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Armchair Executive: Would you renew Two and a Half Men?

by Richard Keller, posted May 12th 2006 7:37PM

Do you renew Two and a Half MenIt's probably a forgone conclusion that the executives at CBS will renew Two and a Half Men. The comedy, which stars Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer and Angus T. Jones, is consistently in the Nielsen ratings' top 20 and is about to reach the magical syndication mark. In addition, it is one of the more popular comedies (How  I Met Your Mother being the other) on the drama-heavy network.

And yet, there may be some apprehension amongst the CBS suits about renewal because of the recent antics of star Sheen. First the actor divorced his on-again off-again wife Denise Richards, then Richards obtained a restraining order against Sheen due to, among other things, alleged verbal and physical abuse, excessive gambling, and his frequent visits to child porn sites (maybe he needs to be a guest-star on Law & Order: SVU). To top it all off, he was sued by a woman who claimed that the character he portrays on his sitcom was based on her.

 

So, needless to say, Sheen has a bit of baggage to carry into the filming of a new season. This may raise a flag to many executives; if he's juggling all of this will he be able to perform his duties or will there be a lot of solo episodes with just Cryer and Jones. There is also a chance that the show could begin to lose advertisers and audience if Sheen's legal troubles continue to mount.

So, armchair executives, I leave the decision up to you: do you renew the show and take the risk that Sheen's problems will simmer down, or do you cancel the show for fear of negative feedback from advertisers and viewers? Or, as a third option, do you take a cautious approach and renew the show but hold off the premier until the beginning of 2006, when Sheen's turmoil will hopefully calm down? The choice is yours to make.

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Dave Hill

Its a great show makes me have a chuckle or two..I watch every week

August 02 2006 at 10:40 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Mike

naturally it should be renewed.....it is one of the better written shows on television

May 31 2006 at 5:25 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Sue

"Two and a Half Men" is THE funniest sitcom on TV! It's pretty close to being the ONLY funny sitcom on TV these days!
BTW, Charlie Sheen plays a CHARACTER on this show, and why are all of you so concerned about his private life?
Get a grip on your own lives; also, learn how to spell!

May 24 2006 at 1:17 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Phill G

Until last night this was a dead cert to be renewed. Then the series finale happened. What happens when you bring back a character that dragged the series down (Mia), steal main plot lines from Seinfeld (The Fake Phone Number) and Frasier (Lilith wants another child) and mix them together with no real laughs and script Charlie *totally* out of character? I think you'll find you get something comparable with the final poor episodes of Frasier. Mid-series if was as if the main producers took a holiday while Mia was introduced and nearly ruined the show. They arrived back suitably tanned and said WTF have you done with our show? Instantly ditched Mia and brought Charlie back to form. Should have ended on a high an episode early...

May 16 2006 at 4:22 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Maria

I love the show, I don't work Monday Nights so I can watch it. If I am sad or just need a laugh, I just think about this show. I give it 5 stars.

May 16 2006 at 2:04 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Christina

I agree that what's going on in Charlie's personal life would not have an effect on my decision to watch or not. BUT what I'm so VERY disapointed in is that the show seems to have really gotten so raunchy this season. It was such an EXCELENT funny show to start. I love the sassy house keeper and the son, but think Candy's roll is just too stupid, although she is good looking the whole story line with her and the whole total continue sex theme talking about masturbation and such is getting way out of hand and now bringing a young boy into it, is really lowing the the quality of show it used to be! Why the trend to always go in that direction is beyond me. To bad that such a GREAT show, so funny has lost it's oringal humor and has decided to go into the gutter with their story lines! I'm really so dissapointed this season. Is there any body that agrees?

May 16 2006 at 11:42 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Nance

This is THE best show in a very long time. And who cares what Charlie does off stage...he makes me laugh weekly...and isn't that what it's all about? Kudos to the writers!! Perfect combo with cast and crew. Renew many times over!

May 15 2006 at 12:28 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
doc

The list of options leaves out the detail that there are more than likely existing contracts in place for many of the players involved in the show. So, not only would the executive in question be cancelling the highest rated comedy on network tv, it would cost the network millions of dollars to do it. I can't see that happening.

May 13 2006 at 8:20 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jaymez

Cancle it. Hell, I'd cancle every sitcom on television if I had the power. Watch a sitcom or pull the hair out of my nuts with tweezers? Pass the tweezers.

May 13 2006 at 6:02 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jimmy

Viewers don't give a damn what's going on is Charlie Sheen's private life. The only people that would are those who already hate the racy comedy. Two-and-a-Half Men is the most watched comedy CBS has. They would be stupid to drop it just because Charlie Sheen can cut the Internet porn habit. Moreover, the show wouldn't surivive without him.

May 13 2006 at 12:57 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply

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