‘Two And A Half Men’ Ending: Mark Your Calendars For The Finale Date

Two and a Half Men will end its 12-year run on February 19, 2015, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The series, perhaps known as much for Charlie Sheen’s messy departure off-screen as its on-air episodes, will wrap up with a one-hour finale.

Despite the drama caused by Sheen’s relationship with the program, it has been a highly successful run for Two and a Half Men and producer Chuck Lorre. Entertainment Weekly notes the show was the most-watched sitcom from 2005 to 2009, and received 47 Emmy nominations. That success came despite the fact that, due to its raunchy nature, EW writer James Hibberd claimed few would admit to watching.

“[I]f you judged TV series popularity by reading EW’s comment boards, you would think ‘Men’ was a massive flop that keeps inexplicably getting renewed.”

Two and a Half Men has seen its ratings decline over the past few seasons. When the series conclusion was first announced, the Hollywood Reporter said its average number of viewers for Season 11 was 3.1 million in the 18-49 demographic and 11.5 million overall, including DVR watchers, which amounted to a decline over previous years. The show was also expensive to produce, owing in part to the high salaries of its male leads: Jon Cryer earned $620,000 per episode, and Ashton Kutcher $700,000.

Sheen was not the only actor to have a public dispute with Men. Angus T. Jones, who played Jon Cryer’s son, called the show “filth” and encouraged viewers to tune out of the program. According to THR, May 2013 was Jones’ last Men appearance.

With Two and a Half Men no longer on the air after February 19, viewers will get a double-dose of The Big Bang Theory. CBS will give Men’s former 9 p.m. timeslot to reruns of the popular comedy. Debuting in February will be the Matthew Perry-anchored reboot of The Odd Couple. Slated between a new Big Bang Theory and a rerun, The Odd Couple will benefit from being “lovingly wrapped in a Sheldon sandwich,” according to Hibberd.

Charlie Sheen spoke out to Extra in October about the Two and a Half Men finale and rumors he might be back for one last hurrah. As for his own interest, he confirmed he will show up if invited.

“I would definitely do it, yeah, yeah. If they’ll still have me, I will be there. Yeah, I owe it some measure of closure. I owe it to the fans… I just think it makes sense.”

He also claimed he had some ideas of his own about how the show should end.

“I have a brilliant idea, but don’t want to give it away. It’s the type of moment I think people would talk about for a long time and it wouldn’t get in anybody’s way. Think it would be a nice tip of the hat… they know I want to do it and I know they’re open to it, so, guess we’re just a meeting away from making it happen.”

[Two and a Half Men Image: CBS / Los Angeles Times]