"Kevin Can Wait" Showrunner Bruce Helford Exits CBS Comedy Series, Rob Long Will Replace Him
by Nellie Andreeva
November 2, 2016


There is a shakeup on the new CBS comedy "Kevin Can Wait" starring Kevin James whose showrunner Bruce Helford has departed. Sitcom veteran Helford co-created the series, recently given a full-season order by CBS, with James and James’ frequent collaborator Rock Reuben.

I hear Helford stepped down over creative differences with James. He will be succeeded by another long-time sitcom writer-producer, "Cheers" alum Rob Long, who has come on board as executive producer/showrunner of the New York-based series.

"Kevin Can Wait", which marked James’ return to TV series and to CBS, got off to a strong start behind "The Big Bang Theory" on Monday. It has faced a challenging transition to the anchor 8 PM slot in the past two weeks.

http://deadline.com/2016/11/kevin-can-wait-showrunner-bruce-helford-exits-cbs-comedy-series-1201846727/

http://www.cinemablend.com/television/1580869/kevin-can-wait-is-dealing-with-behind-the-scenes-drama

Kevin James' return to primetime TV was a welcome one for fans of the actor's former glory on The King of Queens, and audiences initially showed up in droves to check Kevin Can Wait (http://forums.previously.tv/topic/47971-all-episodes-talk-the-king-of-queens-with-kids/?do=getLastComment) out. But just seven episodes into the CBS show's freshman season, problems are already starting to rear their ugly heads, and it's not just about the drooping ratings. Co-creator Bruce Helford has suddenly stepped down from his position as showrunner and will no longer be involved with the sitcom at all. A replacement has been set, but that's still quite a blow.

While there's a slight chance that there's some innocuous reasoning behind Bruce Helford departing Kevin Can Wait, it sounds as if there were creative differences mounting between Helford and Kevin James, according to Deadline. (The third creator, Rock Reuben, wasn't mentioned as part of the clashing.) Kevin Can Wait, with a central storyline about a former cop spending hectic times with his family, doesn't outwardly seem like the kind of project where creative tiffs could happen, but perhaps Helford had other thoughts about where the show could go in the future.

Taking the showrunner and executive producer reins left by Helford will be Rob Long, whose long television career speaks to why he was chosen for the gig. He started off as a writer and producer on Cheers, and went on to create other comedies such as George & Leo (with Bob Newhart and George Wendt) and Sullivan & Sun.

Not that Bruce Helford doesn't have his own stacked TV resume, as he was part of creating hits like Anger Management, George Lopez, The Drew Carey Show and many more. He also wrote for Family Ties and Anything But Love. He's definitely got a heftier past in television than Rob Long, not that it made Kevin Can Wait any easier, and we'll likely hear about him coming up with a new show in the near future. It might not happen on Monday nights on CBS though.

Kevin Can Wait did get some good news recently when CBS ordered the back nine episodes, bringing the new sitcom to a full first season. But that came right around the time the sitcom's lead-in, The Big Bang Theory, switched back to Thursday nights, and it's now quite obvious that the struggles are getting real for Kevin Can Wait in acquiring a standalone fanbase. Though the series premiere was seen by over 11 million people, Monday night's episode peaked at 6.4 million viewers watching on the night. Maybe Halloween can be blamed for that, but it can't be blamed for every other episode's ratings decline. Maybe they can bring Ray Romano back on a weekly basis.

I really wanted to like this show because I always loved sitcoms and there are NONE on today that are worth my time. But....I simply don't find it funny. :(

I really wanted to like this show because I always loved sitcoms and there are NONE on today that are worth my time. But....I simply don't find it funny. :(

I'm a huge fan of King Of Queens, I like Kevin James, and Kevin Can Wait has some of the same writers/producers/etc, so I was hoping it would be as good as the previous show. Nope. Many of the episodes of Kevin Can Wait are rehashes of King Of Queens, just not done even remotely as good.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm


Not good news.

Obviously it wasn't such bad news since CBS renewed Kevin Can Wait for season 2.

Ed.

Maybe the new showrunner will make an attempt to make the show funny.

Kevin Can Wait is if you ask me, shaping up to be CBS' version of Last Man Standing (http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=359974) with Tim Allen. Both were fledgling or middle of the road (meaning that they did decent enough numbers and weren't that offensive but they at the end of the day, didn't create much waves) to put things more harshly sitcoms that were comeback vehicles of sorts for Kevin James (The King of Queens) and Tim Allen (Home Improvement).

But as things moved forward, both stars seemed to infuse more of their egos to the arguable detriment of the shows. In Tim Allen's case, he seemed to want to put in more of his real life political beliefs into his character as a means of creating some sort of new age All in the Family albeit more conservative slanted. Kevin James meanwhile, thinks that making King of Queens 2.0 by having Leah Remini (Tim Allen also brought along some of his old Home Improvement co-stars like Patricia Richardson, Richard Karn, and Jonathan Taylor Thomas to Last Man Standing for a cheap nostalgia pop) on will make things "all good" again.

And there's naturally, some big collateral damage along the way with Erinn Hayes and Alexandra Krosney (who played James and Allen's wife and eldest daughter respectively) getting dumped after the first seasons of each show.