When Kevin James ventured back into primetime television on CBS with Kevin Can Wait, you knew it was coming. It was only a matter of time before James' new television series would make some connection to his first hit series on the network, The King Of Queens. Now, CBS has announced the predictable-yet-exciting reunion will happen in the two-part season finale, where James will reunite with his former television wife, actress Leah Remini.
Leah Remini will join Kevin James on Kevin Can Wait's two-part finale, and will once again play his wife. While James already has a television wife on Kevin Can Wait (Erinn Hayes), a weird series of events will put his character Kevin Gable back into police work, where he'll work as an undercover agent with fellow officer Vanessa Cellucci (Remini) posing as his wife. The Wrap reports the episodic pair is set to begin on May 1st and will be the final two episodes of Season 1. It will certainly be exciting to see the two actors get together after the great run they had on The King Of Queens.
From 1998 to 2007, The King Of Queens was a ratings winner for CBS, and was the only remaining live-action '90s sitcom on television at its finale. It remains to be seen if Kevin Can Wait can offer the same amount of success for CBS, as the show has struggled early on with ratings. But with Season 2 on the way, no doubt showrunners are looking to tap Leah Remini to draw in fans of The King Of Queens who may not be aware that Kevin James is back on television with a new show.
Guests stars are always a way to draw fans to a new series and something Kevin Can Wait has been doing a lot. The show has had CBS primetime icon Ray Romano (who also appeared with Kevin on The King Of Queens), Adam Sandler, and music legend Billy Joel on the series. With big names like that, you have to wonder who else CBS can pull to the series to get more eyes on the show. I have my fingers crossed for a Jerry Stiller appearance, but at age 89, who knows if Stiller is up for something like that? Patton Oswalt, however...
Regardless of ratings, it will be sweet for fans of The King Of Queens to see Doug and Carrie back together again. You can watch Kevin Can Wait on Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS. New episodes pick back up for the series on April 10th, so maybe now is a good time to binge-watch episodes on-demand if you're gearing up for Leah Remini's appearance. You could also just wait until her episode May 1st and check out our Summer premiere schedule for some new shows to jump into as warm weather draws near.
