https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/everybody-loves-raymond-patricia-heatons-casting-was-not-guaranteed.html/

Before Patricia Heaton was officially cast as Debra, CBS executives offered the role to Jane Sibbett, who starred in Herman's Head and had a famous recurring part in Friends. The article mentions that Sibbett turned the role down when she found out that Ray Romano and other show employees didn't know she had been cast. However, Phil Rosenthal said in an interview (https://screenrant.com/everybody-loves-raymond-phil-rosenthal-interview-exporting-raymond/) that he was going to quit the show when the CBS executives tried to force another actress (which he didn't name) on him to play Debra. If Sibbett was the actress Phil was referring to, it sounds like she added a lot of spin to her recollection...

Prior to that, Ray and Phil really wanted Maggie Wheeler (who would eventually play Linda on ELR) for the role. However, Les Moonves vetoed their selection (see video below, starting at 14:20).

https://tubitv.com/tv-shows/329548/s01_e01_everybody_loves_raymond

I only remember Sibbett from Herman's Head in the early 1990s. It was kind of a hokey show (which didn't stop me from watching it :rolleyes:), but I don't recall anything really good or bad about her acting ... just that she was really sexy. I've seen Wheeler a little on Friends (only as an occasional viewer, which is why I haven't seen Sibbett on that show). Her wacky ex-girlfriend persona there is a lot different than the Debra role, so it's hard to tell whether she would've excelled as Debra, but the director's retelling of the casting saga makes it sound like Wheeler would've been a great fit.

In other news, the NBC Peacock streaming service premieres in May 2020, and Everybody Loves Raymond will be among the offerings.

Peacock actually debuts today for Comcast customers, so ELR is available now if you subscribe to cable. Peacock will be available on July 15 or earlier for the general public, but we'll have to see if the show is available on the free tier or if you have to pay for it.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/peacock-streaming-lineup-whats-coming-to-comcast-now-and-whats-coming-later/ar-BB12D72i

Peacock is then slated to be available across the U.S. on July 15 — while NBCU is mulling the possibility of moving that up sooner — in various three tiers across mobile, web and connected-TV devices: paid with ads ($4.99 monthly); paid with no ads ($9.99 monthly); and completely free with ads with a truncated content lineup. With the national launch, Comcast (and Cox) subscribers also will have the option to get an ad-free version of the service for an additional $5 per month.

I can't see Jane as Debra. I can however see her as Robert's ex-wife.

God bless you and her always!!!

Holly

I think I read somewhere that Ray considered Jane to be too pretty for the Debra role. But yeah, she definitely could've played Robert's mean ex-wife. Actually, if CBS had known that Amy would have had such a long arc on the show, eventually marry Robert, and become a regular character, maybe they would've insisted on someone like Jane, instead of casting Phil's wife Monica Horan. That might've made the idea of a Robert/Amy spinoff more attractive to the network.

In other news, the NBC Peacock streaming service premieres in May 2020, and Everybody Loves Raymond will be among the offerings.

How come Everybody Loves Raymond is ending up on Peacock if it's owned by CBS TV Distribution? I mean, shouldn't it be on HBO Max or CBS All Access?

How come Everybody Loves Raymond is ending up on Peacock if it's owned by CBS TV Distribution? I mean, shouldn't it be on HBO Max or CBS All Access?
I have no idea. My guess is the show's popular enough to command a premium, instead of having to be part of a package deal with the studio's other properties. Peacock probably needed to pay up for extra content, since the NBC family of shows is not considered as valuable as CBS's or ABC's.