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This summer, it was announced that Kevin Can Wait would be killing off Kevin (Kevin James)’s wife, Donna (Erinn Hayes), to bring in James’ former King of Queens costar Leah Remini. At the time, CBS said the TV death would be handled “with dignity and respect,” but as fans tuned in to the season two premiere last night, they were angered to see how the show dealt with such a dramatic cast change. (Spoilers ahead.)
At the beginning of the episode, Kevin was upset to find another flyer from Donna’s gym in the mail, since it had been “over a year since she died.” That was it — no mention of how she passed or what had happened since. Then, as his daughter promised to make sure the gym stopped sending mail, Kevin joked, “Don’t throw that out, there’s a coupon for a kung-fu lesson on the bottom.”
Fans were not happy, and called the whole thing lame, lazy, and savage.
Miss you @hayeslady! "She died over a year ago" That was lame af. @KevinCanWaitCBS #KevinCanWait pic.twitter.com/nUnUOfiw1B
— Sylvia McCorkle M.S. (@mrsssmac) September 26, 2017
Wow they just kill her of like it’s nothing #KevinCanWait pic.twitter.com/vwvdPzTIFj
— Eli Falcon (@EliJfalcon) September 26, 2017
So they killed the wife/mom on #KevinCanWait ??? Wow! And they addressed @hayeslady departure in 2 lines. So disrespectful and savage af. pic.twitter.com/by0e9ojyLF
— Kelena Sothersby (@Tua_motu) September 26, 2017
Nope. @hayeslady deserved much more respect than the one line it took to erase her from #KevinCanWait
— Dread Pirate Roberts (@kaciedilla) September 26, 2017
Of course, that’s not to say that some people weren’t happy to see Leah Remini back on their TVs.
Me when @LeahRemini appeared on the screen during @KevinCanWaitCBS! 😀#KevinCanWait pic.twitter.com/Idqsntgn9C
— Andrew Dixon (@AndrewDixon8) September 26, 2017
Loving the #KevinCanWait season 2 premiere!! @KevinJames and @LeahRemini are the Comedy Dream team!! Love them together!! ❤️❤️
— Emma Lemanski (@ItsMissEmmaL) September 26, 2017
Watching #KevinCanWait just cause Leah remini deserves the world
— jimmy (@jimmy_G236) September 26, 2017
Later in the episode, when his daughter Kendra was getting married, there was another mention of Donna, as Kevin noted they were “just missing one thing.”
Hayes, who tweeted a sad confirmation on her departure from the show in June, has not reacted to the season two premiere. With many more episodes to come, there is of course a chance Donna’s death could be further explained as the season progresses — especially considering the fans’ reactions.
What did you think of how the show handled Donna’s death? Let us know @BritandCo!
(Photo via Michael Parmelee/CBS via Getty)
