There’s a lot that goes into making a television show. Writers and producers work tirelessly to create something out of nothing. Networks and studios spend crazy money to research and develop projects. Actors, crewmembers, artists, audio technicians, production assistants and handfuls of other people spend their lives trying to work for the monster of television. It’s pretty cool to see people trying their best at something they love.

That is why I try not to give shows negative reviews, especially as they first start. I am just a kid with an opinion; it would be dumb for me to continually use this space to trash something a lot of people might love.

However, I cannot sit quietly while Kevin James gets to star in another dumb sitcom.

Kevin James, of “Ploot Boot Maul Crop” fame, starred in “King of Queens” from 1998 until 2007. Back then, networks and masses of viewers loved a friendly sitcom. “Seinfeld,” “Friends” and “How I Met Your Mother” headlined this laugh track-filled era of TV. The aesthetic and lack of cinematography in these multi-cam shows proved an acceptable way to tell short and arguably funny stories.

Then, television started becoming more like movies. Shows like “Mad Men” and “Breaking Bad,” which would have been reserved for HBO before the mid 2000s, debuted and changed television. Television looked and felt like the movies.

This new identity ruined the highly constructed studio sitcom.  The stage decorations looked over-prepared, the makeup and wardrobe departments tried too hard to mimic real life in a way that worked for other genres of television.  The writing tried to get meta, which is the worst way to try to entertain. The studio sitcom existed every night of the week ten years ago. Now, only “Two Broke Girls” and “The Big Bang Theory” carry the torch.

After “King of Queens,” James moved into movieland, starring in all your least favorite Adam Sandler movies and of course, “Pool Drool Grool Tool.”  Over the course of his movie fame, James proved the humor is not within him, it is about him. He is not a funny man and his existence in the entertainment business is only good for Reddit jokes.

CBS, ignoring the death of the sitcom and the old, ruined joke that is Kevin James, will air a new show this fall called “Kevin Can Wait”. The show is running with the uninspired description of “Kevin James returns to series television in an irresistible comedy about a newly retired police officer looking forward to quality time with his family — and his fellow retired cops. When his oldest daughter announces she’s dropping out of college to support her fiancé, Kevin knows his only choice is to move them both into his home to keep her in school. The fun has to wait … his family is his new beat.” The worst part of this is that CBS wants to believe there are enough people in America who are drawn by Kevin James to watch this show every week.

And of course Kevin James, a 51-year-old ugly man in real life, has a hot and skinny wife on the show who is 11 years his junior. This whole show reeks of a misogynistic, bro-ey idea from 2003. Take a look at the trailer and see for yourself.

“Kevin Can Wait” will crash and burn and CBS deserves it for giving us this crap show.

Kyle Stevens is a sophomore advertising major. You can email him at ksteve03@syr.edu or reach him on Twitter at @kstevs_.

Published on September 11, 2016 at 10:28 pm