Kevin Can Wait was one of the biggest new comedies to hit the small screen in the 2016-2017 TV season, and it came as no surprise when the show all about the Gable family scored a renewal order for Season 2. As it turns out, however, Season 2 will look quite different from Season 1 thanks to Leah Remini joining the cast and Erinn Hayes' character passing away over hiatus. Actress Mary-Charles Jones plays middle child Sara Gable on Kevin Can Wait to perfection, and she recently spoke to CinemaBlend about what the show will be like with Leah Remini on board, saying this:
So the show is going to be focusing a bit more on Kevin being a single dad that has three kids and he is going back to work to provide for those three kids, so he's going to go work with Leah, which is kind of where she comes in. It's going to be focusing a bit more on the aspects of him learning how to handle being a single dad and creating these relationships with, for example, my character, she just doesn't have a mom anymore so she's kind of having to talk with her dad about these things that she would probably talk about with her mom because she's a teenager.
The premise of Kevin Can Wait in Season 1 was that Kevin Gable (played by Kevin James) retired from the police force with the intention of spending time with his family, only to discover that family life was more complicated than he expected. The status quo will shift in a big way for Season 2, with Kevin returning to work in order to provide for his family (including Mary-Charles Jones as Sara) after the death of his wife. Instead of going back to the police, however, Kevin will go to work with Leah Remini's Vanessa Cellucci at her private security firm. Now that Donna has passed away, Kevin's parental role with Sara and her siblings will need to expand at home on top of his position as breadwinner.
There will be a time jump of a year between the end of Season 1 and the beginning of Season 2, so we shouldn't expect to see what remains of the Gable family still in the throes of their immediate grief at Donna's death. The time jump should allow Kevin Can Wait to bring the laughs right out of the gate in Season 2 rather than starting on a glum note. We'll be able to enjoy Kevin and Vanessa sparring and the Gable kids interacting without feeling guilty because Donna just died. Kevin as a single dad at home and bouncing off Vanessa at work has the potential to be pretty hilarious. Mary-Charles Jones went on to explain how Season 2 will feel different after Season 1:
I think that Season 2 is going to not be more of like a repeat of Season 1. I think with every show that the first season is figuring out the direction that you want to take the show and the second season we've really kind of found out how we want to develop each of our characters and what relationships, what characters we want to pair with each other. I think this season is going to be extremely wonderful to watch, just to also see Kevin and Leah get more time together because when they're in a scene together it's so wonderful just the way that they're able to flow off of each other.
Many shows do take some time early on to figure out what works best, and it seems that Kevin Can Wait simply needed one season to work out the kinks. While Erinn Hayes was wonderful as Donna, her character's purpose had been fulfilled, and the story will bring the laughs in some entertaining new ways in Season 2. Mary-Charles Jones' comments indicate that Season 2 of Kevin Can Wait with Leah Remini on board as a regular should be an exciting ride.
You can catch Kevin James, Leah Remini, and Mary-Charles Jones on Kevin Can Wait when Season 2 premieres on Monday, September 25 at 9 p.m. ET on CBS. Don't forget to swing by our fall TV premiere schedule for your viewing options on the other nights of the week.
