Everybody Loves Raymond
Everybody Loves Raymond (1996-present) is a long-running sitcom showing on CBS in the US. It centers around the family of Ray Barone (played by the comedian and series creator Ray Romano), a sports writer in New York. Its name was originally an inside joke intended to be ironic, that is, implying that not everybody loves Raymond; Ray Romano said he didn't want it to be the final name because he felt this ironic intent would be missed.
The family is dominated by Ray's mother Marie (Doris Roberts). Her husband Frank, played by Peter Boyle, is a boorish, food-demanding slob, and her oldest son Robert (Brad Garrett) is constantly in the shadow of Ray's success when it comes to their mother's attentions.
Much of the comedy in this series is derived from Ray's wife Debra (Patricia Heaton) and her attempts to deal with the family she has inherited along with Ray. This situation is exacerbated by their living directly across the street from Ray's parents. A typical episode might see Ray do something he knows will irritate Debra, then try to cover it up for a while until Robert finds out, before his mother comes to his defense.
A noticeable change from most sitcoms is the show's three small children have extremely small parts, commented in the show's (literal) cast roll at the start of each episode.
See also
