You're Lucky You're Funny · How Life Becomes a Sitcom

**The creator and executive producer of *Everybody Loves Raymond* dissects the art of comedy and the making of a sitcom classic**

In television, where programs can premiere and disappear in the same week, *Everybody Loves Raymond* reigned as America’s best-loved show for nine years with more than seventeen million viewers. As the number-one sitcom, it received more than seventy Emmy nominations, including two wins for best comedy. With *You’re Lucky You’re Funny*, Phil Rosenthal takes us onstage and inside the writer’s room.

Rosenthal’s meteoric ascent was preceded by odd jobs, including a stint as a museum security guard, running a deli, and writing for a slew of forgettable shows—including one starring Robert Mitchum as a curmudgeonly homeless man taken in by two orphans. But when he met comedian Ray Romano, they discovered a shared lifetime of family dysfunction—and endless material for a sitcom.

Not only a chronicle of one man’s rise to the peak of his profession, Rosenthal’s book is also an unprecedented look at the making of a hit series: how shows are written and character developed, how comedy is refined, how network executives are outsmarted, and most important, how egos are massaged. *You’re Lucky You’re Funny* is an inspiration to anyone involved in the creative process and a must read for the show’s millions of devoted fans. BACKCOVER: **Advanced Praise:**

“In the Prologue, Mr. Rosenthal says ‘No one listens to me. Maybe the reader will...’ You should! He is the real deal, both as a human being and as an artist of comedy.”

—Henry Winkler

"I read *YOU'RE LUCKY YOU'RE FUNNY* and loved it! If you had the Everybody Loves Raymond bug during its 9 year run, this is the love letter you've been waiting for. If you've missed the bug, read it at the risk of being bitten and smitten."

—Norman Lear