Kevin Can Wait is an American sitcom television series starring Kevin James. The series premiered on September 19, 2016. The series marked James' second starring role in a CBS sitcom, after The King of Queens, which ran from 1998 until 2007. On March 23, 2017, CBS renewed the series for a second season, which premiered on September 25, 2017.
The series began with James starring as a recently retired Nassau County, New York police officer and father of three, married to Donna (Erinn Hayes). Beginning with season two, the character of Donna has died, and the series' new female lead is Vanessa Cellucci (Leah Remini), Kevin's former rival on the force and now his partner at their new security company, Monkey Fist Security. While the first season focused on Kevin's personal and family life, the second concerns his new profession, his relationship with Vanessa, and his adjustment to life as a single parent.
Video Kevin Can Wait
Plot
Kevin Gable is a newly retired Nassau County police officer living in Massapequa, New York, on Long Island, with wife Donna, daughters Kendra and Sara, and son Jack. He looks forward to spending time with his family and hanging out with his friends, who are also retired officers: Goody, Duffy, and Mott. However, his elder daughter Kendra, who was away at college, moves back into town with her unemployed fiancé, Chale, and begin living in the home's garage; Sara is becoming increasingly difficult, with anger-management issues; and youngest son Jack is a hypochondriac who sees the school therapist for anxiety-related issues.
Season two picks up over a year after the events of the first-season finale. Donna has been deceased for about a year, leaving the widowed Kevin with the three kids, and now working full-time with his old work rival, Vanessa Cellucci, in their new security company, Monkey Fist Security.
During the first season, Kevin holds various odd jobs to supplement his retirement income while the family deals with several issues, including Kendra's and Chale's wedding. First season episodes revolved around Kevin and Donna, although Kevin is frequently seen with his group of friends. Most scenes during the first season took place either at the Gable household or the bar Enzo's (where Kendra is employed). With the death of Donna, Kevin's reentry into the work force, and the regular inclusion of Vanessa, season two expanded its focus to also feature more of the supporting characters not seen much in the first season. The Monkey Fist Security Offices also becomes a frequent location.
Maps Kevin Can Wait
Cast and characters
Main cast
- Kevin James as Kevin Gable:
The patriarch of the Gable household. As the series started, Kevin, a recently retired cop married to wife Donna, tends to get involved in some situation, which he usually solves with his down-to-earth principles, and some help from Donna. After Donna's death between the first two seasons, the widowed Kevin becomes a helicopter parent, who goes to work at a security firm with his ex-partner, Vanessa Cellucci. Kevin is a generally good man at heart, although he tends to sometimes get distracted in his goals. He cares deeply about his family and friends, and is willing to do most anything to help them. - Erinn Hayes as Donna Gable (season 1):
Kevin's wife and the matriarch of the Gable household for the first season. Donna is a school nurse, until she quits in the first season finale (also her last physical appearance in the series). Donna passes away before the second season. Her father does, or did, not like Kevin, as mentioned in the pilot episode. The episode "The Fantastic Pho" reveals Kevin and Donna met at a bar, and "The Might've Before Christmas" reveals she and Kevin got together, after Vanessa urged them (on their first night as partners). - Taylor Spreitler as Kendra Gable-Witt:
The elder Gable daughter. Kendra is a 21-year-old college student (she gets into Columbia Law School in the first season finale), who also works as a waitress at Enzo's. Out of all the Gable kids, she has the most prominent role in the series. In the pilot, she revealed her engagement to her parents (Donna only knew they were dating, while Kevin was not even told) and moved back in with her fiancé, Chale. Kendra is the most responsible and dependable of the Gable kids. She is also shown to be nagging at times, more specifically towards Chale, after their marriage.
While most of the first season shows her and Donna planning her wedding, she and Chale get married in the season two premiere, after he faces deportation. Following the death of Donna, Kendra becomes the surrogate matriarch of the family. - Ryan Cartwright as Chale Witt:
Kendra's English fiancé, later husband. He moves into the Gables' garage following the revelation of his engagement with Kendra. Chale is shown to be shy and soft-spoken, but very intelligent. Kevin initially shows hostility towards him, but their relationship somewhat improves over the course of the series.
When the show first begins, Chale claims to be designing an app that will be successful; thus, Chale is unemployed for the majority of season one, working on the app. In the season two premiere, he and Kendra marry as he faces deportation. Chale begins working at Enzo's alongside Kendra in "Plus One is the Loneliest Number", and gets promoted to manager (and temporarily stops working on his app) in "The Kevin Crown Affair". - Mary-Charles Jones as Sara Marie Gable:
The younger Gable daughter. Sara has anger management issues that are frequently mentioned throughout the series (e.g. starting a food fight, calling a family friend's baby "stupid", etc.). Sara is somewhat of a tomboy -- she excels at and loves sports, watches football, and frequently fights. Sara is also known to have a rebellious streak: she has been suspended, stolen her father's money, and even created a secret second Facebook account and snuck off with her boyfriend. Despite her hostility (especially towards her siblings), she does overall love her family.
