It began with a mild curiosity. Though at the time I'd never seen an episode of the show, last summer I came across headlines talking about the reunion of Kevin James and King of Queens star Leah Remini, who were back together on a different sitcom called Kevin Can Wait. This allegedly was not King of Queens—though all the characters and the plot are generally the same exact thing.
Soon I found myself in the dark web of Kevin James, where articles worked to connect every Kevin James film and show to a greater cinematic universe connected through Kevin Can Wait. King of Queens, Paul Blart Mall Cop, Hitch—they're all taking place within the same universe. Fascinated as I was with likely the most ambitious undertaking of any single career—this cinematic universe spans 20 films and two decades of television—it came at a great price.
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That's because in Kevin Can Wait Season One, there was another character: the beloved Gable family matriarch Donna, who was mysteriously killed off before Season Two and replaced with Kevin's antagonistic love interest played by King of Queens star Leah Remini.
In the last 24 episodes—nearly eight and a half hours of television, which I have actually watched over the last eight months—Donna's name has only been brought up a handful of times. The show has only flirted with directly discussing the circumstances or fallout of her death. In fact, one year after Donna's death, the family seems to have mostly forgotten it actually happened. Instead, Kevin and King of Queens star Leah Remini started a struggling security business, and Daughter and Befuddled Englishman purchased Enzo's—the only two notable plot points in the last 24 episodes.
But what happened to Donna?
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I have theories: She faked her own death to escape Kevin; she was killed in some terrible accident in Enzo's; Kevin and King of Queens star Leah Remini killed her to collect life insurance money; Kevin—trying to trim the Christmas tree with a chainsaw—tripped and killed her; Kevin accidentally pissed off members of the mob (possibly because he borrowed money from them to fund Monkey Fist), which resulted in Donna getting whacked.
Though I don't have a definitive answer, something else has happened throughout the last eight months. This investigation has taken a twisted meta turn, in which I believe the writers of the show are placing clues within Kevin Can Wait for me to find—kind of like a very low stakes Zodiac situation. There was the direct mention of this publication, along with an appearance by a concerned journalist. Then Erinn Hayes herself—who played Donna and now appears in the Amazon series The Dangerous Books For Boys—reached out about this very investigation.
This is bigger than weekly recaps of a half-hour sitcom filmed in front of a live studio audience. This is proof that television—and the criticism of it—can be as subjective as anything else. That perspective and persistence can change the very fabric of something as big as a major network sitcom watched by 4-6 million people a week.
And it was all leading up to Monday night's season finale in which I had hoped there might be even a tiny clue to what I've spent the better part of a year writing about. Would there be a climactic scene in which Kevin, Daughter, Daughter 2, and Son finally address the gaping wound in their hearts caused by Donna's death? Would horny single adults Kevin Gable and King of Queens star Leah Remini finally fuck? Would Donna's cause of death finally be revealed?
Sadly, dear reader, none of these things happened.
Instead, for some reason, Chris Rock and Adam Sandler made surprise guest appearances as Kevin's old friends who wanted to bring their band back together. There were various scenes of Kevin James doing an excruciating '80s-hair-metal karaoke thing (thankfully not as bad as his Prince impression). But, there was a random side plot where, in a flashback to the '80s, Kevin inadvertently convinced King of Queens star Leah Remini's boyfriend not to propose to her.
This detail opens up a number of options. Since Kevin effectively ruined her life years ago, did she return to ruin his? Did King of Queens star Leah Remini have something to do with Donna's disappearance?
But, like the end of Season One, we find Kevin Can Wait in a pivotal position. Will it get canceled? Will Chris Rock and Adam Sandler replace other regular characters on the show in a possible third season? Will the mystery of Donna's death ever be revealed?
As I vowed eight months ago, I won't quit until we get #JusticeForDonna. And I'll keep this investigation going through whatever happens next.
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