Parting is such sweet sorrow...

How do you know when it's time to call it quits? Sure, maybe some folks have trickled out of the house party, but the music's still going, and you can always help yourself to a third slice of cheesecake. Somebody's got to eat it!

When it comes to television, though, we can all name a show or two that famously overstayed its welcome. Series go stale, just like food, and there are countless examples of TV shows that didn't know how to bow out gracefully. It's tough to stick the landing, and that difficulty increases the longer the show drags on. Eventually, all those years of goodwill are wrung dry, and the series no longer resembles its best seasons.

Watch Everybody Loves Raymond on MeTV!

ONE FULL HOUR

Weeknights at 8 PM & Sundays at 9 PM

*available in most MeTV markets

Everybody Loves Raymond was still a ratings bonanza during its final season, finishing production as TV’s No. 1 comedy with 16.7 million viewers. So, why not go for another round? CBS parent company Viacom's co-COO, Les Moonves, wanted the show to keep chugging along. "I know it could go another season, and I’ve said that to Ray and Phil [Rosenthal, co-creator]," Moonves told Entertainment Weekly. "They want to leave on top— but I still think they’re leaving a year too early."

So, why leave while you're hot? According to Romano and Rosenthal, the reasons were personal. Or, more specifically, interfamilial.

"We do pride ourselves in going home, getting in fights with our wives, parents, and kids, and making stories from them. There's a limit to that," said Rosenthal. "If we kept getting in fights with these people, they'll leave us."

At that point, Ray Romano was the highest-paid actor on television, raking in $2 million per episode. Why would he turn down more millions?

"This sounds obnoxious, but even my wife, who likes to spend money, has enough," said Romano.  "We didn't want to feel like we were just cranking out another year because they were going to pay us for it."