Early on, Romano and Rosenthal make one thing abundantly clear: this is a reunion, not a reboot, and there will never be a revival. It’s a point they previously made to TVLine, and one they reiterate on stage.
“We’re never going to do one because we’re missing three cast members — three family members,” Romano clarifies, as pictures of Doris Roberts (Marie), Peter Boyle (Frank), and Sawyer Sweeten (Geoffrey), appear on screen. “We would never try to do it.”
Adds Rosenthal: “It wouldn’t be the same, and we have too much respect for the show itself, and for the beautiful audience, to keep it the way it is.”
The special devotes an entire segment to Roberts and Boyle, whose characters, Marie and Frank, were loosely based on Rosenthal’s mother and Romano’s father, respectively.
“I used to say, everything you saw Peter do, my father probably did in real life — without pants on,” Romano deadpans. He then shares a cherished memory from the making of the pilot: “I didn’t know then how sweet he really was, and I hadn’t really had a conversation with Peter. Our paths were crossing, and I swear to God, it must have been right here,” on set, behind Ray and Debra’s couch, “he just stops me. I haven’t said anything to him, and I guess he could tell that I was a little nervous, and he just looks and he goes, ‘It’s just like water. Just let it flow.'”
Romano tears up as he reflects on that moment. “At that time, I’m like, what does that mean? As an actor, I didn’t know what exactly that meant, but I do now,” he says. “Just the gesture of him reaching out to me… it’s everything. It’s everything.”
Rosenthal goes on to reveal that more than 100 women auditioned for the part of Marie — they all read the Fruit of the Month scene — but “no one came close to Doris Roberts. She was what was in my head and in my life, and was so beyond. My real mother used to say, ‘it’s a little exaggerated,” but Roberts “was always spot on. She was always 100% believable.”
“We could be the best writers in the world,” Rosenthal says, “but it wouldn’t matter if we didn’t have these people — Peter Boyle and Doris Roberts.”
Heaton and Garrett commend Roberts’ unmatched work ethic, while Romano notes how different Boyle was from Frank. He was a “renaissance man” — and, fun fact, John Lennon was the best man at his wedding. The cast also acknowledges Boyle’s widow, Lorraine, who is in the audience for the taping.
Earlier in the segment, Rosenthal acknowledges just how many beloved performers have passed — including Heaton’s TV parents, Robert Culp and Katherine Helmond, and Horan’s TV parents, Georgia Engel and Fred Willard. “We were so lucky to work with these comedy legends that we idolize,” he says. “We stand on the shoulders of the great people that came before us.”
This story originally appeared on TVLine
