Leah Remini and Kevin James made sitcom history with their dynamic on The King of Queens — but was there a downside to the show?
In her Us Weekly cover story, Remini, 54, confirmed she is “always” in touch with James, 60, years after they played love interests on the hit series, saying, “We talk all the time. He’s the real deal.”
Remini noted that working with James affected other shows she has worked on.
“He kind of ruined me for future projects. I loved working with Kevin so much,” she added. “I’ve said that a thousand times but he really did ruin me because he’s the perfect leading man for me.”
The King of Queens, which ran from 1998 to 2007, followed a working-class couple that lived in Queens. In addition to Remini and James, The King of Queens also starred Jerry Stiller, Victor Williams, Patton Oswalt), Larry Romano, Gary Valentine and Nicole Sullivan.
After making Us root for Carrie and Doug, Remini and James waited nearly a decade before reuniting on his sitcom Kevin Can Wait. The CBS series aired from 2016 to 2018 and introduced James as a recently retired police officer who became a single dad to three kids after his wife (played by Erinn Hayes) died ahead of season 2. (Remini, for her part, was introduced as his partner at the police force after he returned to work.)
“There is nobody I have worked with or ever will work with that will match what she did,” James told TVInsider in September 2024. “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.”
James called Remini “family,” adding, “We just have that relationship and a connection.” Despite their bond, Remini explained to Us why neither of them were in a rush to reboot The King of Queens.
“I would consider it. But they’d have to really present a way to represent Jerry,” she said to Us about actor Jerry Stiller, who died in 2020. “Because it would be hard to say yes without something meaningful.”
Remini admitted she wasn’t sure about revisiting that world.
“Not just in memory of Jerry Stiller. It would be hard to do a show like that without him,” she continued. “To me in memory, it wouldn’t be enough. You would have to really think of something to represent Jerry. Because he was such a big part of this. There’s no The King of Queens without him.”
For more on Leah Remini, watch the exclusive video above and pick up the latest issue of Us Weekly — on newsstands now.
