Why Everybody Loves Raymond Fans Think The Show Is Comforting To Watch
Arguably one of the cornerstones of network television has been the multi-camera sitcom. Since the birth of television productions, shows from "I Love Lucy" to "The Big Bang Theory" were shot in this classic format, which places multiple cameras in front of the set to capture as many jokes and reactions as possible from several angles. These shows also were often filmed in front of a live studio audience, which helped create a laugh track for home audiences (via Screen Craft).
Where the single-camera comedies of the 2000s use their setup to find dark humor and tension within the script, multi-cam sitcoms tend to feel more soothing. "Cheers" is a place "where everybody knows your name," while the laugh track on "Friends" reinforces the goofiness and fun of the main cast. Fewer and fewer shows these days, however, use the multi-camera setup for their productions (via Unpublished Zine).
One multi-cam sitcom that fans still return to for much-needed comfort is the long-running CBS comedy "Everybody Loves Raymond." Here's why.
Everybody Loves Raymond's lack of drama is so soothing
In the subreddit for "Everybody Loves Raymond," u/jmh90027 wrote a post with the headline, "Is Raymond comfort viewing...really?" The user confessed that as much as the Barones fight with each other in various episodes, "I mean I'm finding the closeness of the family quite comforting — even though they're nuts and always arguing ... It's quite appealing in a bizarre way."
Other commenters agreed. U/Majcvd49 said, "It's been my go-to comfort viewing for years now." Part of it may be that the characters stick to their routines and don't change very much. U/-JAENARA- believed, "In my head, the Barones are real and they're stuck in the 90s. Their life goes on and they have new drama but they never grow old, die or move." U/jmh90027 also liked "the fact [sic] their lives seem to have barely changed in decades."
Ultimately, the Barones' love for each other, as well as their domestic tranquility and lack of catastrophic drama, make "Everybody Loves Raymond" such a solace for fans of the show.
Peter Boyle hoped Everybody Loves Raymond comforted viewers after the 9/11 attacks
Actor Peter Boyle disclosed during a video interview with the Archive of American Television that the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks happened when the cast planned to promote the then-recent syndication of "Everybody Loves Raymond" on multiple networks.
Boyle said that he and Romano were about to appear on NBC on "The Rosie O' Donnell Show" when the second plane hit the World Trade Center. The show's cast was then stuck in New York City thanks to grounded airplanes, and "All of the events and talk shows and parties were, of course, canceled" as well, Boyle mused.
However, at least the show's release on syndication was timed right in one way. Boyle liked to think that the new widespread syndication of the sitcom may have helped those looking for solace during the confusion and grief. The actor said, "I do always have a feeling that basically, 'Raymond' sort of comforted America after [9/11]" because the show was soon on the air 11 times a week. Boyle still remembered the period as "astonishing ... just astonishing."