In 2011, a news article in The New York Times called it "the biggest hit comedy of the past decade." The show has ranked among the Top 20 programs every season since it first aired. There have been eight seasons of the show and at least one additional season to come. In 2010, CBS and Warner Bros. Television reached a multi-year broadcast agreement for the series, renewing it through at least the 2011–12 season. However, CBS and Warner Bros. decided to end production for the rest of the eighth season due to Sheen entering drug rehab and making disparaging comments about the show's creator and executive producer, Chuck Lorre. Sheen was fired from the show on March 7, 2011. The ninth season will include Ashton Kutcher as Sheen's replacement.
Cast and characters
The main cast of Two and a Half Men (seasons 1–4), from left to right: Melanie Lynskey as Rose, Conchata Ferrell as Berta, Charlie Sheen as Charlie Harper, Holland Taylor as Evelyn Harper, Angus T. Jones as Jake Harper, Jon Cryer as Alan Harper, and Marin Hinkle as Judith Melnick
Main
Charlie Sheen as Charlie Harper, (Season 1-8) a hedonistic bachelor, alcoholic, jingle/children's song writer and Jake's uncle.
Jon Cryer as Alan Harper, Charlie's chiropractor brother and Jake's divorced father, who is conscientious but continually stricken with bad judgment.
Angus T. Jones as Jake Harper, the underachieving son of Alan and Judith.
Conchata Ferrell as Berta, Charlie's sharp-tongued housekeeper.
Holland Taylor as Evelyn Harper, Charlie and Alan's conceited mother and Jake's grandmother. A high powered Los Angeles broker/realtor.
Marin Hinkle as Judith Harper-Melnick, Alan's vindictive, self-absorbed ex-wife and Jake's mother.
Ashton Kutcher as Walden Schmidt (Season 9–present), a broken-hearted internet billionaire.
Recurring
Melanie Lynskey (starring seasons 1–2; recurring seasons 3–present) as Rose, the Harpers' strange former neighbor and Charlie's stalker. Before Sheen's firing, his character ran off with Rose to resume a romantic relationship.
Ryan Stiles (season 2–present) as pediatrician Dr. Herbert "Herb" Melnick, Judith's goofy, train-hobbyist second husband, father to Judith's daughter, and Jake's stepfather. In season 2, he was named "Greg."
Emmanuelle Vaugier (seasons 3, 5–7) as Mia, ballet teacher, Charlie's ex-fiance.
April Bowlby (seasons 3–4) as Kandi,[note 2] Charlie's girlfriend, then girlfriend and wife of Alan, then Alan's ex-wife, Judith's best friend (for one episode).
Jane Lynch (seasons 1, 3–present) as Dr. Linda Freeman, Charlie's and Alan's adept, incisive, sarcastic, but money-hungry psychiatrist.
J. D. Walsh as Gordon, a pizza delivery guy who appears in seasons 1–3 and season six onwards. At one time, he is Rose's boyfriend, or more correctly her substitute for Charlie.
Kelly Stables (season 6–present) as Melissa, Alan's receptionist who briefly dated Charlie before starting an intermittent relationship with Alan.
Jennifer Bini Taylor (seasons 6–7) as Chelsea,[note 1] Charlie's girlfriend for most of season six, who has moved into his house by the end of the season. She then becomes Charlie's fiancée in season seven. (While credited on-screen among the main cast during the seventh season, CBS press releases billed her as a recurring character.)
Courtney Thorne-Smith (season 7–present) as Lyndsey MacElroy, Alan's girlfriend and the mother of Jake's best friend, Eldridge.
Graham Patrick Martin (season 7–present) as Eldridge MacElroy, Jake's best friend whose mother Lyndsey is dating Alan.
Judy Greer (season 9-present) as Bridget Schmidt, Walden's ex-wife who is in the process of divorcing him.
Episodes
As of 2011, eight seasons have been broadcast and the show has been renewed for one more season. Each episode is titled with a quotation from it; unlike most episodic television, the episode title usually bears no relationship to any of the plotlines; the quote fragment being completely out of context. The show's 100th episode ("City of Great Racks") aired on October 15, 2007. To celebrate this, a casino-inspired party was held at West Hollywood's Pacific Design Center. Warner Brothers Television also distributed blue Micargi Rover bicycles adorned with the Two and a Half Men logo along with the words "100 Episodes." Each bicycle came with a note saying "You've made us very proud. Here's to a long ride together." The cast also gifted the crew with sterling silver key rings from Tiffany & Co. The key rings were attached to small pendants with "100" inscribed on one side and Two and a Half Men on the other.
All seasons except 5, 7 and 8 consist of 24 episodes. Season 5 was narrowed down to 19 episodes due to 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. Due to Sheen's personal life problems, Season 7 was narrowed down to 22 episodes. Season 8 premiered on September 20, 2010, at 9:00 p.m. ET. CBS initially ordered 24 episodes for the season, but due to Sheen's personal life, the show was put on hiatus, with production scheduled to resume on February 28. After a series of comments made by Sheen on February 24, 2011, CBS and Warner Bros. cancelled the remainder of the season (episodes 17–24). On May 13, 2011 it was widely reported that actor Ashton Kutcher would be replacing Charlie Sheen as the lead on the show. Kutcher will not be playing the character Charlie Harper. Instead he will be introduced as another occupant of the Malibu residence.[
Crossovers and other appearances
"When Chuck pitched the idea to me ... I thought it was an intriguing idea and walked into Naren's office and he said, 'What a nut.'"
