IN THE SPOTLIGHT

JEFF NEUMANN, CBS Leah Remini and Kevin James reunite on the first season finale of “Kevin Can Wait.” Kevin Gable, a newly retired cop who is thrilled to kick back and relax, until he realizes his family will always drive him crazy. Erinn Hayes plays Donna Gable, his wife of 20 years.

Or at least, she did until recently — on Saturday, Hayes confirmed that her character has been written off the series.

“True, I’ve been let go from the show,” she tweeted. “Very sad, I had a great experience season 1. Thank you for all the support from our wonderful fans.”

TVLine, which first broke the news, reported that “the sitcom is heading in a new creative direction in Season 2.” Variety followed up with a story echoing that Hayes’s dismissal from the series — which averaged 9.1 million viewers — was for creative reasons and “not a reflection” of her performance.

Here comes the strange part. The news happened a day after CBS announced that Leah Remini would join the cast as a series regular. Remini, who played James’ wife on the hit CBS sitcom “The King of Queens” for nine seasons, guest-starred as an undercover cop in the “Kevin Can Wait” two-part season finale in May.

Apparently, things went well. Variety confirmed she’ll return to play the same character, who was Kevin’s former partner and rival on the police force.

Hayes’ departure raises many questions. Even though sitcoms don’t necessarily need stringent plot consistency, viewers might notice an important character has simply vanished. How will the show explain losing Hayes? Would the writers possibly go the divorce route, or something darker? Does this mean James and Remini will turn into TV spouses yet again? In the finale, their characters bickered constantly, and you know what that usually means.