Prior to "The King of Queens," Leah Remini was already finding some success in television, having booked guest roles in "Friends," "Cheers," "Saved by the Bell," and "Diagnosis Murder." She also joined the cast of the short-lived NBC comedy "Fired Up." The network axed the show after just two seasons and Remini was devastated. Around this time, Les Moonves, then the president of CBS, reached out to her agent and suggested she audition for "The King of Queens."

Series star Kevin James, who also wrote and executive produced the sitcom, had already met with several potential Carrie Heffernans before but no one seemed right. And then, Remini showed up. However, as he remembers it, his future co-star supposedly did not seem too enthusiastic about auditioning for the role. "I remember you coming in and being a little like, ugh, but having to do it, " James told Remini during the show's online reunion for charity (and as a tribute to the late Jerry Stiller) in 2021.

That was also when he decided to deliver his best pitch. "You immediately started making fun of me, going, 'I'm sorry, were you busy collecting unemployment? I'm sorry, did we interrupt all that to offer you a job?'" Remini recalled during the reunion. This playful banter won Remini over right away. As she said on "Oprah: Where Are They Now?", she knew in that moment that she wanted to work with James.