CBS Cancels "Kevin Can Wait"

[Edward216]

Originally Posted by JamesG

CBS Brass on Decision to Cancel Kevin James Comedy "Kevin Can Wait"
by Nellie Andreeva
May 16, 2018


Probably the biggest casualty at CBS this season was the Kevin James comedy "Kevin Can Wait", canceled after two seasons as the network’s Monday 8 PM anchor.

Fueled by the popularity of its star and boosted by "The Big Bang Theory" as a lead, "Kevin Can Wait" got off to a blazing start in fall 2016. The series ranked as the most watched and highest rated new comedy last season. But it suffered some ratings decline over the course of the season.

And after its end, the show made a controversial casting change, killing off lead Erinn Hayes’s character and bringing in James’ "The Kings of Queens" co-star Leah Remini. The move had been acknowledged as a mistake. Viewers did not take it well, and ratings for "Kevin Can Wait" posted steep declines in Season 2, sending the series from the top of the heap to the bubble list.




“The numbers,” CBS Entertainment president Kelly Kahl said when asked by Deadline about the rationale behind "Kevin Can Wait’s" cancellation.

“It was a strong show for us, it’s had a lot of decline this year, it was heading in the wrong direction. The numbers were going down as the year went on and looking forward, it didn’t look like a show that was going to be strong enough to anchor a night for us going forward.”




As for the controversial casting changes after Season 1, “the show made a choice at the beginning of this year, we agreed to go along with it, and unfortunately the audience did not respond to it,” CBS EVP Thom Sherman said.

http://deadline.com/2018/05/kevin-ca...es-1202391972/

The audience did "respond" to it idiot. They stopped watching! LOL.

[TMC]

http://kenlevine.blogspot.com/2018/1...f-himself.html

Some background. KEVIN CAN WAIT premiered two years ago and was an instant hit. It was the most successful new comedy of the season. It received a full-season order for the second season months before season one was even over. And CBS initially so wanted Kevin James that they agreed to build a soundstage for him in Long Island so he could do the show practically from home. To say he was the 800 pound gorilla was an understatement. Of course, you build the guy a studio what do you expect when he flexes his creative muscles?

From day one James ran the show. The original creator/show runner quit halfway through season one. James was notorious for rewriting every script.

One of his problems was the chemistry between him and his TV wife, Erinn Hayes. Admittedly, Hayes is not a gifted comedienne. She’s more of a dramatic actress. Anyway, the decision was made to drop her at the end of season one and replace her with Leah Remini. Remini and James were together on KING OF QUEENS. And Remini is much more facile when it comes to comedy. So there definitely were reasons for making the switch. It was a decision approved by CBS and the studio producing the show. Casting changes are not uncommon. We were forced by CBS to let Kevin Kilner go from ALMOST PERFECT (a stupid decision that ultimately killed the show – thanks, CBS).

But in this case, the real problem was how KEVIN CAN WAIT handled it. They decided to kill off the character. That’s pretty severe. They couldn’t say she had to care for her sick mother in California and keep the door open for guest appearances to keep her in the series? Erinn Hayes had fans and the general consensus was that killing her off was excessive and needlessly hostile.

And then in season two her death was completely swept under the rug. There were a few mentions in passing (mostly as jokes). So it was handled in a very callous manner. I don’t have to tell you who made those creative decisions. James dug in his heels and guided the show in season two, deaf to any network, studio, or staff concerns. The result: the ratings went down and CBS cancelled the show after season two.

It takes some doing to go from most successful new comedy to cancellation in one year. (Although Roseanne managed the same feat in the length of time it took to write and post one tweet.)

[Chocolate Moose]

Wow. It's all coming together.

[Schmo]

Was KJ ultimately responsible for the failure of “KCW”?

[RetroGuy2000]

According to Ken Levine, above, Kevin James was.

[TMC]

How Kevin Can Wait Explained Donna's Death (& Why It Killed The Show)

[Chocolate Moose]

I don't think so. The show was el-stinko way before that.