Ray Romano’s New TV Show Is *Not* Funny

Okay — we don’t know that for sure. But, what we do know is that the next television project for Ray Romano, the popular star of the late great-ish Everybody Loves Raymond, isn’t classified as a comedy or a dramedy. No, Ray fans. The next time you see Romano in a regular TV-show gig, he’s going to be acting in a drama.

Ahhh, the horror!

Or maybe not. The show in question is called Men of a Certain Age, and it not only stars Raymond alum Romano, but it’s being written and produced by Mike Royce, a writer and producer of the earlier, hugely successful sitcom, too.

Instead of airing on a major network, however, the upcoming series will make its home at basic cable’s TNT, the network responsible for the hit original series The Closer and Saving Grace, as well as an unending rotation of syndicated dramas like Alias, Angel, Bones, Charmed, Cold Case, ER, Las Vegas, Law & Order, Without a Trace, and my personal insomniac-friendly favorites, The X-Files and NYPD Blue.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Men of a Certain Age is in a similar vein as last fall’s failed ABC sitcom Carpoolers — you know, men bonding as they head into their scary middle-aged years together and share their trials and tribulations.

The key differences are, as the title of the current post states, this show isn’t meant to be funny (although how they’re going to manage that with Romano as the star is a legitimate question) and the three central 40-something characters involved have been friends since college.

This series is only in development at the moment, which means there’s no set premiere date yet. But, given the involvement of high-profile entertainer Romano, it’s logical to assume that TNT executives want production to get underway sooner rather than later.