When "Kevin Can Wait" season 2 returns on CBS this fall, viewers won't learn about what happened to Donna (Erinn Hayes). The producers of the show earlier announced that the character would be killed off. However, details of how she will die will not be tackled in the episodes itself.
Speaking with TV Guide, executive producer Rob Long revealed that "Kevin Can Wait" will have a time jump one year after Donna's death. The show will open season 2 with the Gable family -- headed by Kevin (Kevin James) -- picking up the pieces after losing her.
"We have a bunch of different ideas, but until it's something that's story related or story germane, I don't think we'll [say how it happened]," Long said.
Erinn Hayes' exit
Following the end of season 1, CBS announced that Erinn Hayes wouldn't be returning to the show next season to play Donna, as Deadline reported. The producers of "Kevin Can Wait" explained that the show will undergo a creative change and the character of Donna, unfortunately, won't be part of this change.
In deciding to take out Donna, however, the producers thought that killing her character on the show would be the best way to go. They could have opted for her to divorce Kevin, but then Long justified that death was the "right and fair way" for both Donna and Hayes, as he told TV Line.
Erinn Hayes confirmed that she was let go from "Kevin Can Wait" in a post on Twitter. The actress, however, will move on with a new show on Amazon's streaming platform set for 2018.
“Kevin Can Wait,” which was originally a comedy about a former cop learning to enjoy his retirement, will now become a show about a single dad of three children.
“I think it's more interesting to see a guy dust himself off and march back into the world, and you root for him more,” Long further said of the show's creative change.
Leah Remini's entrance
Hayes' exit, meanwhile, paved the way for Leah Remini's addition in the series. The actress guest starred in "Kevin Can Wait" season 1 for two episodes. Remini will become a series regular for season 2 as Vanessa Celuchi.
In the finale of “Kevin Can Wait” season 1 Vanessa and Kevin worked undercover in a case together and pretended to be husband and wife as a ruse to catch a smuggler.
The episode was an actual reunion for James and Remini who played husband and wife in the sitcom “The King of Queens,” which aired from 1998 to 2007 on CBS.
“Kevin Can Wait” will begin its second season run on CBS on Monday, Sept. 25, at 9 p.m. EST.
