Two and a Half Men Information

Two and a Half Men is an American television sitcom that was first broadcast on CBS on September 22, 2003. Starring Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer, and Angus T. Jones, the show was originally about a hedonistic jingle writer, Charlie Harper; his uptight brother, Alan; and Alan's growing son, Jake. After Alan divorces, he moves with his son to share Charlie's beach-front Malibu house and complicate Charlie's free-wheeling life.

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. But, on February 24, 2011, CBS and Warner Bros. decided to end production for the rest of the eighth season after Sheen entered drug rehabilitation and made "disparaging comments" about the show's creator and executive producer Chuck Lorre. Sheen was dismissed from the show on March 7.

The ninth-season premiere, "Nice to Meet You, Walden Schmidt", killed off Sheen's character and introduced Ashton Kutcher as Walden Schmidt, his replacement. Alan is shown moving on with his life after the death of Charlie. He has a new best friend and housemate, Schmidt, who is dealing with his own troubles following a bad divorce. Schmidt, Alan, and Jake eventually bond, becoming close friends and forming a surrogate family unit. Jake, who joins the army at the end of season nine, leaves for Japan at the end of season ten.

In 2011, a blog hosted by The New York Times referred to Two and a Half Men as the "biggest hit comedy of the last decade". On April 26, 2013, CBS renewed the series for an 11th season after closing one-year deals with Kutcher and Cryer. Jones, who is currently attending college, has been relegated to recurring status for Season 11. He will be replaced by a female lead, who was later revealed to be portrayed by Amber Tamblyn : she will be Charlie's previously unknown teenaged daughter. Season 11 is scheduled to return on September 26, 2013.

Overview

The series revolved initially around the life of the Harper brothers: Charlie (Charlie Sheen) and Alan (Jon Cryer) and Alan's son, Jake (Angus T. Jones). Charlie is a bachelor who writes commercial jingles for a living while leading a hedonistic lifestyle. When Alan's wife Judith (Marin Hinkle) decides to divorce him, he moves into Charlie's Malibu beach house, with Jake periodically coming to stay. Charlie's housekeeper is Berta (Conchata Ferrell), a sharp-tongued woman who initially resists the change to the household but grudgingly accepts it.

The first five seasons find Charlie in casual sexual relationships with numerous women until the sixth season, when he becomes engaged to Chelsea (Jennifer Bini Taylor). However, the relationship does not last as Chelsea breaks off their engagement after which Charlie flies to Paris in the eighth season finale in pursuit of Rose (Melanie Lynskey). She was first introduced as his stalker in the pilot episode.

In the ninth season premiere, introducing a revamped show, it is revealed that Charlie died when he fell in front of a subway train in Paris. There are suggestions that Rose pushed him in the train's path after learning Charlie had cheated on her.

Alan's experiences are somewhat different. Throughout the series, Alan continues to deal with his son Jake's growing up, and the aftermath of his divorce, when he has little success with women. His marriage to Kandi (April Bowlby) at the end of the third season was short-lived. In the fourth season, Alan is back at the beach house paying alimony to two women out of his meager earnings as a chiropractor.

In the seventh season, he begins a relationship with Lyndsey McElroy (Courtney Thorne-Smith), the mother of one of Jake's friends. Their relationship is temporarily suspended when Alan accidentally burns down her house and cheats on her, but the relationship eventually resumes.

In the ninth season premiere (after Charlie's death), the beach house is sold to Walden Schmidt (Ashton Kutcher), an Internet billionaire going through a divorce from Bridget (Judy Greer). Alan leaves to live with his mother Evelyn (Holland Taylor) when the house is sold, but Walden invites both Alan and Jake back to live in the beach house. He needs friends and the three form a tightknit surrogate family.

