‘Kevin Can F— Himself’ Starring ‘Schitt’s Creek’ Star Gets Premiere Date on AMC

Annie Murphy’s time off the small screen following the end of Schitt’s Creek will thankfully be short. The Emmy-winner stars in the new AMC series Kevin Can F**k Himself, which parodies the cliche sitcom format by showing what a sitcom wife’s world is like when she’s not stuck in the house with her husband. The series was created by Valerie Armstrong and its title is a reference to the now-canceled CBS sitcom Kevin Can Wait. Its first episode will on AMC on Sunday, June 20 at 9 p.m. ET.

Murphy stars as Allison McRoberts, who is the stereotypical sitcom wife when she’s at home. She is stuck married to a guy whose only positive quality is his humor, and she is often the target of his jokes. Armstrong’s show seeks to deconstruct the stereotype by showing what Allison’s life is like outside her husband’s home, and she begins revolting against the injustice she deals with.

The cast behind Murphy features Eric Petersen (Kirstie) as Allison’s husband, Kevin McRoberts, a “loveable” man-child; Alex Bonifer (Superstore) as Kevin’s friend Neil O’Connor; and Brian Howe (Chicago Fire) as Kevin’s father Pete. Raymond Lee (Here and Now) stars as Sam Park, who has a history with Allison, and Mary Hollis Inboden (The Real O’Neals) as Allison’s tough neighbor Patty O’Connor. Rashida Jones and Will McCormack are executive producers, while Craig DiGregorio (Shrill) is the showrunner.

Kevin Can F**k Himself has been in the works for four years, and the idea came to Armstrong when she heard two actresses talk about how their roles as wives on sitcoms were simply “setup machines” for jokes, she told Entertainment Weekly in February. “The job of the show is making that wife, that beautiful, put-upon, supposedly naggy wife, a real person,” Armstrong explained. “How did that woman actually get stuck in this situation? And how does she get out?”

Armstrong said the title was not meant to be seen as a direct response to only Kevin Can Wait, but the title was so attention-grabbing that it stuck. “It’s still the title because it’s actually, in my head, a very good encapsulation of the format of the show itself. It starts out sounding very familiar, and then the rug gets pulled out from under you,” she told EW.

While the show was in development, Murphy became available with Schitt’s Creek ending. In the series, she played Alexis Rose, a role that earned her an Emmy. The pilot was originally set to be directed by the late Lynn Shelton but was directed by Oz Rodriguez following Shelton’s death. The pilot is dedicated to Shelton, and they even named the street the characters live on Shelton Street.

Kevin Can F**k Himself Season 1 will only run eight episodes, with the first two going up on the AMC+ streaming service on Sunday, June 13. They will air back-to-back on Sunday, June 20 at 9 p.m. ET. The remaining episodes will be available on AMC+ one week before they air on AMC.