Things just got weird for the women in Kevin James’ sitcom life. Erinn Hayes is out after one season of playing James’ wife on the successful show “Kevin Can Wait,” Variety reported over the weekend.
And Leah Remini, James’ wife from his previous comedy hit, “The King of Queens,” is back in.
Not as his spouse, mind you, but as his former partner on the police force. Remini reunited with James in the two-part Season 1 finale as undercover cop Vanessa Cellucci. The Hollywood Reporter reported earlier that Remini would return in that role as a regular next season.
As far as ratings were concerned, “Kevin Can Wait” didn’t appear to need any changes. According to Deadline, the CBS show finished the season as the No. 1 new comedy with 9.19 million total viewers and a 2.1 rating for adults aged 18 to 49.
Hayes didn’t reveal much in a farewell tweet.
Sources told Variety that the change was not about her performance, but that the show was going in a different direction.
Under any circumstances, her on-screen chemistry with James would be tough to match the nine-season run of James and Remini on “King of Queens.”