At the end of the ninth season, Jake joined the army; he appears occasionally during season ten. In the tenth season, Walden proposed to his English girlfriend Zoey (Sophie Winkleman) to be turned down and discovering she had another man. He becomes depressed. Meanwhile, Alan gets engaged to his girlfriend Lyndsey, while Judith leaves her second husband Herb Melnick (Ryan Stiles) after being married since the fourth season, after he cheated on her with his receptionist (they later reconcile). However Alan and Lyndsey's relationship of 3 years ends as she wants to move on, leaving Alan distraught and creates a new image for himself. Rose returns and begins to date Walden; however when they break up, she becomes obsessed with him and begins to stalk him. Jake begins to date an older woman, Tammy (Jaime Pressly), who is 17 years his elder and has three kids; however Jake cheats on her with her daughter Ashley, resulting in their breakup, and Ashley is wooed back by her much-older ex-lover, Jerry (Scott Bakula). Walden begins to date a poor woman named Kate (Brooke D'Orsay) and changes his name to "Sam Wilson" and pretends to be poor to find someone who wants him for him, not for his money. They later break up when he reveals who he really is. Jake announces he is being shipped to Japan for a year, and so he and Alan go on a father-son bonding trip.

In the eleventh season a young woman arrives at the beach house, saying she is Charlie Harper's daughter, Jenny (Amber Tamblyn) and moves in with Walden and Alan. She is gay, although is known to have bi-sexual feelings and will later develop an attraction to Walden.

Production

Sheen's firing and replacement

Following a February 2010 announcement that Sheen was entering drug rehabilitation, filming of the show was put on hiatus, but resumed the following month. On April 1, 2010, People 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.co.nz reported that a press release issued by Sheen's publicist confirmed that Sheen had signed a new contract for 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.com, CBS announced that Two and a Half Men would cease production for the rest of its eighth season. This affected an estimated 200 employees, and caused Warner Bros., Lorre, Sheen, and other profit participants a loss of an estimated $10 million due to expected revenue from the unmade eight remaining episodes. Afterward, Sheen was interviewed on ABC's 20/20, NBC's Today, and CNN's Piers Morgan Tonight, where he continued to criticize Lorre and CBS. On March 7, CBS and Warner Bros. Television jointly announced that Sheen had been fired from Two and a Half Men, citing "moral turpitude" as a main cause of separation. No decision about the future of the show was announced at that time.

Cast members Marin Hinkle and Holland Taylor expressed sadness at Sheen's departure and personal problems. Jon Cryer did not publicly comment on the matter and in response, Sheen called him "a turncoat, a traitor, [and] a troll" in an E! Online interview, although he later issued a "half-apology" to Cryer for the remarks. Sheen sued Lorre and Warner Bros. Television for $100 million, claiming that he had filed the lawsuit on behalf of himself and Two and a Half Men's cast and crew; however, only Sheen was named as a plaintiff in court documents.

In April 2011, Sheen mentioned during a radio interview after his tour's stop in Boston that he and CBS were talking about a possible return to the show. Lorre announced that same month that he had developed an idea for a Two and a Half Men reboot that would exclude Sheen and have Cryer in a key role alongside a new character. On May 13, CBS announced that Ashton Kutcher would join the cast. Kutcher was quoted as saying, "I can't replace Charlie Sheen but I'm going to work my ass off to entertain the hell out of people!"

On August 2, 2011 it was reported that the season nine premiere would begin with Sheen's character having been killed off and his ex-girlfriends attending his funeral. Afterward, Charlie's Malibu home would be put up for sale and interested buyers would include celebrities from Lorre's other sitcoms and John Stamos, as well as Kutcher's character, Walden Schmidt, "an Internet billionaire with a broken heart." Critics compared this situation to what happened in 1987 to Valerie Harper, who was fired from the sitcom, Valerie (later titled Valerie's Family: The Hogans and then The Hogan Family). Her character was killed off-screen, and she was replaced the following season.

Sheen said he would watch his "fake funeral attended by [his] fake ex-girlfriends, from [his] very, very real movie theater, with [his] very real hotties in tow." Sheen's response to the season 9 premiere was very positive. He reportedly felt Charlie Harper's funeral was "eerie but fun". Sheen also felt that the reveal of Kutcher's character in a cloud of his own character's ashes was particularly enjoyable.