– Carol Mendelsohn
Crime Scene Investigation
In 2007, Two and a Half Men creator Chuck Lorre contacted CSI: Crime Scene Investigation executive producer Carol Mendelsohn about a crossover. At first, the idea seemed unlikely to receive approval; however, it resurfaced when Mendelsohn and Lorre were at the World Television Festival in Canada and they decided to get approval and run with it. When Mendelsohn was giving a talk, she accidentally mentioned the crossover, that same day Variety Magazine was already inquiring about the crossover episodes. Mendelsohn later stated: "We're all used to being in control and in charge of our own shows and even though this was a freelance-type situation ... there was an expectation and also a desire on all of our parts to really have a true collaboration. You have to give a little. It was sort of a life lesson, I think.
"The biggest challenge for us was doing a comedy with a murder in it. Generally our stories are a little lighter," stated Lorre in an interview. "Would our audience go with a dead body in it? There was a moment where it could have gone either way. I think the results were spectacular. It turned out to be a really funny episode.
Due Date
At the end of 2010 film Due Date, a scene from Two and a Half Men is shown, in which Sheen, Cryer, and Jones (deleted scene only) appear as their characters, while Ethan Chase (played by Zach Galifianakis in the movie) plays Stu, Jake's tutor.
Following a February 2010 announcement that Charlie Sheen was entering drug rehabilitation, filming of the show was put on hiatus. Filming of the show resumed on March 16, 2010. On April 1, 2010, People.com reported that after seven seasons, Sheen announced he was considering leaving the show. According to one source, Sheen quit the show after filming the final episode of Season 7, purportedly due to his rejection of CBS's offer of $1 million per episode as too low. Sheen eventually stated that he would be back for two more seasons. On May 18, 2010, the New Zealand website Stuff.com reported that a press release issued by Sheen's publicist confirmed that Sheen had signed a new contract for a further two years at $1.78 million per episode. "To put a fitting end on the two and one-half months of whirlwind speculation, I'm looking forward to returning to my CBS home on Monday nights," Sheen was quoted as saying.
On January 28, 2011, Sheen entered a rehabilitation center voluntarily for the third time in 12 months. According to Warner Bros. Television and CBS, the show was put on hiatus for an unknown amount of time. The following month, after Sheen's verbal attacks against Chuck Lorre during a radio interview with Alex Jones and an online interview with TMZ, CBS announced that Two and a Half Men would cease production for the rest of its eighth season, affecting an estimated 200 employees, and causing Warner Bros., Lorre, Sheen, and other profit participants to not receive about $10 million from the lost eight remaining episodes. Afterwards, Sheen was interviewed on ABC's 20/20, NBC's Today, and CNN's Piers Morgan Tonight, continuing to make hostile comments about Lorre, as well as CBS. On March 7, CBS and Warner Bros. Television jointly announced that Sheen had been fired from the show, citing "moral turpitude" as a main cause of separation. No decision about the future of the show was announced at that time.
Notable guest stars
John Amos as Ed, boyfriend of Chelsea's father Tom (season 7)
Diora Baird as Wanda, a girl who chases after Charlie when he is engaged to Chelsea (season 6, episode 16)
Orson Bean as Norman, an old man who is married to a woman with whom Charlie had sex (season 2)
Susan Blakely as Angie, an author Charlie met at a bookstore (season 5, episodes 18 and 19)
Paget Brewster as Jamie Eckleberry, Charlie and Alan's high school classmate (season 2, episode 12)
Julia Campbell as Francine, Jake's teacher (season 3)
Elvis Costello as himself, Charlie's poker and cigar buddy (season 2, episode 1)
Josie Davis as Sandy, a girlfriend of Alan's (season 3)
Michael Clarke Duncan as Jerome Burnett, Charlie and Alan's neighbor, and the father of Celeste Burnette (season 6)
Steven Eckholdt as Brad, Alan's lawyer, and Chelsea's replacement for Charlie (season 7)
Jenna Elfman as Frankie (season 1, episode 15 and 16)
Emilio Estevez as Andy, Charlie's long-time friend who dies before him (season 6, episode 11)
Morgan Fairchild as Donna (Charlie's ego) (season 4, episode 16)
Meagen Fay as Martha Melini, Chelsea's mother (seasons 6 and 7)
Frances Fisher as Priscilla Honeycutt, Alan's patient (season 7, episode 19)
Megan Fox as Prudence, Berta's granddaughter (season 1, episode 12)
