Marie Barone

Everybody Loves Raymond is an American television sitcom created by Philip Rosenthal that aired on CBS from September 13, 1996, to May 16, 2005, with a total of 210 episodes spanning nine seasons. It was produced by Where's Lunch and Worldwide Pants Incorporated, in association with HBO Independent Productions. The cast members were Ray Romano, Patricia Heaton, Brad Garrett, Doris Roberts, Peter Boyle, Madylin Sweeten, and Monica Horan. Most episodes of the series were filmed in front of a live studio audience.

The series received positive reviews, won 15 Emmys from 69 nominations and has been credited for helping revive the fortunes of CBS after struggling throughout the late 80s and early 90s. It was ranked the 49th all-time funniest television comedy by Complex, the 60th best all-time series by TV Guide, the eleventh-best sitcom starring a stand-up comedian and the 35th best sitcom of all time by Rolling Stone, and (alongside South Park) the 63rd best written television series by the Writers Guild of America. In a Hollywood Reporter poll of all-time television programs surveying 779 actors, 365 producers and 268 directors, Everybody Loves Raymond ranked 96th.

The show is centered on the day-to-day life of an Italian-American named Raymond "Ray" Barone, a sportswriter for Newsday living with his family on Long Island. Beleaguered and diffident yet dryly sarcastic, Ray takes few things seriously, making jokes in most situations, no matter how serious. He avoids responsibilities around the house and with his kids, leaving them to his wife, Debra, resulting in her being angry and stressed out quite often.

Ray and Debra have a daughter Ally (Alexandra) and twin sons Michael and Geoffrey; (Sullivan and Sawyer Sweeten) the Barone children are regular characters but not a major focus. Raymond's parents, Marie and Frank, live across the street with their older son Robert (who later has his own apartment). The Barone relatives frequently make their presence known to Ray and Debra, much to the annoyance of the latter. Although she loves them, Debra's complaints about Ray's overbearing family serve as one of the show's comic elements. Out of the three, Debra is particularly resentful of Marie, an insulting, controlling, manipulative woman who criticizes her passive-aggressively and praises Ray, clearly favoring him over his brother Robert.