The attention Two and a Half Men due to the change in characters gave the series a boost. Average total viewers during the 2011"2012 season rose 13% to 15 million, and the 5.2 rating in the 18"49 demographic rose by 27%. Kutcher's debut as the character Walden Schmidt, in the episode entitled "Nice to Meet You, Walden Schmidt", was seen by 28.7 million people on September 19, 2011. The Nielsen ratings company reported that figure was higher than for any episode in the show's first eight seasons, when the series starred Sheen. At the 2012 Emmys, Two and a Half Men was nominated for four awards and won three of them, the most Emmys the show has won in a single year since it began. In 2012 Kutcher replaced Sheen as the highest-paid U.S. actor, receiving $700,000 per episode. For Kutcher's second season, the show moved to the 8:30pm Thursday time slot, replacing Rules of Engagement. Two and a Half Men improved ratings for this time slot, which were up from the previous year. Jennifer Graham Kizer of IVillage thought that the series changed tone in the Kutcher era of the show, saying it felt "less evil".

Angus T. Jones controversy

In a November 2012 interview with a Christian website, Angus T. Jones said he had recently converted to the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He attacked the show as "filth" that contradicts his moral values and said that he was sick of being a part of it. He also begged fans to stop watching the show. Producers have explained that Jones is not expected back on the set until 2013, as his character is not scheduled to appear in the final two episodes before the winter hiatus. In response to the controversy, Charlie Sheen issued a public statement claiming that "Jones' outburst isn't an isolated incident but rather a symptom of the toxic environment surrounding the show" and blamed Chuck Lorre for the outburst. The following day, Jones issued a public apology for his remarks, and explained that he "cannot address everything that has been said or right every misstatement or misunderstanding." Jones left the series at the end of the 2012"2013 season. He will be replaced by a girl named Jenny, who will play the long-lost daughter of Charlie Harper.

Cast and characters

Main

• Charlie Sheen as Charlie Harper (starring; seasons 1"8), a hedonistic bachelor, alcoholic, jingle/children's songwriter, Alan's brother and Jake's uncle. Despite his selfish and mean demeanor, he does possess a kind heart though he very rarely shows it. He is written out of the series at the beginning of season 9, after being struck and killed offscreen by a moving train, due to Charlie Sheen being fired from the show. In the episode "Why We Gave Up Women", Charlie's character, portrayed by Kathy Bates, is forced to spend eternity in Hell as a woman with a pair of testicles. He has a long-lost daughter set to be revealed in season 11.
• Jon Cryer as Dr. Alan Harper, Charlie's chiropractor brother, Jake's divorced father, and Walden's best friend, who is conscientious but continually stricken with bad judgment.
• Angus T. Jones (starring; seasons 1"10; recurring season 11) as Jake Harper, the underachieving and lazy son of Alan and Judith. As he grows older, he changes from a rather bright child to a dimwitted buffoon. He ultimately enlists in the U.S. Army working as a chef.
• Ashton Kutcher as Walden Schmidt (starring; season 9"present), Alan's best friend and housemate. A kind, hopelessly romantic internet tycoon, he is a billionaire despite being somewhat naive and immature. He purchases the Harper beach house after Charlie's death. During his time in the household, he has formed close friendships with Jake, Herb, and Berta.
• Conchata Ferrell (recurring season 1; starring seasons 2-present) as Berta, the family's sharp-tongued housekeeper and good friend.
• Holland Taylor as Evelyn Harper, Charlie and Alan's conceited mother and Jake's grandmother. A high-powered Los Angeles broker/realtor, who sleeps with both men and women.
• Marin Hinkle (starring seasons 1"8; recurring season 9-present) as Judith Harper-Melnick, Alan's vindictive, self-absorbed ex-wife and Jake and Millie's mother. She was married to Herb Melnick for seasons four through ten.
• Melanie Lynskey (starring seasons 1"2; recurring seasons 3-present) as Rose, the Harpers' strange neighbor and Charlie's stalker and friend. Initially, Charlie despised Rose and wanted nothing to do with her but eventually they became friends and he later fell in love with her. In the ninth season premiere, Rose claimed that Charlie "slipped" in front of a Paris Métro train after she had caught him cheating on her. She was later seen taking Bridget Schmidt under her wing as an apprentice stalker. After "accidentally" meeting Walden at the local tavern, Rose rushed into a relationship with him, and caused her ferrets to attack Walden and Alan when Walden broke up with her. She continues to stalk Walden through his former girlfriend, Kate.
• Jennifer Bini Taylor (recurring season 6; starring season 7; season 9 guest) as Chelsea, 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. They later end the relationship, which deeply hurt Charlie for a while. She is absent throughout season eight but makes a brief, speaking cameo at Charlie's funeral in season nine. (While credited on-screen among the main cast during the seventh season, CBS press releases billed her as a recurring character.)
• April Bowlby (recurring season 3; starring season 4; season 10 guest) as Kandi, Charlie's girlfriend, then girlfriend and wife of Alan, then Alan's second ex-wife, Judith's best friend (for one episode).

