It’s a Permanent ‘King of Queens’ Reunion! Leah Remini Joins Season 2 of ‘Kevin Can Wait’ as a Series Regular
It’s about to become permanent reunion over at Kevin James’ hit comedy series Kevin Can Wait. CBS has announced that Leah Remini will officially join the sitcom as a series regular starting in season 2 of the show.
James and Remini costarred on the series King of Queens for 9 seasons before the popular comedy series ended. Remini has appeared on Kevin Can Wait in the past as Vanessa Cellucci, a tough and wise-cracking undercover police officer. She will be reprising this role on a permanent basis.
In addition, it was reported today that Erinn Hayes, who currently plays Kevin James’ wife on the series, will be leaving the show. The news of Hayes’ departure comes just one day after the announcement of Remini’s addition to the cast.
While it is currently unknown what this casting change means for the series or for its characters, a source confirmed to TVLine that, “the sitcom is heading in a new creative direction in Season 2.”
Kevin Can Wait follows Kevin (James) who is a newly retired police officer who is just looking to enjoy his retirement with his wife and three children. After spending some time a home, he begins to discover the retiree life isn’t all peace and quiet as the series follows the comedic challenges and struggles he faces now that he is home with his family.
The Season 1 finale left off with Kevin temporarily returning to work with his old partner Vanessa (Remini) as part of an undercover operative. Once Kevin’s temporary stint back at work was completed, he returned home to discover that his wife had quit her job which now leave both of them unemployed and having to figure out how to support the family.
While we are unclear as to how the casting changes and “new creative direction” is going to impact season 2, fans of James can look forward to more of the natural chemistry which he and Remini share on screen in the upcoming new season.
Kevin Can Wait Season 2 premieres on Monday, September 25th at 9pm EST.
A karaoke obsessed, craft beer enthusiast and lover of all things pop culture, Denise enjoys all facets of entertainment from Broadway to box office blockbusters. In her spare time, she enjoys photography, concerts (lots and lots of concerts), volunteering, reading and playing with her rescue kitten, Samantha (who rescued who, right?).