The first season saw Sara mostly in short, cameo roles; she becomes more prominent in the second season. - James DiGiacomo as Jack Gable:
The son of the Gables. Jack is 11-years-old, and is portrayed as the weakest Gable child (especially when compared to Sara), and somewhat dim. He has very few friends, and is stated to be a hypochondriac. He frequently tries to make friends, but with little success.
The first season saw Jack mostly in short, cameo roles; he becomes more prominent in the second season. - Gary Valentine as Kyle Gable:
Kevin's older brother. He is a firefighter for the New York City Fire Department. Kyle is a bachelor, and has a crush on Vanessa (much to her dismay). Like Jack, he is also shown to have below-average intelligence, and is mainly relegated to being a cook at the Fire Department.
As a part of Kevin's group, he is frequently seen with Kevin's friends, and is also seen at the Gable household. - Leonard Earl Howze as Tyrone "Goody" Goodman:
Kevin's friend from the force, who he is frequently seen with. He is married to Didi, who was good friends with Donna. - Lenny Venito as Duffy (season 1):
Kevin's friend, also newly retired from the force. He has been divorced three times. Duffy was written out in the second season, without any explanation for the character's absence. - Leah Remini as Vanessa Cellucci (season 2-present; guest season 1):
Kevin's former partner on the force, and later, his business partner. She was introduced in the first-season finale as a police detective who had worked with Kevin on a major case, even though they were rivals and frequently bickered. Following the retooling, Vanessa becomes Kevin's partner in the second episode, with her own struggling company, Golden Phoenix Security (later Monkey Fist Security). Remini's new character was introduced in the two-part first-season finale. Vanessa is mentioned to have several exes, many of which she has dumped for ridiculous and unbelievable reasons (e.g. helping sick kids in Africa for three years, moving to Australia), and which sometimes get her distracted (e.g., she didn't complete the task of getting liability insurance because she dumped the State Farm agent she was dating).
Recurring cast
- Christopher Brian Roach (also credited as Chris Roach) as Mott, another one of Kevin's friends, who is usually regarded as the dimmest of the group. He is married to Cindy, and has seven young, rambunctious kids.
- Bas Rutten as Rutger Vandekamp, the Gables' annoying Dutch neighbor who becomes Kevin's friend. He lives with his mother and his long-term girlfriend. During the first season, he works in the warehouse at a big box store. In the second season, Kevin and Vanessa hire him at their security company, though they are frequently unable to pay him.
- Jim Breuer as Father Philip, the priest at the Gables' Catholic church.
- Joe Starr as Enzo, the owner of Enzo's, and Kendra's (and later Chale's) boss.
- Saidah Arrika Ekulona as Didi, Goody's wife and a friend of Donna's. She frequently expressed worry about Goody facing danger on the police force. (Season 1)
- Chris Weidman as Nick Dawson, a rookie cop who is the new partner of Kevin's former partner. (Season 1)
Notable guest stars
- Ray Romano as Vic Margolis, an annoying hot tub salesman, whose son befriends Jack ("Beat the Parents")
- Noah Syndergaard as Halloween Viking ("Hallow-We-Ain't-Home")
- Adam Sandler as Jimmy, Kevin's former partner ("Who's Better Than Us?")
- Billy Joel as himself ("Kevin's Bringing Supper Back")
- Harry Connick Jr. as himself ("Kenny Can Wait")
- Chazz Palminteri as Vincent Cellucci, Vanessa's critical father ("Plus One is the Loneliest Number")
- Loni Love as Yvette, a sassy pawnshop owner ("The Owl")
- Ricardo Chavira as Frank, Kevin and Vanessa's former co-worker, who now owns a rival security company ("Monkey Fist Insecurity")
In addition, James' family has appeared in the series (in addition to regular cast member Gary Valentine). James' real-life wife, Steffiana De La Cruz, and two of James' daughters, Shea James and Sienna James, have appeared in the series; De La Cruz was in "The Back Out" as a half of a couple Kevin and Donna try to befriend, while Shea and Sienna appeared in various roles throughout both seasons. Remini's husband, Angelo Pagán, also appeared in "Business Unusual". Also, both theme song performer Michael Delguidice, and writer Mike Soccio, have appeared in the series in minor roles.
Episodes
Series overview
Season 1 (2016-17)
Season 2 (2017-18)
Production
In October 2015, it was announced Kevin James would star in a new family-comedy television series for CBS, while Rock Reuben will executive produce the series, and Bruce Helford would serve as the show runner.