Recurring

• Ryan Stiles (seasons 2"present) as pediatrician Dr. Herbert "Herb" Melnick, Judith's goofy, train-hobbyist second husband (more recently estranged husband), father to Judith's daughter (though possibly not the biological father), and Jake's stepfather. He is also good friends with Alan and Walden. He was friends with Charlie when he was alive, often idolizing Charlie's lifestyle. (In season 2, the character was named "Greg Melnick.")
• Emmanuelle Vaugier (seasons 3, 5, 6, 7, 9) as Mia, ballet teacher, Charlie's ex-fiance.
• Jane Lynch (seasons 1, 3"9) as Dr. Linda Freeman, the family's adept, incisive, sarcastic, but money-hungry psychiatrist.
• J. D. Walsh as Gordon (seasons 1"4; 6"8), a pizza delivery guy who frequently delivered to Charlie, whom he somewhat idolized. At one time, he is Rose's boyfriend, or more correctly her substitute for Charlie.
• Martin Mull as Russell, a drug-addicted, unethical pharmacist (seasons 6-present)
• Kelly Stables (seasons 6"8) as Melissa, Alan's receptionist who briefly dated Charlie before starting an intermittent relationship with Alan.
• Courtney Thorne-Smith (season 7"present) as Lyndsey MacElroy, Alan's on-again/off-again girlfriend and the mother of Jake's best friend, Eldridge.
• Graham Patrick Martin (season 7"9) 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 now dating his friend and business partner, Billy. Greer previously appeared in season 4 as Myra, Herb's sister.
• Macey Cruthird (seasons 8"9) as Megan, Jake's chemistry tutor and recurring girlfriend; she first appeared in the season 8 episode "Springtime on a Stick".
• Sophie Winkleman (season 9"10) as Zoey, a British woman with whom Walden falls in love, and dates throughout most of season 9.
• Talyan Wright (season 9"10) as Ava Pierce, Zoey's young daughter from her marriage to Nigel. Well mannered and intelligent, Ava adores Walden, and is 108th in line to the throne.
• Mimi Rogers (season 9"present) as Robin Schmidt, Walden's mother, a primatologist who raised Walden with a baby gorilla as his "brother" for the first four years of his life and is a director of Walden's company along with Walden, Bridget and Alan. Alan has a not so very well hidden crush on her. She finds Alan to be very weird and ugly, believing him to be in his 60s when he is in fact in his mid 40s.
• Patton Oswalt (season 9-present) as Billy Stanhope, Walden's former business partner. He became depressed and had a breakdown because Walden sold their company for over $1 billion, and so began posting rants against Walden on the internet. He began dating Walden's ex-wife Bridget just as he proposed to re-form a business relationship with Walden. A recurring joke is Billy constantly taunting Walden with reminders that he is "banging" his ex-wife.
• Brooke D'Orsay (season 10) as Kate, Walden's poor girlfriend who has aspirations of being a fashion designer. Walden wants to find someone who loves him for who he is, not for the money he has, so he creates a new persona "Sam Wilson". She loves "Sam" and tries to be romantic with him, like hanging broccoli at Christmas because she didn't have any mistletoe. After she gets a big break with Walden's money (thinking it is Alan's money) and pursues a career in fashion designing, she dumps "Sam" after Walden tells her who he really is.
• Amber Tamblyn (season 11) as Jenny, Charlie's lesbian long-lost daughter.

