Like any great TV show, Everybody Loves Raymond had to reach its conclusion at some point. When Everybody Loves Raymond ended in 2005, it was all for one very simple and rather funny reason. Turns out, one of the best comedy series of all time wrapped up because the writers were scared of their wives divorcing them.
Based loosely on Ray Romano’s real life antics, Everybody Loves Raymond quickly became one of the best ’90s TV shows for its slapstick humor and loveable array of characters. Like Frasier, Friends, and Cheers, Everybody Loves Raymond was a staple of early morning viewing for many.
After nine very successful seasons, the show had to end. While many of the best TV series have a plan to conclude at a certain point, or in the worst case scenario, someone falls out with someone else and a show simply cannot proceed. But for Everybody Loves Raymond, there was a suitably simple reason to bring the sitcom to a close.
Writer Phil Rosenthal told the AV Club: “We ran out of ideas. If you worked for me, I would say to you, ‘Go home, get in a fight with your wife, and come back in and tell me about it.’ And then we’d have a show.
“But after nine years, if we kept that up, our wives would leave us. And in California, [the divorce settlement] is half. So we made sure that we got out before that happened.”
While marital fights clearly make excellent material for a comedy show, it seems there is a fine line between love and success, and love wins in the end. Still, we can’t grumble, as we still got nine years of quality comedic content that still manages to entertain us to this day. Better to quit while you’re ahead, than scrape the bottom of the barrel for new ideas.
For more nostalgia, check out our list of the best ’90s movies and the best ’80s movies. Alternatively, find out which Cheers star is the fourth highest grossing actor of all time, or learn about the incredible connection between Jason Sudeikis and Cheers.