THE BARONE FAMILY TAKES THEIR FINAL BOW WHEN "EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND" BIDS FAREWELL ON MONDAY, MAY 16, 9:00-9:30 PM, ET/PT

A One-Hour Series Retrospective Will Precede the Finale

Viewers Can Vote For Their Favorite "Raymond" Episodes at CBS.com

CBS's EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND, television's definitive family comedy for nearly a decade, will end its nine-year run when the series finale is broadcast Monday, May 16 (9:00-9:30 PM, ET/PT).

"We don't want to give away any details about the content of the finale episode because we don't want to dilute the experience for the audience in any way," said creator/executive producer Phil Rosenthal, who wrote the episode, titled "Finale," along with his entire writing staff.

Preceding the series finale, a special one-hour retrospective will be broadcast from 8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT. The special will feature behind-the-scenes footage from the final season as well as highlights from all nine seasons and interviews with the cast.

Leading up to the series finale, CBS.com will offer viewers an opportunity to vote for their favorite EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND episodes with the five episodes receiving the most votes broadcast on CBS beginning in late February and airing throughout March.

Voting will officially begin on Sunday, Feb. 13, during CBS's broadcast of the "47th Annual Grammy Awards," and will run through Feb. 27. CBS.com will offer clips ranging in length from 30-70 seconds of 15 classic "Raymond" episodes culled from Seasons One through Eight as chosen by creator/executive producer Phil Rosenthal.

The five episodes receiving the most votes will be broadcast beginning Monday, Feb. 28 with the fifth most popular, and culminating with the all-time fan favorite episode on Monday, March 28.

EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND, starring Ray Romano, Patricia Heaton, Doris Roberts, Brad Garrett, Peter Boyle and Monica Horan, has been nominated for 65 Emmy Awards, winning 12, including Best Comedy Series.

EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND premiered on Friday, Sept. 13, 1996 at 8:30 PM. The series was moved to Monday at 8:30 PM in March 1997 and relocated to Monday at 9:00 PM in September 1998 where it has flourished as a top 10 program.

After 210 episodes, the series signs off as television's most watched comedy, averaging 17.1 million viewers.