On October 17, 2016, CBS ordered a full season of 22 episodes. In November 2016, Bruce Helford exited the series as showrunner after the first thirteen episodes, due to creative differences. Cheers alum Rob Long replaced Helford as showrunner. On January 6, 2017, two additional episodes were added, bringing the season to a total of 24 episodes.
The series is filmed entirely on Long Island at Gold Coast Studios in Bethpage, New York. The pilot episode was filmed on April 1, 2016. Production on subsequent episodes began taping on August 5, 2016.
Season two was originally supposed to contain 22 episodes. However, like the previous season, it was eventually bumped up to 24 episodes.
Casting
In January 2016, Taylor Spreitler had been cast in the series as Kendra, Kevin's daughter. In February 2016, Ryan Cartwright, Mary-Charles Jones, and James DiGiacomo had been cast in the series, as Kendra's boyfriend, and James' characters other children, respectively. That same month, Leonard Earl Howze and Erinn Hayes joined the cast portraying James' character's friend and former police partner and James' wife, respectively. In March 2016, Lenny Venito and Gary Valentine joined the cast.
In September 2016, it was announced Ray Romano and Gina Brillon would guest star. In November 2016, it was announced Adam Sandler would also guest star. In March 2017, it was announced James' former King of Queens co-star Leah Remini would guest star in the first season's final two episodes.
In June 2017, Remini was upped to a series regular starting with Season 2; shortly after, it was announced that Erinn Hayes would not be returning for the show's second season. Sources cited in a Variety article confirmed that Remini would be returning as Detective Vanessa Cellucci, the character she portrayed in the first-season finale, and that Hayes' dismissal was for creative reasons and "not a reflection" of the actress' performance. In August 2017, it was reported Hayes' character would be killed off before season two began and the season will take place 7-10 months after season one ended, in order to make room for Remini.
Reception
Critical response
During the first season, Kevin Can Wait received generally negative reviews from critics. On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an approval rating of 30%, based on 23 reviews, with an average rating of 3.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Kevin James proves a likable, funny lead, but Kevin Can Wait relies too heavily on predictable, unfunny jokes and a series of lackluster subplots to stand out from the crowd." On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating, the series has a score 39 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".
With the firing of Hayes and addition of Reimini in season two, the series' retooling also received negative reviews, this time heavily comparing the series as inferior to James and Remini's former show The King of Queens.
Controversy
The replacement of Erinn Hayes with Leah Remini, and how the show handled Donna Gable's death, has been a source of controversy for the series.. Criticism has been levied especially on the episodes "Civil Ceremony" and "Grief Thief". In the former, which served as the season premiere, criticism was placed on the brief mention of Donna's death, via a piece of mail, and a subsequent joke many found distasteful. The later episode, the season's fifth episode, was panned for its plot that the characters use a single parents support group for getting out of work and their romantic life. The series' reduced mention of Donna following her death, as well as no specific cause to her death, has also been target of criticism.
Viewers and critics of the show remain divided over the retool. Some stated the decision was a well-made one, and that the chemistry James has with Remini has made the quality of the series better. Others say that Hayes' firing, and the addition of Remini with how the show handled her character's death, with poor script quality, has made the show worse. Despite the division, both Hayes and Remini spoke highly of each other. Remini stated that, before Hayes' firing, she was looking forward to working with her again; Hayes (who has mostly remained silent over the firing so far) asked fans to not place blame on Remini.
It has been rumoured and hinted at that the addition of co-star Leah Remini was an attempt to save the show from cancellation. Many suggested this theory is due not only to their great chemistry and ability to play off one another well, but also to capitalize on their successful run on The King of Queens a decade earlier. However, James insisted the choice was purely creative, as the writers felt they were running out of ideas, and he was unsure if it would continue beyond a second season. James also stated that the original plot line of the series was to have him as a single father, but the original producers gave him a wife instead.
Despite the controversy surround the revamp, the series' ratings have remained steady. As of December 1, 2017, the series was averaging 8.2 million viewers (with delayed viewing) in the season, competing against more established Top 20 series Dancing with the Stars and The Voice. The series also performs well in the much-coveted 18-49 demographic, ranking as the fifth-highest rated program on CBS in that category.
Ratings
Season 1 (2016-17)
Season 2 (2017-18)
See also
- The King of Queens, James and Remini's first CBS sitcom
- Man with a Plan, another CBS sitcom often compared and partnered with Kevin Can Wait
- Heaven Can Wait, the phrase to which the title of the sitcom alludes
Notes
References
External links
- Official website
- Kevin Can Wait on IMDb
- Kevin Can Wait at TV.com
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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