Ray Romano 'Forced' Himself to Rewatch All 9 Seasons ofEverybody Loves Raymond:'I Was Quite Critical of It' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Ray Romano at the ‘No Good Deed’ premiere.Photo:Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty

Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty

Ray Romanohas finally finished hisEverybody Loves Raymondrewatch— and he seems pretty happy with the experience.“I made it through all of them. I forced myself,” he told PEOPLE at the Dec. 4premiere of his new showNo Good Deedat Netflix’s Tudum Theater in Hollywood.Romano, 66, said he hadn’t seen a single episode of his Emmy winning sitcom, which aired on CBS from 1996 to 2005, in 15 to 20 years.“And back then, 20 years ago, I was quite critical of it, close to it,” he said. “I did it. I was there. I saw how the butter was made or whatever the saying is. Being removed from it now, I appreciated it.”The cast of ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ in 1996.CBS via GettyNever miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.“I was able to say, ‘You know what, we did something pretty good,’ ” he added.Romano first told PEOPLEabout hisEverybody Loves Raymondrewatch last year when he was still in the midst of it. “People are going to think I’m either a weirdo or an a——, but lately I watched one and being so removed from it now, there’s a different appreciation of it,” he said. “I’m still critical. Still critical. There are still some episodes where I’m like, ‘Eh, we missed it on that one.’ ”TheSomewhere in Queensstar explained that he was scrolling through Peacock and remembered that his show was on the streaming platform. “The next thing I knew, I had watched eight episodes,” he said. “Some nights, if I have time, I watch one episode a night and I grade them.”Peter Boyle, Doris Roberts and Ray Romano in 1996 in ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’.Spike Nannarello/CBS Photo Archive/GettyRomano explained that he was grading each episode from 1 to 100. At the time, he said he’d only seen 40 to 50 of the series’ 210 episodes, rating only three — “Good Girls,” “Golf for It” and “The Bachelor Party” — in the 90s.At theNo Good Deedpremiere, Romano gave an update on his personal ratings.“The highest was 96 and I had about four or five 96s,” he said. “But then I had a bunch of 72s and 73s. In season 1 we were just finding our footing and the characters, the voice and all that.”“It was fun,” he added of the project. “And now I hope I’ll forget them soon enough because I’m older and I’ll do it again.”

Ray Romanohas finally finished hisEverybody Loves Raymondrewatch— and he seems pretty happy with the experience.

“I made it through all of them. I forced myself,” he told PEOPLE at the Dec. 4premiere of his new showNo Good Deedat Netflix’s Tudum Theater in Hollywood.

Romano, 66, said he hadn’t seen a single episode of his Emmy winning sitcom, which aired on CBS from 1996 to 2005, in 15 to 20 years.

“And back then, 20 years ago, I was quite critical of it, close to it,” he said. “I did it. I was there. I saw how the butter was made or whatever the saying is. Being removed from it now, I appreciated it.”

The cast of ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ in 1996.CBS via Getty

CBS via Getty

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

“I was able to say, ‘You know what, we did something pretty good,’ ” he added.

Romano first told PEOPLEabout hisEverybody Loves Raymondrewatch last year when he was still in the midst of it. “People are going to think I’m either a weirdo or an a——, but lately I watched one and being so removed from it now, there’s a different appreciation of it,” he said. “I’m still critical. Still critical. There are still some episodes where I’m like, ‘Eh, we missed it on that one.’ ”

TheSomewhere in Queensstar explained that he was scrolling through Peacock and remembered that his show was on the streaming platform. “The next thing I knew, I had watched eight episodes,” he said. “Some nights, if I have time, I watch one episode a night and I grade them.”

Peter Boyle, Doris Roberts and Ray Romano in 1996 in ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’.Spike Nannarello/CBS Photo Archive/Getty

Spike Nannarello/CBS Photo Archive/Getty

Romano explained that he was grading each episode from 1 to 100. At the time, he said he’d only seen 40 to 50 of the series’ 210 episodes, rating only three — “Good Girls,” “Golf for It” and “The Bachelor Party” — in the 90s.

At theNo Good Deedpremiere, Romano gave an update on his personal ratings.

“The highest was 96 and I had about four or five 96s,” he said. “But then I had a bunch of 72s and 73s. In season 1 we were just finding our footing and the characters, the voice and all that.”

“It was fun,” he added of the project. “And now I hope I’ll forget them soon enough because I’m older and I’ll do it again.”

source: people.com