Here's the Real Reason 'Kevin Can Wait' Dumped Erinn Hayes
by EG
If you think the producers of Kevin Can Wait killed off Erinn Hayes' because of some kind of personal or professional problems with the actress, Kevin James says you're wrong. James says that the change was made because the show's writers and producers couldn't come up with any more story ideas for a sitcom about a two-parent family. The decision to ditch Hayes' character, James says, was made to ensure that the sitcom continued to be fresh and original. So they brought in Remini, James' co-star from his last sitcom, The King of Queens. Doesn't sound like a recipe for freshness to us, but we're not network TV producers.
Via Us Weekly.
It’s a question every Kevin Can Wait fan has been asking: Why did they kill off Donna? When season 2 of the CBS comedy began, Erinn Hayes’ character was replaced by Kevin James’ former King of Queens costar Leah Remini. Donna had mysteriously died — and not even James is sure how it happened. But he does know why.
"I get that people are like, 'Whoa, why would you do this?' But it really felt like a thing like this was needed for this show to drive forward," the actor, 52, told the New York Daily News in a new interview published on Oct. 14. He noted that his character was originally supposed to be a single father on the show, but after much discussion, the producers decided to write in a wife. However, following season 1, they all knew they needed a change.
"The plot of the show didn't have enough drive. If we got through a second season, I wouldn't see us getting through a third one,” James added. “We were literally just running out of ideas.”
Following Remini’s guest-appearance on the season 1 finale, James explained they knew they wanted her full time. When CBS announced that she’d be bumped to a series regular, executive producer Rob Long revealed that the tone would be changing for season 2.
Get the rest of the story at Us Weekly.
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