# The King of Queens
**The King of Queens** is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from September 14, 1998 to May 14, 2007, following parcel deliveryman Doug Heffernan ([Kevin James](https://www.edgepedia.org/kevin-james)), his wife Carrie ([Leah Remini](https://www.edgepedia.org/leah-remini)), and Carrie's father Arthur Spooner ([Jerry Stiller](https://www.edgepedia.org/jerry-stiller)) living together in the working-class New York City borough of Queens.[1](https://kingofqueens.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_The_King_of_Queens_episodes) • [2](https://www.sonypictures.com/tv/thekingofqueens) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0165581) The series ran for nine seasons and 207 episodes, three fewer than its network sibling *Everybody Loves Raymond*.[4](https://www.cinemablend.com/television/kevin-james-couldnt-believe-everybody-loves-raymond-hit-thought-it-was-death)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original run | CBS, September 14, 1998 to May 14, 2007; nine seasons, 207 episodes[1](https://kingofqueens.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_The_King_of_Queens_episodes) • [4](https://www.cinemablend.com/television/kevin-james-couldnt-believe-everybody-loves-raymond-hit-thought-it-was-death) |
| Creators | David Litt and Michael J. Weithorn, who also wrote the one-hour finale, "China Syndrome"[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0165581) • [5](https://kingofqueens.fandom.com/wiki/Michael_J._Weithorn) |
| Main cast | Kevin James as Doug, Leah Remini as Carrie, Jerry Stiller as Arthur[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0165581) |
| Setting | The working-class borough of Queens, New York[2](https://www.sonypictures.com/tv/thekingofqueens) |
| Format | Multi-camera comedy of 30 minutes, filmed before a live studio audience[6](https://claytribune.com/the-king-of-queens-review-comfortable-comedy-predictable-structure/) • [7](https://formats.sonypictures.com/sites/sptformats/files/catalog_upload/SPT%20Scripted%20Formats%20Catalogue%202020_0.pdf) |
| Critical reception | Metascore 55 (mixed or average) from 26 reviews; season 1 Tomatometer 33%, season 9 85%[8](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-king-of-queens/critic-reviews/) • [9](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_king_of_queens/s01) • [10](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_king_of_queens/s09) |
| Audience score | IMDb 7.4/10 from 96,000 users; nominated for one Primetime Emmy[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0165581) |
## Premise and characters
The premise follows Doug Heffernan, described by the show's distributor as an amiable deliveryman, and his wife Carrie, a secretary, as they deal with the everyday challenges of love, life, family and marriage, complicated by Carrie's father Arthur living with them.[2](https://www.sonypictures.com/tv/thekingofqueens) Rotten Tomatoes' series synopsis puts the setup plainly: Doug comes home from a long day's work to his loving wife and, unfortunately, to his "wacko father-in-law."[9](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_king_of_queens/s01)
The supporting cast included Victor Williams as Doug's friend Deacon Palmer, Patton Oswalt as Spence Olchin, and [Gary Valentine](https://www.edgepedia.org/gary-valentine) as Danny Heffernan.[10](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_king_of_queens/s09) Kevin James' wife Steffiana De La Cruz appeared in four episodes playing four different characters over the nine-year run.[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0165581)
## Production and run
Michael J. Weithorn, a television writer and producer with Emmy nominations for his work on *Family Ties*, created the series with David Litt in 1998 and remained its executive producer, writing the hour-long finale, "China Syndrome," in 2007.[5](https://kingofqueens.fandom.com/wiki/Michael_J._Weithorn) According to Weithorn, the show was created in 1997 for NBC, not CBS; he and David Litt developed the character of Doug for that pilot.[11](https://www.mentalfloss.com/entertainment/tv/10-fun-facts-about-king-of-queens)
