You have questions. I have some answers.
So, I’ve been watching “Kevin Can Wait” and was wondering what happened to his wife from last season? I obviously missed the episode where she passed away.
CBS has become a network where TV spouses don’t make it through the summer. Lately questions about what happened to Kevin Gable’s wife on “Kevin Can Wait” have been running second only to questions about what happened to Danny Reagan’s wife Linda on “Blue Bloods.” (To recap that answer, Amy Carlson, who played Linda, decided to leave “Blue Bloods” after the end of last season, and the new season began in the aftermath of Linda’s death in a helicopter accident. In other words: There was no “Linda dies” episode, however many fans believe they deserved one.)
On “Kevin,” the show’s makers decided to bump Leah Remini up from guest star to series regular opposite “Kevin’s” Kevin James; the two actors had a devoted TV following from their long run together on “King of Queens.” With Remini on board, the show decided to drop Erinn Hayes, who had played Kevin’s wife Donna. That led to Donna’s demise.
But — and here’s where “Kevin” fans were either confused, ticked off or both — while one CBS executive promised that Donna’s passing would be treated with “dignity and respect,” the second-season premiere had Kevin briefly feel the loss of Donna when a piece of mail arrived for her, then the revelation that she had died more than a year ago, and that was it. No cause of death was offered. Maybe she was in that helicopter with Linda Reagan.