Trivia / Kevin Can Wait

• Actor Leaves, Character Dies: This happened to Donna in Season 2 after her actress Erinn Hayes was let go.
• Creator Backlash: Erinn Hayes has nothing nice to say about the show after her firing. She was tickled when AMC came up with a series directly mocking the show called Kevin Can F**k Himself and even went on to make a cameo appearance in its Grand Finale episode as a Casting Gag.
• The Danza: Kevin James played a character named Kevin.
• Executive Meddling: CBS essentially tried to make the series another King of Queens by replacing Erinn Hayes with Queens co-star Leah Remini for the second season. Instead, critics and audiences saw the new pairing as inferior.
• Real-Life Relative: Gary Valentine, Kevin James' real life older brother, played Kevin's older brother in the series.
• Screwed by the Network: CBS, already facing backlash for killing off Hayes' character, chose to cancel it after Season 2.
• Star-Derailing Role: Kevin James' career has considerably slowed since this show was canceled. He did have another sitcom on Netflix called The Crew (2021) but it was canceled after its first season.
• What Could Have Been: Kevin James' original idea was to have the central character be a widower. This original concept was eventually realized come Season 2, albeit at the expense of Donna.

---