Chuck Lorre On Charlie Sheen’s ‘Two And A Half Men’: ‘There Are No Wounds’
Two and a Half Men wraps up its 12th and final season on February 19, and the big question is whether Charlie Sheen will come back. Sheen was fired from the show in 2011, and his character, Charlie Harper, was killed in Paris after being hit by a subway train.
Sheen’s departure came after his disparaging public remarks about his bosses at Two and a Half Men and his erratic public behavior. Although the incendiary series of events might make Sheen the black sheep of the Chuck Lorre television family — Lorre currently produces four shows on CBS: Men, The Big Bang Theory, Mom, and Mike & Molly — Lorre insists there is no bad blood.
“There are no wounds. What happened, happened. And I’m grateful for the time we enjoyed working together and I’m very grateful Ashton [Kutcher] came along and kept the lights on. What do I got to complain about? I’m so blessed.”
Lorre made the statements at the Television Critics Association winter press tour on January 15. He responded to the question of whether Sheen would be a part of the show’s finale by talking about the evolution of Two and a Half Men over its 12-year run.
“It would be inappropriate to not acknowledge the extraordinary success we had with Charlie and how grateful I am, we all are, to his contributions. And there’s nothing but great feelings for the eight-and-a-half years we worked together. But how to wrap the show up? It’s tricky. It’s a sticky wicket. Because in a way, the show morphed into something else entirely for the last four years—and it’s something we love—and we want to honor both. How to honor both is the challenge of this finale. And the other challenge is how to get people to watch it without telling them what it is.”
Lorre also said he was “proud” of the shows he did with Sheen. However, CBS Entertainment chief Nina Tassler was also coy about whether Sheen would return.
On Monday, Tassler said, “I can promise you there will be a lot of surprises,” referring to Lorre’s description of the Two and a Half Men finale as “a mystery sandwich.”
Back in October, Sheen confirmed his interest in appearing on-screen as the series comes to a close. He told Extra he even had an idea for the storyline, which he declined to reveal.
Ashton Kutcher, who took over from Sheen on Men after his departure, further fueled the rumors in December. He appeared on Ellen and said he’d been pitched a finale scenario that had him “a little terrified.”
Although Lorre said there were “no wounds,” he also admitted he had not spoken to Charlie Sheen since the two fell out during the Two and a Half Men row.
[Image: CBS/Two and a Half Men]
