‘Kevin Can Wait’: Kevin James To Kill Off Sitcom Wife Erinn Hayes For ‘King Of Queens’ Sweetheart Leah Remini


Kevin Can Wait will flash forward for its second season, but the Gable family will be missing its matriarch. Two months after producers for the CBS sitcom announced they were firing Kevin James’ co-star Erinn Hayes over a “creative reset,” network programming execs have revealed that Hayes’ character will be killed off.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, at the Television Critics Association’s summer press tour, CBS Entertainment president Kelly Kahl told reporters that it was not any easy decision to replace Hayes, but that it had nothing to do with newly hired series regular Leah Remini. Remini famously co-starred with Kevin James for nine seasons on the CBS sitcom, The King of Queens, which ended its run in 2007.

Erinn Hayes’ character, Donna Gable, will be killed off in the Season 2 premiere, an episode that will jump forward in time. Remini will reprise the role of undercover police officer Vanessa Cellucci, the character she played in the two-part Kevin Can Wait Season 1 finale, “The Sting of Queens.”

Kahl told reporters that Hayes was a “terrific actress,” but that the chemistry between James and Remini was undeniable when they reunited for the two-part Kevin Can Wait finale earlier this year.

“When everybody collectively saw how Leah and Kevin were together in those last couple episodes, there was an undeniable spark there,” Kahl told reporters.

“Kevin, the studios and the network all got together and wanted to keep that magic and chemistry going forward.”

[Image by Jeff Neumann/CBS]

Kahl went on to say Remini was “a stunt episode” at the end of Kevin Can Wait’s first season and that there was never any thought of having James’ longtime TV wife replace Hayes as the female lead.

“It wasn’t a test run,” he told reporters.

“She was brought on as we often do stunt casting to pump a little something into the show and it turned out really well.”

Kevin Can Wait is a sitcom, so it will be interesting how the show will handle Hayes’ character’s death. The character is a wife and mom of three, and the CBS exec admitted it will not make for a “hilarious” storyline. Kahl promised that Hayes’ character would go out with “dignity and respect,” and added that the show will quickly move forward.

“It’s something that will have taken place in the past,” he said.

[Image by Jeff Neumann/CBS]

According to Variety, Kevin Can Wait will have a nine- or 10-month time-jump when the show returns so that the TV family will have cope with the death of Donna Gable. While Hayes is out, all of the child actors will return to the series.

It’s no surprise that some Kevin Can Wait fans were up in arms about the news that Donna Gable will be killed off.

CBS has promised that Donna Gable’s death will be handled “tastefully” and that her demise will set up how the series will go forward. However, it should be noted that James’ character is a retired police officer, so it won’t be a surprise if he returns to the force — and, at some point, into Leah Remini’s arms.

Take a look at the video below to see Kevin James and Leah Remini reunited on Kevin Can Wait.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rnCVK2NXzc

[Featured Image by Jeff Neumann/CBS]

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