There are things in this world that make perfect sense, and then there’s streaming charts. Stranger Things is a national phenomenon, so it’s not surprising that the new season is topping streaming charts, nor that its previous seasons crept back up on Netflix’s list of top ten shows as fans brushed up on their homework before diving back into the Upside Down. Yet All’s Fair, the worst-rated show of 2025, is also a hit on streaming. The same is true of sitcoms, where the critically acclaimed Modern Familyrecently charted in the top 10 on Disney+ five years after airing its finale, while The King of Queens, one of television’s worst sitcoms, has also cracked the top 10 on Paramount+. At least All’s Fair has a Kardashian, but how on Earth does a joker series like The King of Queens weirdly become a King on streaming?
‘The King of Queens’ Is No ‘Modern Family’
A spin-off of the much, much better Everybody Loves Raymond, The King of Queens focused on the lives of Doug (Kevin James), a delivery driver; his wife, Carrie (Leah Remini), a legal secretary; and Carrie’s father, Arthur (Jerry Stiller), who, much to Doug’s chagrin, lives in the basement of their home. It’s not prestige television by any stretch, with a first season that currently rocks a mighty 33% on Rotten Tomatoes (for kicks and giggles, Modern Family sits at 100% for its first season). It’s one of the more blatant offenders in the “Fat Guy/Skinny Wife” sitcom subgenre, but for every According to Jimor The King of Queens, there are The Honeymooners or The Simpsons, so it’s hardly an unforgivable sin as far as sitcoms go.
But the latter two aren’t viewed the same way, because no matter what hair-brained scheme or ridiculously asinine actions the husbands do, their spouses have a genuine love for them, while they, in turn, genuinely love them. That is not evident in the least between Doug and Carrie. These are mean, insensitive people that are mean and insensitive to one another. Doug goes out of his way to hinder Carrie’s efforts at bettering her life, fearing that it may change the status quo. One example is in Season 6’s “Tank Heaven,” where he thwarts Carrie’s efforts to bond with her new coworkers, simply so she doesn’t rediscover her passion for art and culture. Constant comments on Carrie’s weight, manipulating her into staying skinny, is another. Carrie, in turn, controls Doug through fear, keeping him in line through threats, veiled or otherwise. In a Season 8 episode, she even pushes Doug down a flight of stairs “accidentally” in anger. And it doesn’t even work, pushing Doug to do things behind her back, creating an even deeper animosity between them.
This Ridiculous ‘King of Queens’ Storyline Shows a Completely Different Side of Carrie
The episode also foreshadows Doug and Carrie’s future.
Of course, the core four of Seinfeld are famously insensitive too, but theirs is an exaggerated indifference to others to the point of satire, where Doug and Carrie have no such excuse. Speaking of Seinfeld, Stiller, who played Frank Costanza, has the same shtick he brought to Frank, but where the small doses of Stiller in Seinfeld are funny, the constant presence of the same in The King of Queens gets old fast. A lack of originality, a parade of homophobic jokes, and racial stereotypes do nothing to elevate its standing.
There Is a Reason Why ‘The King of Queens’ Is a Streaming Hit
Still, there must be a reason why the series, which aired 207 episodes across nine seasons, is a streaming hit, and perhaps it isn’t as surprising as it seems. For all its failures, it does have its share of redeemable qualities. The characters are imperfect, and the fact that they would do imperfect things is, if nothing else, at least realistic. The jokes that aren’t offensive or dated are dryly humorous, and some situations, even though you can see them coming a mile away, are legitimately funny. It’s a comfort watch, one that can be enjoyed with the brain fully in the off position with the arse on the couch. It also stands as one of Patton Oswalt‘s best comedic performances, playing recurring character Spence, a full-on nerd and one of Doug’s closest friends. The man can do no wrong, and his presence in the show is definitely an asset.
What also might be true, sadly, is that in a society where insults and derision are regularly doled out from behind social media anonymity – and even anonymity has fallen by the wayside – the acts as played out in The King of Queens simply aren’t as jarring anymore. In a way, that makes The King of Queens frighteningly relevant today. Which begs the question: is The King of Queens‘ recent resurgence on streaming a genuine appreciation for its comfort television qualities, or a comment about today’s society? It might just be both.
