It’s good to be the King. And Queen! Just ask Kevin James and Leah Remini. The stars of The King of Queens reigned supreme for nine seasons (1998-2007) as delivery man Doug Heffernan and his long-suffering, short-fused wife Carrie on CBS’ beloved, top-rated sitcom. “People loved it,” says Remini, recalling how fans have stopped her with “tears in their eyes and say, ‘I never laughed so hard than I did with you.’”
And they’re still laughing. Thanks to the magic of syndication, repeats, and streaming, the sitcom will enter its 27th consecutive year of airing somewhere on television when it joins Cozi TV’s primetime lineup on September 9. Even more impressive is how James and Remini remain as close — and hilarious — as ever. The duo recently held court with us to reflect on their time together; it was a royal trip down memory lane.
Do you remember your first taping?
Kevin James: I was very nervous. I remember waiting for my cue to walk in the door, that brown front door and my heart was pounding. That I vividly remember. So nervous going, “Carrie!” Calling for you and waiting for the audience reaction…
Leah Remini: They loved him immediately.
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Leah, what did you think of the character of Carrie?
Remini: In my mind, there’s some parts that are just meant for you. They wanted me to audition for Will & Grace, so I read it and said, “This is going to be a hit show.” I read that and I read Friends. I said, “These two shows are going to be hits, but I’m not those characters. I don’t think this is meant for me.”
This was, though?
Remini: It was my part. And Kevin and I were meant to know each other, you know? Sometimes it’s your turn…this was just meant to be.
Were there any tapings when you had someone special in the studio audience?
James: My parents were there and Vicki, her mother, was always there laughing. I remember her laugh distinctly.
Remini: You cannot watch a King of Queens episode and not hear my mother’s cackle.
James: It was a comfort for me on [taping] nights to hear that little cackle and think “OK, we’re good. Vicky’s here.”
Did you have a pre-show ritual?
Remini: The back of the set was just wood planks [and] we started writing things on them. Then we started seeing Jerry Stiller [who played Carrie’s curmudgeonly dad Arthur] would write his lines on the wood. But before we came out, we would always say, “One day, we’re not going to be looking at these planks.”
Do you have a favorite episode?
James: I laughed so hard at the one, I don’t know what the whole [plot was], I remember you were using the tanning cream and you over-tanned. It was like you were addicted to it. I couldn’t stop laughing at it. You freaked me out! [Laughs]
Remini: And then that made me laugh. And the pole-dancing episode, I remember that week they were telling me I should warm up and I was like, “I think I’m good.” And then they wanted Kevin to do it, and Kevin’s like, “I’m good.” We didn’t need to practice. The first time I did it, my neck went out. [Laughs] And then Kevin did it and not only did he do it, he went upside down on the pole. I couldn’t stop laughing! I could pick out one thing, if not more, in every episode that made me laugh from Kevin or Jerry. It was never-ending.
James: There is nobody I have worked with or ever will work with that will match what she did. It doesn’t matter what I do, I’ll have fun working with other people, but there’s nothing like what I had with Leah in that way. That comfort and laughing my ass off just the whole time.
Remini: And I feel the same way, just to go on record. I was just telling Kevin, I said, “I don’t want to work with anybody but you.” I really don’t. I’d rather just wait it out until whatever is supposed to be next for us.
When was the last time you guys were actually in a room together, before today?
Remini: We’re always together. We are FaceTiming all the time. We didn’t leave the show and then leave our relationship, like most people. I don’t wait until we’re on The Today Show to go, “We’re so close…how are the kids?” I know how his kids are doing.
James: We just have that relationship and a connection…it’s like family.
Do you remember your first table read?
James: I don’t remember the first table read because we had two official first table reads.
Remini: That’s right. We did a pilot…
James: With Jack Carter [as Arthur]…
Remini: Yes! And then he was recast with Jerry Stiller. And then there was a sister in the pilot, so we had to redo the pilot over.
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Carrie’s sister sort of vanished, right?
Remini: She was in a few episodes and I think that was it. If not just the pilot.
Like Richie Cunningham’s brother!
James: Yeah. Chuck Cunningham. He just went upstairs and never came back down. [Laughs]
Have you rewatched the show?
Remini: We don’t rewatch it because you start to go, “Wow, I was really over the top.” You start to be critical of yourself and it’s better to leave it for people to love. [Laughs]
James: Yeah, if I watch it again, I’ll just start re-edit and going, “I gotta bring it down…it was a funny idea and you had to go and make it big. You didn’t need that!”
Remini: And I do that about myself. I’m like, “Your accent’s so crazy.” But at the same time, it…
James: It worked.
Remini: Right, people loved it. I was at a hotel one night and these two people stopped me. They’ll get tears in their eyes and say, “I never laughed so hard than I did with you.”
The King of Queens Begins Airing Monday, September 9, Cozi TV, Check Local Listings
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