With Angus T. Jones Leaving The Show, Can ‘Two And A Half Men’ Survive?
Angus T. Jones announced he is leaving the show that made him famous, choosing instead to make occasional appearances on Two and a Half Men. The question now is whether the long-running sitcom can stay on the air after already losing its top-billed star, Charlie Sheen.
There is no worry for the immediate future. CBS announced on Friday that the show, with Ashton Kutcher serving as replacement for Charlie Sheen, is coming back for its 11th season. But it will have to do without Angus T. Jones, who announced he’s leaving to pursue his budding interest in music.
“They tried really hard to keep him, but he was just done done,” a source told Us Weekly, adding that Jones is trying to get into making some “Skrillex style” tracks.
Even though Angus T. Jones is leaving the show that made his career, the 19-year-old can afford to pursue his new dream. The young star reportedly got $350,000 per episode of the show, making among the highest-paid young actors in show business.
It shouldn’t come as too big a surprise that Angus T. Jones is leaving the show. In November he made headlines for a YouTube video in which he called show filth and implored viewers to stop watching it. He later apologized for the rant.
Though there were rumors that Jones could be off the show, CBS execs accepted his apology.
“The kid is 19 years old. I’ve got a 24-year-old,” said CBS entertainment chief Nina Tassler. “Between the ages of 19 and 24, there’s been plenty of things my kid has said that I wish he hadn’t. The bottom line is that cooler heads prevailed.”
But though Two and a Half Men has been renewed, its long-term future is more uncertain. The show has a well-paid cast, and the more expensive production could mean a smaller margin of error should ratings slip.
So far it’s been able to hold up quite nicely. Ratings remained high after Kutcher joined the show to replace Sheen, and last year Jon Cryer won his first Emmy win for the show in the Lead Actor in a Comedy Series category.
It seems that as long as people keep tuning in, it won’t matter if Angus T. Jones is leaving the show.