Judy Greer as Myra Melnick, Herb Melnick's sister, Jake's step-aunt, and Charlie's one-night fling (season 4)
Teri Hatcher as Liz, Judith's sister (season 1, episode 19)
Tricia Helfer as Gail, Chelsea's friend (season 7)
Amy Hill as Mrs. Wiggins, Alan's receptionist after Melissa leaves him (season 7)
Enrique Iglesias as Fernando, Charlie's carpenter/handyman (season 4, episode 23)
Allison Janney as Alan's online dating partner (season 4)
James Earl Jones as himself (season 6, episode 11)
Tinashe Kachingwe as Celeste Burnette, Jake's ex-girlfriend (seasons 6 and 7)
Carol Kane as Shelly, Melissa's mother (season 6)
Stacy Keach as Tom Melini, Chelsea's father (season 7)
Richard Kind as Artie, Charlie's manager (season 5, episode 8)
Katherine LaNasa as Lydia, Charlie's Oedipal girlfriend and Evelyn's doppelgänger (season 4, episodes 6 and 10)
Cloris Leachman as Norma, Charlie and Alan's neighbor, Alan's "sugar momma", and Charlie's former "sugar momma" (season 3)
Richard Lewis as Stan, Charlie's accountant (season 1, episode 14)
Heather Locklear as Laura Lang, Esq., Alan's divorce attorney (season 1, episode 21)
Camryn Manheim as Daisy, Berta's sister (season 2)
Graham Patrick Martin as Eldridge McElroy, friend of Jake and son of Alan's love interest, Lyndsey (seasons 7 and 8)
Jenny McCarthy as Nathan Krunk's lover and grifting partner, Sylvia Fishman (alias "Teddy's daughter", "Courtney Leopold") (seasons 5 and 8)
Katy Mixon as Betsy, a married woman whom Charlie purports to marry after his break-up with Chelsea (season 7, episodes 7 and 16)
Christina Moore as Cynthia Sullivan, Judith's best friend (season 5)
Martin Mull as Russell, Charlie's drug-addicted, unethical pharmacist (seasons 6, 7, and 8)
Ming-Na as the Hon. Linda Harris, Superior Court judge, adjunct law professor, and Charlie's girlfriend (season 5, episodes 3, 4, 5, and 6)
Judd Nelson (season 8) as Chris McElroy, ex-husband of Alan's love interest, Lyndsey.
Chris O'Donnell as Jill/Bill, Charlie's ex-girlfriend who since became a man (season 1, episode 18)
Gail O'Grady as Mandi, mother of Kandi, ex-wife of Andy, and brief love interest of Charlie (season 3)
Jodi Lyn O'Keefe as Isabella (season 3, episode 6)
Sean Penn as himself, Charlie's poker and cigar buddy (season 2, episode 1)
Annie Potts as Lenore, mother of Judith & Liz (season 7)
Missi Pyle as Delores Pasternak, Jake's teacher (season 2 and 7)
Carl Reiner as Marty Pepper (season 7)
Denise Richards as Lisa, Charlie's former girlfriend (season 1, episode 10, and season 2, episode 9)
Emily Rose as Janine (season 6, episode 12)
Sara Rue as Naomi, Berta's daughter (season 4)
Jeri Ryan as Sherri, Charlie's girlfriend (season 2, episodes 5 and 19)
Martin Sheen as Harvey, father of Rose, and Evelyn's fling (season 3)
Brooke Shields as Danielle, Charlie and Alan's neighbor (season 4)
Rena Sofer as Chrissy, the "mother" of Charlie's "son" (season 6, episode 1)
Kevin Sorbo as Andy, father of Kandi, ex-husband of Mandi, and brief love interest of Judith (season 3)
Harry Dean Stanton as himself, Charlie's poker and cigar buddy (season 2, episode 1)
Tony Tripoli as Phillip, Evelyn's hairdresser (season 4)
Steven Tyler as himself, Charlie and Alan's neighbor and Berta's one-time employer (season 1, episode 4, and season 4, episode 2)
Eddie Van Halen as himself (season 7, episode 1)
Emmanuelle Vaugier as Mia, Charlie's ex-fiancée (seasons 3, 5, 6, and 7)
Robert Wagner as Nathan Krunk (alias "Teddy Leopold"), Evelyn's fifth husband (later revealed to be a con artist), who died late in season 5 (seasons 4 and 5)
Wayne Wilderson as Roger, Evelyn's co-worker (season 4)
Alicia Witt (season 6) as Delores Pasternak, Jake's teacher who became a stripper
ZZ Top as themselves
As part of a crossover from the writers and executive producer of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, George Eads made a brief cameo appearance on the May 5, 2008 episode.
Charlie Sheen's real-life brother Emilio Estevez has guest-starred as an old friend of Charlie's; his father Martin Sheen has appeared as Rose's father. Sam Sheen, the real-life daughter of Denise Richards and Charlie Sheen, has appeared as Lisa's daughter on November 22, 2004.
Reception
The New York Daily News has described the sitcom as "solid, well-acted and occasionally funny." Conversely Graeme Blundell, writing for The Australian, described it as a "sometimes creepy, misogynistic comedy".
The show has received multiple award nominations. It was nominated for 30 Primetime Emmy Awards (winning four technical awards and one for Jon Cryer as Alan Harper), and has also received two Golden Globe nominations. The show won the "Favorite TV Comedy" award at the 35th People's Choice Awards.
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