‘Kevin Can Wait’ Canceled By CBS After Just Two Seasons

By Nellie Andreeva, Deadline
Published May 13, 2018, 8:40 a.m. ET

CBS has opted not to pick up a third season of its Kevin James comedy series Kevin Can Wait.

This is one of the biggest casualties at CBS this season. The network had set out to shake things up on Monday, where its ratings fortunes had fallen. It has now canceled Kevin Can Wait, Superior Donuts and Scorpion and only has renewed Man with a Plan.  

Fueled by the popularity of its star Kevin James and boosted by The Bing Bang Theory as a lead, Kevin Can Wait got off to a blazing start in fall 2016 and went on to become a sturdy Monday 8 PM anchor. The series ranked as the most watched and highest rated new comedy last season. But there was some ratings decline over the course of the season.

Additionally, midway through Season 1, the series parted ways with co-creator and showrunner Bruce Helford, who now steers ABC’s Roseanne revival. And after the end of last season, the show made a controversial casting change, letting go of original female lead Erinn Hayes, whose character was killed off, 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.

Kevin Can Wait still has been doing a decent job opening the night and ranks as CBS’ top Monday program this season though its numbers have been declining, so they are now on par with Man with a Plan. Man with a Plan is fully owned by CBS, Kevin Can Wait is a 50-50 co-production with Sony TV as the leading studio.

Kevin Can Wait stars Kevin James as a retired police officer who is setting out on a fresh career path as he rises to the challenge of being a newly single dad. His kids, Sara, Jack and Kendra, are grateful to him for making sure they’re OK but decide it’s time for him to get out of the house, so they turn to Vanessa, his former police partner, for help. Vanessa has left the force to launch her own private security firm, and she makes Kevin an offer he can’t refuse – to be her new business partner.

Leah Remini, Taylor Spreitler, Mary-Charles Jones, James DiGiacomo, Ryan Cartwright, Gary Valentine
and Leonard Earl Howze also star. James, Jeff Sussman, Rob Long, Rock Reuben, Andy Fickman and Steve Mosko executive produce.

Fickman posted about the cancellation on Instagram:

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