From 1998 to 2007, Hanley Productions and CBS Productions made the show; CBS Paramount Television assumed production duties in 2007, and the company partnered with [Columbia TriStar Television](https://www.edgepedia.org/columbia-tristar-television) between 1998 and 2002, then with [Sony Pictures Television](https://www.edgepedia.org/sony-pictures-television) between 2002 and 2007.[6](https://claytribune.com/the-king-of-queens-review-comfortable-comedy-predictable-structure/) It belongs to the traditional multi-camera format, filmed before a live studio audience, and ran as 30-minute episodes.[6](https://claytribune.com/the-king-of-queens-review-comfortable-comedy-predictable-structure/) • [7](https://formats.sonypictures.com/sites/sptformats/files/catalog_upload/SPT%20Scripted%20Formats%20Catalogue%202020_0.pdf) In a 2002 interview, Weithorn noted that audiences had become conditioned to assume a multi-camera show was going to be bad, even as such traditional shows, including *King of Queens*, continued to deliver solid ratings.[12](https://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0222/p13s01-altv.html)
The series overlapped with *Everybody Loves Raymond*, whose star [Ray Romano](https://www.edgepedia.org/ray-romano) played Ray Barone in four *King of Queens* episodes between 1998 and 2005. Kevin James, who doubted Romano's low-energy style could sustain a sitcom, later sought Romano's advice on leading his own show.[11](https://www.mentalfloss.com/entertainment/tv/10-fun-facts-about-king-of-queens) • [4](https://www.cinemablend.com/television/kevin-james-couldnt-believe-everybody-loves-raymond-hit-thought-it-was-death) The show ended in May 2007 after more than 200 episodes, outliving *Yes, Dear*, *Still Standing*, and its elder sibling *Everybody Loves Raymond* to become the last live-action comedy of the 1990s still on the air, by Salon's account.[13](https://www.salon.com/2007/05/15/king_39/)
## Critical reception
The show ran for nine seasons with, in the Los Angeles Times' words, little notice or critical acclaim from year to year despite loyal fans.[14](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-may-14-et-king14-story.html) Its aggregate scores reflect a modest start and a warmer exit: the first season scored 33% on the Tomatometer from 15 reviews, with a critics consensus citing "toothless humor and dated sitcom set-ups" that the chemistry of its leads could not overcome, while the final season scored 85% from 13 reviews.[9](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_king_of_queens/s01) • [10](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_king_of_queens/s09) Metacritic records a Metascore of 55, mixed or average, from 26 critic reviews, though *Entertainment Weekly* reviews collected there reached scores of 91.[8](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-king-of-queens/critic-reviews/) Reviewers repeatedly compared the show to *The Honeymooners*: the Seattle Times' Kay McFadden called it "a nuanced update" on that series, helped by the James-Remini chemistry, while cautioning that "too much [Jerry] Stiller can swamp your show."[9](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_king_of_queens/s01) Salon's farewell review instead credited the show's "less than lovable characters and some deeply dark humor" layered over a cookie-cutter sitcom formula.[13](https://www.salon.com/2007/05/15/king_39/)
## Syndication and afterlife
The series built its durable audience in reruns. Writing in 2007, the Los Angeles Times reported that it was the fourth-most-syndicated comedy in television, behind *The Simpsons*, *Raymond*, and *Seinfeld*, and that Doug Heffernan would continue his antics daily on hundreds of stations.[14](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-may-14-et-king14-story.html) At the time it ended, *King* was also the longest-running current network sitcom and the 12th longest-running sitcom in television history.[14](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-may-14-et-king14-story.html) Decades later, reruns still aired five nights a week on television, according to a scholarly study of sitcom class portrayals.[15](https://bpb-us-e2.wpmucdn.com/sites.middlebury.edu/dist/f/3775/files/2019/02/Kendall_121-208_notes.pdf) Today it streams on Peacock and Paramount+.[9](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_king_of_queens/s01)
