Why Kevin James doubted pal Ray Romano’s ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ would work

Everybody loved Raymond — Kevin James, not so much.

The comedian and actor admitted he initially had doubts about his friend Ray Romano’s sitcom during the July 28 episode of “Sibling Revelry with Kate Hudson and Oliver Hudson.”

“The fact that he got a show… I couldn’t believe it because he’s such a low-energy guy,” James, 60, said. “Sitcom guys were, to me, like the big, wacky [characters]. I’m like this — this is death. It’s not going to happen.”

Turns out, the “Grown Ups” actor underestimated his buddy.

“Everybody Loves Raymond,” which premiered on September 14, 1996, on CBS, ran for nine seasons until 2005.

The sitcom starred Romano as the title character, Ray Barone, alongside Patricia Heaton as Deborah Barone, Brad Garrett as Robert Barone and the late Peter Boyle and the late Doris Robert as Ray’s parents, Frank and Marie.

The series earned 15 Emmys out of 69 nominations, including Outstanding Comedy Series in 2003 and 2005.

Just last month, the show was honored with a special exhibit at the Paley Museum in New York City in celebration of its 30th anniversary next year.

It wasn’t until James’ own sitcom, “The King of Queens,” premiered on the same network two years later that he fully grasped the scale of “Everybody Loves Raymond’s” success.

“The first few years of going with Ray — even when our shows came out, we’d go to the same CBS functions and things like that,” James recalled. “Red carpet things were so rough because they knew him, but my show had just come out… so they’re taking a thousand pictures of Ray.”

He remembered “kind of standing there and nothing’s clicking.” When he tried to step closer to Romano, the photographers asked for Romano alone.

“It was tough,” James added. Still, “The King of Queens” went on to enjoy its own success, running for nine seasons until 2007.

The series starred James as Doug Heffernan, Leah Remini as his wife Carrie and the late Jerry Stiller as Arthur Spooner. James’ performance even earned him an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series in 2006.

The “Zookeeper” star, who knew Romano from their stand-up days, said he “learned everything from Ray on how to do a sitcom” — especially how to tone down a scene when the moment called for it.

“He was so good on his sitcom, and the way he threw things away — I was like, ‘Wow, I have to watch him and learn from him, because I’m going to be too big on camera,” James shared. “So even in “The King of Queens,’ when I see episodes now, I’m like, ‘Gee, throw it away, kid.’ I’m like, ‘Gee whiz. I wish I could go back and redo it.’”

Romano and James also found success in film, with Romano lending his voice to Manny in the “Ice Age” franchise, and James starring in hits like “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” and “Here Comes the Boom.”

The two appeared together on screen when Romano guest-starred on James’ sitcom “Kevin Can Wait” in 2016.