The cult sitcom “King Of Queens” has been over since 2007, the protagonist Kevin James, like his “Kindsöpfe” colleague Adam Sandler, can now mainly be seen in films and series on the streaming service Netflix – most recently in comedy sports biopic “Home team”. But if it’s up to the fans, courier Doug is still the 58-year-old’s best role!
No wonder “King Of Queens” is almost always on free TV somewhere every day – currently on the RTL offshoot Nitro. And with three streaming providers currently available (Prime Video, Paramount+ and RTL+), fans have the opportunity to catch all nine seasons of the hit sitcom.
In addition to the quarrels between Doug, his wife Carrie (Leah Remini) and father-in-law Arthur (Jerry Stiller), who is permanently housed in the basement of their parental home, Doug’s job also plays a permanent role in the series: The sports enthusiast delivers small parcels and parcels for courier service IPS on a daily basis.
Doug is actually fine at his job, though sometimes Carrie wishes he had more ambition in his professional life. But behind the scenes, Doug’s delivery job has always been a source of frustration…
…at least for Kevin James. According to his own statement, there was nothing he hated more about shooting “King Of Queens” than the green IPS uniform, which he had to wear every time Doug goes to the show on his delivery trip. The reason: it was just too tight – especially the shorts made it difficult for the star of “Kaufhaus Cop”.
The series has been produced for a total of nine years – maintaining the weight over such a long period is of course quite a challenge. When James had gained a few kilos in the meantime, the uniform immediately started to squeeze. And it kept getting worse: “The shorts were way too tight and cut into my hips,” recalls the actor – who apparently didn’t get a custom replacement uniform anyway.
Kevin James suggested changing the script – unsuccessfully…
Instead, James tried to convince the producers to stop wearing the uniform altogether. He even suggested rewriting scenes and adding explanations why he’s suddenly wearing normal street clothes. But nothing helped: The star’s complaints fell on deaf ears with the creators of the series – and so he probably had to endure pain until the series was finally eliminated.
Incidentally, James later had to wear uniforms again and again for his cinema career. One can only wish his work clothes fit him better in “The Department Store Cop” or “The Zookeeper”…