The show also became a reference point for later television. Scholars of the multi-camera sitcom have noted that AMC's *[Kevin Can F**k Himself](https://www.edgepedia.org/kevin-can-f-k-himself)* (2021) set out to critique the genre *The King of Queens* exemplified, and that the real-life controversy around Kevin James' follow-up *Kevin Can Wait*, in which female lead [Erinn Hayes](https://www.edgepedia.org/erinn-hayes) was replaced by Leah Remini while James' male lead remained in place, echoed the James-Remini pairing in an attempt to cash in on nostalgia for the earlier hit.[16](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jpcu.13337) Critics reviewing *Kevin Can F**k Himself* described its sitcom half as a spot-on impression of a typical story arc from *The King of Queens*, whose decorated working-class home had itself followed a style projected on working-class families from *All in the Family* to *Roseanne*.[17](https://time.com/6074171/kevin-can-fk-himself-review/)
## Place in the sitcom tradition
Scholarly accounts of the American working-class sitcom group the show in a lineage running from *The Honeymooners* and *All in the Family* through *The Simpsons*, in which the blue-collar husband is a recurring character type.[18](https://study.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/13_Butsch_Pg101.pdf) Studies of class on television also describe the show's setting as reinforcing the working-class "slob" stereotype.[15](https://bpb-us-e2.wpmucdn.com/sites.middlebury.edu/dist/f/3775/files/2019/02/Kendall_121-208_notes.pdf) Alongside *According to Jim*, it is cited as among the most successful and longest-running examples of the 1990s and 2000s "mismatched" married couple trend.[19](https://library.ljbc.wa.edu.au/wp-uploads/2017/03/SITCOM-GENDER-ROLES.pdf)
## References
1. [List of The King of Queens episodes, King Of Queens Wiki (Fandom)](https://kingofqueens.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_The_King_of_Queens_episodes)
2. [The King of Queens, Sony Pictures Entertainment](https://www.sonypictures.com/tv/thekingofqueens)
3. [The King of Queens (TV Series 1998–2007), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0165581)
4. [Kevin James 'Couldn't Believe' Everybody Loves Raymond Ended Up Being A Hit, CinemaBlend](https://www.cinemablend.com/television/kevin-james-couldnt-believe-everybody-loves-raymond-hit-thought-it-was-death)
5. [Michael J. Weithorn, King Of Queens Wiki (Fandom)](https://kingofqueens.fandom.com/wiki/Michael_J._Weithorn)
6. [Jerry Stiller Turned a Standard Sitcom Marriage Into The King of Queens' Best Comic Engine, Clay Tribune](https://claytribune.com/the-king-of-queens-review-comfortable-comedy-predictable-structure/)
7. [Sony Pictures Television Scripted Formats Catalogue 2020](https://formats.sonypictures.com/sites/sptformats/files/catalog_upload/SPT%20Scripted%20Formats%20Catalogue%202020_0.pdf)
8. [The King of Queens critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-king-of-queens/critic-reviews/)
9. [The King of Queens: Season 1, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_king_of_queens/s01)
10. [The King of Queens: Season 9, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_king_of_queens/s09)
11. [10 Fun Facts About The King of Queens, Mental Floss](https://www.mentalfloss.com/entertainment/tv/10-fun-facts-about-king-of-queens)
12. [Sitcom royalty: No heirs apparent, The Christian Science Monitor](https://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0222/p13s01-altv.html)
13. [Finale wrap-up: "The King of Queens", Salon](https://www.salon.com/2007/05/15/king_39/)
14. [TV genre yabba dabba doomed?, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-may-14-et-king14-story.html)
15. [Framing Class, chapter notes (Diana Kendall)](https://bpb-us-e2.wpmucdn.com/sites.middlebury.edu/dist/f/3775/files/2019/02/Kendall_121-208_notes.pdf)
16. [Sitcom as refuge, sitcom as prison, The Journal of Popular Culture (Winckler, 2024)](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jpcu.13337)
17. [AMC's Kevin Can F**K Himself Squanders a Thrillingly Subversive Premise, TIME](https://time.com/6074171/kevin-can-fk-himself-review/)
18. [Five Decades of Class on American Television (Butsch), SAGE sample chapter](https://study.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/13_Butsch_Pg101.pdf)
19. [Beauty and the Patriarchal Beast, Journal of Popular Film and Television](https://library.ljbc.wa.edu.au/wp-uploads/2017/03/SITCOM-GENDER-ROLES.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Sitcom and comedy series › American sitcoms and comedy series › 1980s and 1990s network sitcoms*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license