said LIMEHOF Chairman Ernie Canadeo.
“Everybody Loves Raymond was based on Long Island, and Ray Romano—who is enthusiastically supporting this exhibit—is a native Long Islander. It is a fitting tribute to Long Island that we can create and showcase 30 years of this beloved show to be enjoyed by its legions of Long Island fans. It is truly the ultimate Everybody Loves Raymond fan exhibition.”