Guest stars

Guest stars have included:

• Jason Alexander as Dr. Goodman, Alan's doctor (season 9, episode 23)
• 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)
• Nadia Bjorlin as Jill, A young woman who sleeps with Russell, and Evelyn's one-time lover (season 8)
• Susan Blakely as Angie, an author Charlie met at a bookstore (season 5, episodes 18 and 19)
• Michael Bolton as himself, a friend of Walden's (season 10, episode 1)
• Paget Brewster as Jamie Eckleberry, Charlie and Alan's high school classmate (season 2, episode 12)
• Gary Busey as himself, Alan's roommate in a sanitarium (season 9)
• Julia Campbell as Francine, Jake's teacher (season 3)
• Willie Garson as Lyndsey's gynecologist, who takes her out on a date. (season 10 episode 14)
• Jessica Collins as Gloria, one of Charlie's one night stands, who may be his and Alan's sister (season 4, episode 11)
• Elvis Costello as himself, Charlie's poker and cigar buddy (season 2, episode 1)
• Miley Cyrus as Missi, an old family friend of Walden's, who becomes Jake's brief love interest (season 10)
• Josie Davis as Sandy, a girlfriend of Alan's (season 3)
• Brooke D'Orsay as Robin, Charlie's sex partner (season 4, episode 16) and Season 10 as Kate, Walden's love interest.
• Michael Clarke Duncan as Jerome Burnette, 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) and as Dharma (season 9, episode 1)
• Georgia Engel as Jean, Lyndsey's mother (season 9, episodes 19, 20)
• Sara Erikson as Jennifer, Jake's one-time, older girlfriend (season 9, episode 17)
• Emilio Estevez as Andy, Charlie's long-time friend who dies before him (season 6, episode 11) [real-life brother of Charlie Sheen.]
• 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)
• Thomas Gibson as Greg (season 9, episode 1)
• 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)
• Erinn Hayes as Gretchen, a one night stand of Alan's (season 8, episode 5)
• Tricia Helfer as Gail, Chelsea's friend (season 7 and 9)
• 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)
• Kris Iyer as Dr. Prajneep (season 1, episode 17; season 4, episode 16; season 5, episode 1)
• 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)
• Eric Allan Kramer as Bill (season 1)
• 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)
• Jon Lovitz as Archie Baldwin, Charlie's arch nemesis to win the advertising jingle award (season 3, episode 17)
• Camryn Manheim as Daisy, Berta's sister (season 2)
• Jenny McCarthy as Sylvia Fishman (alias "Courtney Leopold"), alleged daughter of Nathan Krunk (alias "Teddy Leopold") (Season 5, episode 9,16,17 and season 9, episode 4)
• 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)
• Brit Morgan as a girl Walden picks up at a bar (season 10 episode 1)
• 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, and Eldridge's father.
• 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)
• Emily Osment as Ashley, as Jake's girlfriend (season 10, episode 20)
• Sean Penn as himself, Charlie's poker and cigar buddy (season 2, episode 1)
• Jack Plotnick as Mike (season 5)
• Annie Potts as Lenore, mother of Judith & Liz (season 7)
• Jaime Pressly as Tammy, Jake's cougar girlfriend (Season 10)
• Missi Pyle as Delores Pasternak, Jake's teacher (season 2, 7, and 9)
• Carl Reiner as Marty Pepper (season 7)
• Denise Richards as Lisa, Charlie's former girlfriend (season 1, episode 10, and season 2, episode 9) [ex-wife of Charlie Sheen]
• 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, season 9, episode 1)
• Martin Sheen as Harvey, father of Rose, and Evelyn's fling (season 3) [real-life father of Charlie Sheen]
• 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)
• John Stamos as himself (season 9, episode 1)
• 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, 7, and 9)
• 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, appeared as Lisa's daughter on November 22, 2004.

