Fans have not been happy since Kevin Can Wait announced that it would be killing off one of its main characters, Donna (Erinn Hayes), and inserting Vanessa (Leah Remini) into the lives of Kevin and his kids.
Kevin James, who produces and stars in the series, has stayed fairly quiet about the entire incident since last season’s finale, but he finally broke his silence over the weekend. During an interview with New York Daily News, James said that the creative team behind the show felt that there was no other direction in the future.
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“I get that people are like ‘Woah, why would you do this?’ ” James acknowledged. “But it really felt like a thing like this was needed for this show to drive forward.”
More: Are Kevin and Donna Going to Get Together in Season 2?
When the Season 2 premiere rolled around, Donna’s death was just mentioned in passing by Kevin, and it wasn’t brought up again. James went on to reveal that Donna’s inclusion didn’t give the show enough to work with, and that they needed more in order to survive past Season 2.
“The plot of the show didn’t have enough drive,” James said. “If we got through a second season, I wouldn’t see us getting through a third one. We were literally just running out of ideas.”
James’ explanation as to why the series wrote Donna off does make some sense, but it doesn’t explain why her death wasn’t addressed aside from a joke or two in the premiere.
Up Next: Kevin Can Wait Ratings Dropping Following Donna’s Death
Kevin Can Wait airs on Monday nights at 9 p.m. ET on CBS.
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