Ray Romano arrived on the set of Everybody Loves Raymond fearing he could lose another sitcom job.
Admitting he was "terrified" after previously being fired from the cast of NewsRadio before filming on the show even properly began, the comedian reflected on the early days of the Emmy-winning comedy during a reunion panel at the 2026 ATX TV Festival in Austin, Texas.
Romano reunited with Everybody Loves Raymond creator Phil Rosenthal and several of the show's original writers, for the event, after the sitcom, which ran from 1996 to 2005, became one of the defining American comedies of its era, earning 69 Emmy nominations and 15 wins.
Looking back on his first day filming the sitcom, Romano said: "I was doing stand-up for a living. A couple acting opportunities came up, and one of them was the show called NewsRadio.
