Posted in: CBS, TV | Tagged: jerry stiller, kevin james, the king of queens

The King of Queens: Kevin James Can't See Reboot Without Jerry Stiller

Kevin James (Guns Up) on why it would be difficult to do The King of Queens reboot without the series "glue," the late Jerry Stiller.

Just as the creators and surviving cast of Everybody Loves Raymond doesn't see a reboot in the cards without its late beloved veteran stars in Peter Boyle and Doris Roberts, who played Raymond (Ray Romano) and Robert's (Brad Garrett) parents, Frank and Marie Barone, The King of Queens star Kevin James doesn't see his spinoff return without the late Jerry Stiller, who passed in 2020. Stiller played Arthur Spooner, the father of Carrie Heffernan (Leah Remini), on the sitcom. While promoting the Vertical action-comedy Guns Up opposite Christina Ricci, James spoke to Collider about how his CBS series's success came after the series's end, and why it would be difficult to reboot the series.

The King of Queens Star Kevin James on How Jerry Stiller Was the "Glue" and Doesn't See a Reboot Without Him

Created by David Litt and Michael J. Weithorn, The King of Queens follows Doug Heffernan (James), a deliveryman who lives with his wife Carrie in a middle-class life in Queens, New York, along with her widowed father, Arthur. The series, inspired in part by the classic sitcom The Honeymooners, also starred Patton Oswalt, Larry Romano, Victor Williams, Nicole Sullivan, and Gary Valentine. It ran from 1998 to 2007 across nine seasons and 207 episodes.

When Collider's Steve Weintraub asked if a reboot was in the cards, "It was a moment in time, I think. 'The King of Queens' is weird because we weren't as popular. When we came out, we did okay, we did good, but it was [Everybody Loves] 'Raymond,' 'Friends,' all these office comedies, and funnier shows," James explained. "They did much better than us. What blows me away is how we've done when we've come out, later in syndication. I don't know if it's whether they pummeled people with it and it got into their brains that way, but people enjoy it now more than ever. To go back and redo it, I just don't think because we don't have Jerry [Stiller]. I mean AI, if they do everything, and they're saying something where they can do you at any age."

After Weintraub clarified how a reboot could take place in real time as a legacy sequel, "Yeah, it would have to work. I would never say, "No," but it feels hard, because for me, [Jerry] was such a part of it," James said. "He was the glue in that thing. I can't even picture it. It would feel like. It would just be a weird way to do it, like 'Why would you do that if you don't have him?" The King of Queens is available to stream on various platforms like Peacock and Paramount+.

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