The filming legacy of Everybody Loves Raymond came back into sharp focus this week after Fly Me to the Moon star Ray Romano opened up about the anxiety and self-doubt he carried onto the set when the show first went into production in 1996.
According to People.com, speaking at the 2026 ATX TV Festival in Austin, Texas, on May 30, Romano joined series creator Phil Rosenthal, 66, and a reunion of longtime writers — Tom Caltabiano, Tucker Cawley, Mike Royce, Lew Schneider, Steve Skrovan, and Aaron Shure — for a panel moderated by journalist Damian Holbrook.
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A Rocky Road to the Filming Set
Before Everybody Loves Raymond ever entered production, Romano had already been burned by television. In 1994, he was cast as an electrician named Rick in the original pilot of NBC’s NewsRadio — but was released from the project just two days into filming after producers decided his comedic style didn’t match the show’s energy. Joe Rogan eventually took over the role.
That experience made the first day of filming on a show that bore his own name feel far heavier than it should have. “Fast forward to the first day, and I’d just gotten fired from a sitcom, and this sitcom has my name,” Romano recalled at the festival. The atmosphere, he said, was “a little terrifying.”
Looking back at the early filming episodes from Season 1 today, Romano says the nerves are still visible on screen. “I see myself get better towards the end of the season. I was a little stiff still, a little green,” he admitted.
A Filming Run That Defined an Era
Despite the shaky start, the Everybody Loves Raymond filming run became the stuff of television legend. The show spent nine seasons in production from 1996 to 2005, compiling an extraordinary record of 69 Emmy nominations and 15 wins. Its cast — Romano as Ray Barone, Patricia Heaton, Brad Garrett, Doris Roberts, and Peter Boyle — defined the American family sitcom for an entire generation.
One Piece of the Filming Set That Stayed With Him
Of everything left behind when the cameras stopped rolling, one item from the Everybody Loves Raymond filming set mattered most to Romano — the show’s famous floral couch. “That’s the first thing I took. That’s the only thing I wanted to take,” he has said. The couch now lives in Romano’s home theater, having briefly returned for the show’s 30th Anniversary Reunion filming before going back to its permanent home.
For a series that almost lost its lead before a single episode aired, the Everybody Loves Raymond filming legacy is a reminder that great television sometimes starts with a very frightened man sitting on a very floral sofa.