Could the Two and a Half Men TV show carry on without Charlie Sheen? It seems as unlikely as American Idol continuing without Simon Cowell. While Idol is scheduled to go on without Cowell next season, supposedly Men won’t try it without Sheen.
Currently in its seventh season, Two and a Half Men stars Sheen and Jon Cryer as Charlie and Alan, two brothers living the single life together. The “Half Man” in the title doesn’t seem very appropriate anymore since it refers to Alan’s nearly full-grown son, Jake (Angus T. Jones). Conchata Ferrell, Holland Taylor, and Marin Hinkle star as well.
Although Warner Bros. is in the midst of a multi-year broadcast agreement for Men, it may not get that far. Sheen has been besieged by personal problems, most notably a Christmas Day altercation with his wife, Brooke Mueller, that landed him in jail. Both Sheen and Mueller have subsequently entered rehab.
Prior to finishing production of this season’s episodes, Sheen let it be known that he was ready to leave the sitcom. He supposedly wants to get back into movies and regularly receives offers to do them, but can’t because of his sitcom schedule.
But this isn’t exactly news to the network and studio. Sheen told People, “Approaching the start of the current season and as far back as June ’09, I submitted my terms for season eight to Warner Bros. and CBS respectfully. Both parties have known the score for over a year. In no way, has this been a hasty or negligent 11th hour surprise. I offer this information out of love and respect to my crew, my on-set family, my writers, executive staff, as well as my real family, my dear friends and my loyal fans.”
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There’s been wide speculation that his being ready to walk away is a tactic for Sheen to get a significant bump in his paycheck. The actor reportedly makes about $900,000 per episode of Men, including backend profits. That makes him the highest-paid sitcom star on TV right now.
If this is a negotiating ploy, it’s hard to imagine that Sheen could be in a better bargaining position. It’s the top sitcom on television and CBS has a big interest in keeping it as an anchor of their Monday night schedule. They’ve already renewed the show through the 2011-12 season and Warner Bros. is ready to keep selling episodes for big bucks in syndication.
If a deal can’t be struck, the show is over according to RadarOnline. Unnamed sources at Warner Bros. say there’s been no discussions of trying to continue the show without Sheen. Taylor recently told EW, “I can’t even imagine.”
The actress believes Sheen is the brand of the show and says that his salary isn’t out of line, pointing out that the six castmembers of Friends were paid $1 million per episode almost a decade ago. Taylor also said, “I think he could walk away from it and be happy… Whatever he does, he commits himself and works very hard. He knows his lines before anybody. He is on time and responsible for the show, and a good guy on the set.”
According to Deadline, negotiations are still going on behind the scenes with a per episode rate of $1 million being bandied about. That’s significantly lower than previous rumors of $1.5-2 million per episode and may not be enough to get Sheen back.
If the worst happens, CBS is already trying out different scheduling options. They’re airing The Big Bang Theory in Men’s timeslot on Monday and will follow it with a Big Bang repeat. If Men doesn’t come back, Big Bang would likely move to 9pm and a new Chuck Lorre sitcom called Mike & Molly could take the 9:30pm timeslot. While it wouldn’t be the network’s preference, there are far worse scenarios.
However things work out, negotiations with Sheen and Two and a Half Men’s future should be finalized prior to CBS’ advertiser upfront presentation on May 19th.
What do you think? Will the show and Sheen return for season eight?
Image courtesy CBS.
Horrible move on CBS’ part not to air 2.5Men this Monday night…..
I protest CBS until 2.5Men get back on track……horrible programming move….horrible…they never aired the final ep? where’s the cliff hanger….you just can’t keep loyal fans in the dark, ZZ Top was supposed to be on the show, CBS – your a horrible network to pull 2.5 men….
17 million people will be pissed off Monday night because this show is missing from the line up….and they don’t even know it yet…..so sad, can’t Americans do anything right, NOT at CBS – obvious……..not at CBS programming……….
CBS can’t walk away from a show that pulls 17 million home viewers average over a year. Banks need to be paid back…networks neet to make money…Charlie Sheen = big bucks… Americans love this show because we all wish we had the Malibu life style of easy going Charlie and his banter with Alan is history making on television… It’s Charlie’s choice..whatever he chooses, he needs to take care himself….relax and enjoy the ride…and have gratitude for all the blessings he’s received… Hey – he’s got great kids….they could spend time traveling the world with their dad and not look… Read more »
Are you kidding? Yes of course I’m sure that Charlie and the show will come back, I love the show because of him, and if he leaves then I might not watch it anymore. So, please let Charlie stay on Two and a Half Men.
Time to quit. The show should go out on a high note before it jumps the shark.
It passed that point the moment Angus T. Jones became a teenager.
Monday nights are the only nights I get to laugh anymore. If Charlie needs some time then have him go off to do concert piano. He has a recent episode where he played some really nice music. He can go out and do that but be seen in an episode here and there. In the mean time bring back Rose. she is funny. I LOVE her. she is a great actress, I love her in Ever after, 2 and a half men and a few other films she was in. I miss Rose. As I said mondays are my favorite… Read more »
I hope so, my family enjoys it so much.
I think the sit-com is the best one ever and Charlie and John are the main characters it can’t go without them , CBS has to find a solution otherwise even future shows , well the actors will not be happy dealing with the network , saying that , Kelsey Grammer can fill in for Charlie . With a very good make up job , I think he might pull it off
It is long past time to put Two and a Half Men to bed. This sitcom hasn’t just jumped the shark, it sliced, diced and julienne-fried it. Say good night.
I’m sure they can adjust schedules to fit the needs of Sheen’s future plans. This is still a top sit-com and should not just be “chucked”, (no pun intended).
if sheen dosnt come back end the show! that and big bang theory are the only good shows on the old folks network aka cbs!
This show is great.CBS pleeeease dont cancell
I’d love to see this show go on, Charlie Sheen does a great job on it, I don’t agree with his personal life, but with few true sitcoms on nowadays, this is one that has to stay for awhile.
If CBS takes two and a half men off the air and can’t negotiate this, I will have no reason to watch CBS anymore.
Yes I think Sheen and the show will be back. It would a big mistake to take it off the air. I know it, you know it and guess what CBS knows it too. They can think of as the best investment they’ll ever make. I mean really if they take the best out of the equation that will lead to people thinking what are they gonna take next. That could start a horrible chain reaction. People will lose faith in CBS which will cause lower ratting for their other shows like the CSI NCIS the Good wife and their… Read more »
Well, he’s a very bad person, but unfortunately very funny. I don’t necessarily watch every episode, but it is a nice little sitcom. In my opinion, end it now while he has some dignity left, in something, and give it a series finale. Worst thing they could do for syndication is to not have one, people really hate that.