'Red Widow' Gets The Axe
'Grey's' Isn't Going Anywhere
Only 22 Eps for 'Two and a Half Men' This Year
by Allison Waldman, posted Mar 23rd 2010 10:00PM
Today was the day for CBS and Warner Brothers to get the bad news about how Charlie Sheen's rehab has affected 'Two and a Half Men.' Instead of 24 episodes as planned, Chuck Lorre announced that there will be only 22 episodes of 'Two and a Half Men' this season. The original plan was that Warner Brothers would deliver 24 episodes of the top-rated sitcom to CBS, a plus because the more they make, the more revenue is generated. That's not just this year, but syndication, as well.
Unfortunately, the reality is that Charlie Sheen's personal life and the fact that he was compelled to go into rehab has cost everyone involved a lot of money. Hell, as one of the highest paid actors on television, this action has cost Charlie Sheen almost $2 million in salary alone!
In an interview with the New York Times, Chuck Lorre spun this development as no big deal. He said, "Instead of doing 24 shows this year, we'll be doing 22. But 22 is a full order. They had asked us to produce two additional episodes, which we normally do. But we won't do it this year."
As of last night, 18 episodes have been aired. There's one more in the can and then there'll be three more before they wrap production in April. Frankly, I'm not too concerned about who's making or losing money on the deal, but I am curious about how the missing two episodes for 2010 will affect story line.
With the four episodes remaining, is Charlie going to reconcile with Chelsea? Are they going to keep that reservation for a June wedding in Beverly Hills? Hopefully, Lorre and company will use the four shows to focus on moving Charlie back into bachelorhood and as randy as ever. That's much funnier than the weeping guy who can't get over being dumped by his fiance.
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