HBO Loves Ray Romano

The accomplished comedian and television sitcom star of CBS's "Everybody Loves Raymond" is pursuing a new comedy to bring him back to TV, only this time Ray Romano is looking to develop a series with HBO. Still in the early stages, the show would be about a billionaire in his forties who only has six months left to live, a premise seemingly befitting of Romano's age (48) and his beloved brand of dry humor and satire.

"Everybody Loves Raymond" ran from 1996 to 2005, a proud nine-year run that ended while the show was still a leader of the pack. Besides his voice-acting for the CGI animated "Ice Age" films, Romano only dabbled outside the realm of his own show, having appeared on "The King of Queens" and as a guest star on "The Simpsons" in the episode "Don't Fear the Roofer," but his crossovers always had something directly or indirectly to do with the success of "Everybody Loves Raymond."

Now, Romano is ready to explore fresh comedic ground with HBO and 20th Century FOX. Word is that he pitched the idea months ago to HBO and they are finally becoming interested in making it happen. Interestingly enough, FOX's Joel Surnow, Bob Cochran, and Howard Gordon are possibly jumping on for this, the first two reportedly as executive producers. All three, however, are involved with producing FOX's nonstop thrill-ride drama, "24" with Kiefer Sutherland.

This project is gathering attention, and since Larry David made a very successful leap from working on NBC's "Seinfeld" to HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm," it's possible HBO sees similar potential now in Romano and this new idea for his next comedy series.