While King of Queens didn’t produce the same degree of popularity, success, and religious “can’t-miss-an-episode-ness” of, let’s say, Friends, it has nevertheless been a relatively strong presence on CBS as a fun Monday night follow-up to Everybody Loves Raymond (with Ray Romano, Patricia Heaton). Not to mention the fact that it finally garnered its first Emmy nomination this year—Best Actor for Kevin James.

King of Queens focuses on the family dynamics of deliveryman Doug (the stout funnyman James), his hot wife Carrie (Leah Remini), and her over-the-top, oddball father (Jerry Stiller), who lives with the couple. The series’ two-episode premiere for this season began just this past December 6, with new episodes airing through January 3, 2007 on Wednesdays.  After which there will be a brief hiatus until April 9, at which point the show will ride out its remaining episodes (for 13 in total) back on Monday nights (following Charlie Sheen’s Two and a Half Men) to the end of the season and series.

There is always a bright side to a sad goodbye, as James, who broke into the big screen with a silly yet endearing role on 2005’s Hitch (opposite Will Smith) and also had the lead voice over on the recent DVD release Barnyard, has three films a-coming in 2007, which should keep him plenty occupied.