“Kevin Can Wait” star Erinn Hayes; David M. Russell/CBS(BEVERLY HILLS) — In June, CBS announced that Erinn Hayes wouldn’t be back for the second season of the Kevin James sitcom Kevin Can Wait, and James’ former TV wife, Leah Remini would join the series in her place. Now we know how they’ll handle the switch.
At the Television Critics Association press tour in Beverly Hills on Tuesday, CBS executives revealed that Hayes’ character will be killed off to make room for Remini’s character, Vanessa Cellucci, who made her debut in the season-one finale.
Kevin Can Wait will have a nine- or 10-month jump so the TV family will have time to cope with the death.
Remini and James co-starred as husband and wife in the hit sitcom The King of Queens for nine seasons, ending in 2007. It’s likely CBS is hoping the chemistry between the two former co-stars will reinvigorate Kevin Can Wait, which has seen its audience decline steadily since its debut last September.
All of the kids will be back for season two, premiering September 25.
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