King of Queens is a classic sitcom. It ran from 1998 to 2007. Set in Queens, New York, it follows Doug, a delivery driver for IPS and Carrie, a legal secretary. Their married life is full of laughs and some chaos. Friends and family add to the fun. With characters you can relate to, clever lines and funny moments, King of Queens serves up comedy with a side of warm fuzzies. You will laugh, you might cry, but mostly, you will feel right at home.

Meet the characters from The King of Queens

Doug Heffernan

Doug is the quintessential goofball-protagonist who somehow makes being a couch-loving pizza connoisseur look heroic. He’s lazy and competitive in equal measure — will fall asleep during romance but will absolutely win at bowling, no question — and there’s this weird comforting reliability about him. He brags, he jokes, he panics about work things for like five minutes and then is fine, like a man who lives by the takeout menu and surprising small moral codes. Also, inexplicably, he has this secret tiny pride in being domestically competent (he can assemble a crib in 20 minutes but will refuse to read instructions), which I adore.

Carrie Heffernan

Carrie is sharp as a tack, loud, realistic, and the one who runs the ship whether she admits it or not — her sarcasm is practically a personality trait, and she uses it like an art form. She’s tough and judgmental and also secretly sentimental, like someone who insists she’s not crying but leaves tissues everywhere, and she keeps everyone kind of in line by sheer force of will. She’s controlling in a hilarious, loving way (will reorganize your closet mid-argument), but there’s tenderness under that diva exterior that pops up at the worst/most perfect moments. Oh and she is insanely fashionable one minute and will stomp out in sweats the next — choose your Carrie vibe.

Arthur Spooner

Arthur is chaos incarnate and I mean that in the best, most terribly wonderful way — wild stories, dramatic entrances, and a refusal to use a normal toaster. He’s the eccentric grandpa with a hundred war tales (some real, some embellished) who lives in hats and grievances, and yet he’ll randomly be the wisest person in the room for five seconds before slipping back into baffling nonsense. He’s nosy, proud, stubborn, and oddly generous — like he’ll complain while giving you a million dollars or something — and he keeps things delightfully unstable. Also, he has a habit of misplacing his dentures and political opinions with equal frequency, which I find both alarming and charming.

Deacon Palmer

Deacon is smooth, calm, and impossibly cool in a low-key way — the steady friend who flirts casually and gives the best advice, sometimes delivered with a wink and a mysterious backstory. He’s the laid-back counterpoint to Doug, but don’t be fooled, he’s got layers: devoted father-figure energy, surprisingly practical, and a secret soft spot for old soul music (and terrible coffee shops). He’s got that charisma that makes you think he’s been in more romantic sitcoms than anyone deserves, yet he’ll also show up with a casserole at 2 AM because he actually cares. Oh, and somehow he’s both a grill master and terrified of small dogs? Not sure how that works but it’s perfect.

Spence Olchin

Spence is the lovably awkward nerd friend who lives at the intersection of conspiracy theories and untimely heart, and honestly, he’s the kind of character you root for immediately. He’s earnest, kind of desperate for approval, and will loudly defend his obscure hobbies (comics, vintage tech, chess club trophies) while also being strangely brave in tiny ways. He’s insecure and emotionally transparent — in that he’ll cry during commercials and then try to sell you his comic book collection — and his loyalty is like wallpaper: constantly there, a bit hideous, but comforting. Also, he alternates between being a hapless ladies’ man and an eternal virgin stereotype in the span of one episode, which is both funny and endearing.