Lisa Kudrow and Ray Romano knew they had an unspoken bond while working together on Netflix’s No Good Deed.
The two actors and ’90s sitcom legends play married couple Lydia and Paul Morgan in the new series, hitting Netflix on Dec. 12. Speaking to PEOPLE in this week’s issue about their time together on set, Kudrow, 61, and Romano, 66, say they connected over their time working on two beloved sitcoms, Friends and Everybody Loves Raymond, in the ’90s and early 2000s.
“It was definitely something we could talk about. We had a lot of downtime. And we did swap stories and compare,” Romano tells PEOPLE.
Kudrow notes she “was curious” to ask Romano questions about his experience during that time, as she recalls telling him, “I know what our set was like, what was [yours] like?”
Not only were the duo on sitcoms around the same time, but Romano points out that their “sets were close together too.”
“We were on the same lot,” Kudrow clarifies. “They were on the stage that we had the first season.”
Overall, the pair say reminiscing on their sitcom days really bonded them while filming the new project.
“That was fun,” says Romano. “It was a cool feeling, all the things you were saying without admitting it. We weren’t admitting to ourselves, ‘I’m a big sitcom star, and you’re a big sitcom star,’ but we understood this is kind of unique and cool.”
“A shared history,” affirms Kudrow.
Everybody Loves Raymond ran for nine seasons from 1996 to 2005 on CBS. Romano starred as the sitcom’s titular character, Raymond Barone, an Italian sports columnist living in Long Island with his wife (Patricia Heaton), three kids and meddlesome parents right across the street.
Meanwhile, Friends aired for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004 on NBC. The series followed six friends living in New York City and Kudrow played quirky-yet-lovable Phoebe Buffay beside fellow costars Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer.
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Because they had so many commonalities at that point in their careers, it was no surprise that Kudrow and Romano instantly hit it off on No Good Deed.
“[It] was just there,” Kudrow tells PEOPLE, as Romano adds, “You get lucky, and as two actors sometimes you just have that chemistry. And I think we had it right off the bat.”
Working together also proved to be a bit of a dream gig for both actors.
“Lisa was not cast when I signed on, and I was drawn to it because the writing was great, the people involved were great,” Romano explains. “And when they told me Lisa was on board, I got frightened only because I’m insecure. But then it all worked out.”
Adds Kudrow: “I did know that my husband would be Ray Romano and I’d always wanted to work with Ray and just didn’t think it was ever going to happen. So it was like, well, that’s kind of like a dream come true. Oh my gosh. And Linda Cardellini, I also knew was going to be in it. There was no way to say no.”
No Good Deed, which premieres Dec. 12 on Netflix, follows Kudrow and Romano’s Lydia and Paul as they “decide to move on from their empty nest to forge a new life” and list their longtime home on the market, per a synopsis.
“Multiple families all race to buy what they believe to be their dream house, convinced it will fix all of their very different problems. But as Lydia and Paul know all too well, sometimes the home of your dreams can be a true nightmare,” the logline continues. “As they struggle to hide the dark and dangerous secrets that linger inside their longtime home, Paul and Lydia begin to realize that the only way they’ll escape the past is to finally face it.”
Though they’ve taken on No Good Deed and plenty of other roles since their sitcom days, Kudrow is hoping she’s convinced Romano to revisit their beginnings down the line.
“I kept saying to Ray, like, ‘Let’s do a sitcom. Come on. Rehearse all week and then shoot. Let’s do that,'” she recalls of their conversations on set, though she notes, “I think I forget what the hard work was in the beginning of doing one of those shows.”
For more on Lisa Kudrow and Ray Romano, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, or subscribe here.
No Good Deed is now streaming on Netflix.
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