The Queen of Kings

From TeeVeePedia, the Internet TV Encyclopedia.

In response to protests that their network had too many formulaic sitcoms on the air, CBS executives created The Queen Of Kings in 2004. An all-star cast including Rosie O'Donnell, Brad Pitt and Roseanne were hired. To save money after hiring the cast, old Everybody Loves Raymond scripts were adapted by the show's creative staff. The show was set in Brooklyn with O'Donnell playing the role of a New York sportswriter, Pitt as O'Donnell's pretty-faced and sharp-witted husband, and Roseanne as O'Donnell's police officer sister. Other roles were adapted to reverse the genders of the Raymond scripts; otherwise, no major changes were made.

Reaction to The Queen Of Kings was immediate and furious. Conservatives charged that the show was full of anti-American vitriol and that such a family could never exist in real life, thanks be to God. Liberals claimed that although the show was more realistic than most CBS fare, the changes didn't go far enough. Everybody else decried the "lack of hot babes" and refused to watch the show. Although several episodes were already "in the can", CBS aired no further episodes after the pilot. Reportedly, both Telemundo and Univision have asked Les Moonves for permission to redub the unaired episodes into Spanish.