Kristen81
08-10-2005, 11:09 AM
'King of Queens' heads back to its old CBS neighborhood
By JAY BOBBIN
Zap2it
8/10/2005
"The King of Queens" stars Kevin James and Leah Remini are reportedly two of television's highest-paid performers.
Television's sitcom "King" has reclaimed his throne, at least in terms of scheduling.
With its eighth year set to start in September, "The King of Queens" is back in CBS' Monday lineup after spending two seasons on Wednesdays, where the show's summer reruns also are continuing. Few other changes are expected for the series about deliveryman Doug Heffernan (Kevin James), wife Carrie (Leah Remini) and father-in-law Arthur (Jerry Stiller), who shares the couple's home in the title New York borough.
And why mess with success? Not only are the new CBS episodes well-rated, repeats of earlier tales have become syndication staples.
"It's pretty surreal," James says of approaching season eight. "The first few years of this show, we were always looking over our shoulder, just in disbelief that it was even happening. You're always worried that the ax is going to drop, but we just continued to kind of hit a groove, and it felt better and better as we went along. It's pretty great to be hitting year eight of a show. I think it says something."
So does series co-creator and creative consultant Michael J. Weithorn, who's especially pleased about the show's return to Mondays.
"I personally never liked the move to Wednesday," he says. "I understand that the network chose to do it for its overall purposes and for two weeks, a minor story in the television business was that "The King of Queens' was doing much better than anyone thought on Wednesday nights.
"Then, quickly, the situation became what it really was. We were sort of a lone sitcom in Siberia, and maybe doing better than someone else in Siberia, but still out there. We were still getting less people watching than on Monday, and in the long run, that can never be a good thing for the show. I'm very happy that we sort of weathered that storm and are back."
Recurring series regular Nicole Sullivan has left "Queens" to co-star in the new ABC show "Hot Properties," and James' close pal Ray Romano may return as a guest star ("I think he's got the time," jokes James).
James and Remini reportedly are two of television's highest-paid performers. No one wants to talk exact figures, but James renegotiated his series contract after his movie success opposite Will Smith in "Hitch" earlier this year, and Remini's agents secured her a deal on par with James' a few weeks ago. Good thing, too. Had she not returned for the upcoming season, the show's producers (who include James) would have been stuck.
James says, "I don't think it could have been done (without Remini). She's just as much a part of the show as all of us. I don't think it could have worked
By JAY BOBBIN
Zap2it
8/10/2005
"The King of Queens" stars Kevin James and Leah Remini are reportedly two of television's highest-paid performers.
Television's sitcom "King" has reclaimed his throne, at least in terms of scheduling.
With its eighth year set to start in September, "The King of Queens" is back in CBS' Monday lineup after spending two seasons on Wednesdays, where the show's summer reruns also are continuing. Few other changes are expected for the series about deliveryman Doug Heffernan (Kevin James), wife Carrie (Leah Remini) and father-in-law Arthur (Jerry Stiller), who shares the couple's home in the title New York borough.
And why mess with success? Not only are the new CBS episodes well-rated, repeats of earlier tales have become syndication staples.
"It's pretty surreal," James says of approaching season eight. "The first few years of this show, we were always looking over our shoulder, just in disbelief that it was even happening. You're always worried that the ax is going to drop, but we just continued to kind of hit a groove, and it felt better and better as we went along. It's pretty great to be hitting year eight of a show. I think it says something."
So does series co-creator and creative consultant Michael J. Weithorn, who's especially pleased about the show's return to Mondays.
"I personally never liked the move to Wednesday," he says. "I understand that the network chose to do it for its overall purposes and for two weeks, a minor story in the television business was that "The King of Queens' was doing much better than anyone thought on Wednesday nights.
"Then, quickly, the situation became what it really was. We were sort of a lone sitcom in Siberia, and maybe doing better than someone else in Siberia, but still out there. We were still getting less people watching than on Monday, and in the long run, that can never be a good thing for the show. I'm very happy that we sort of weathered that storm and are back."
Recurring series regular Nicole Sullivan has left "Queens" to co-star in the new ABC show "Hot Properties," and James' close pal Ray Romano may return as a guest star ("I think he's got the time," jokes James).
James and Remini reportedly are two of television's highest-paid performers. No one wants to talk exact figures, but James renegotiated his series contract after his movie success opposite Will Smith in "Hitch" earlier this year, and Remini's agents secured her a deal on par with James' a few weeks ago. Good thing, too. Had she not returned for the upcoming season, the show's producers (who include James) would have been stuck.
James says, "I don't think it could have been done (without Remini). She's just as much a part of the show as all of us. I don't think it could have worked