Broadcast

Episodes

Each episode's title is a dialogue fragment from the episode itself, usually offering no clue to the episode's actual plotline. 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 gave the crew 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, 8 and 10 consist of 24 episodes. Season 5 was narrowed down to 19 episodes due to the 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 after 16 episodes were produced, 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. The show's ninth season premiered on September 19, 2011. The first episode, "Nice to Meet You, Walden Schmidt", begins with Charlie Harper's funeral, and introduces Kutcher as billionaire Walden Schmidt, who buys Harper's house. On May 12, 2012, CBS renewed Two and a Half Men for a tenth season, moving it to Thursday nights at 8:30pm, following The Big Bang Theory.

Syndication

Two and a Half Men entered local United States broadcast syndication in 2007, with the first eight seasons available to local stations (largely CW affiliates in the major U.S. TV markets through major deals with Tribune Broadcasting and the Sinclair Broadcast Group). On September 6, 2010, FX began airing the series daily on cable television nationwide. The ninth season is syndicated on FX, but not local channels.

Syndicated shows are sold in multi-year cycles, with the first cycle the most expensive. Two and a Half Men's first cycle is nine years in length. If there had been no ninth season because of Sheen's departure, due to the first cycle's premature end Warner Bros. would not have received about $80 million in license fees. While local stations would prefer to have as many episodes as possible available to them, an early start to the second cycle would lower the cost of the show for them.

International broadcasting

Manual of Style]]|date=June 2013}}

Country / Region	Network(s)	Series aired	Aired as	Notes	Sources
Arab World	MBC4 OSN Comedy		Two and a Half Men	Subtitled in Arabic
	Warner Channel		Two and a Half Men	Subtitled in Spanish
	Nine Network GO! Fox8		Two and a Half Men	Aired in English
	ATV ORF eins	2005"present	Mein cooler Onkel Charlie ("My cool uncle Charlie") since 2012: Two and a Half Men	Dubbed in German
	VIER (formerly VT4) 2BE		Two and a Half Men	Subtitled in Dutch
	Warner Channel SBT	present	Warner Channel: Two and a Half Men SBT: Dois Homens e Meio	Warner Channel: Subtitled in Portuguese SBT: Dubbed in Portuguese
	Fox Life bTV TV7 GTV		"????? ???? ? ???????? (Two and a Half Men)	Dubbed in Bulgarian
	Red ATB Warner Channel		Dos hombres y medio (Two and a Half Men)	Dubbed in Spanish
	CTV CTV Two City		Two and a Half Men	Aired in English
	V		Mon oncle Charlie (My uncle Charlie)	Dubbed in French
	Warner Channel		Two and a Half Men	Subtitled in Spanish
	Warner Channel		Two and a Half Men	Subtitled in Spanish
	Repretel		Dos hombres y medio (Two and a Half Men)	Dubbed in Spanish
	HRT RTL 2	2004, 2013 (HRT); 2012"present (RTL 2 reruns)	Dva i pol mu?karca (Two and a Half Men)	Subtitled in Croatian
	Nova Cinema		Dva a p?l chlapa (Two and a Half Men)	Dubbed in Czech
	TV3 [[TV3+]]		Two and a Half Men	Subtitled in Danish
	Warner Channel		Two and a Half Men	Subtitled in Spanish
	Kanal 2 SET Baltic	2011"present	Kaks ja pool meest (Two and a Half Men)	Subtitled in Estonian.
	MTV3 Sub		Miehen puolikkaat (Halves of man)	Subtitled in Finnish
	Comedie+ [[Canal+]] Canal+Family Canal+Décalé Comédie!		Mon oncle Charlie (My uncle Charlie)	Dubbed in French and subtilted in French
	Viasat 3		Két pasi " meg egy kicsi (Two guys " and a small one)	Dubbed in Hungarian
	ProSieben	2005"present	Season 1: "Mein cooler Onkel Charlie" ("My cool uncle Charlie") Since season 2: Two and a Half Men	Dubbed in German
	TNT Serie	2010"present
	Kabel eins	2009"2012
	Alpha TV Star Channel		"??? ??? ??"?? ? "??"???"? (Two and a half men)	Subtitled in Greek
	Warner Channel		Two and a Half Men	Dubbed in Spanish
	ATV World		Two and a Half Men	Dubbed in Chinese
	Stöð 2		Two and a Half Men	Subtitled in Icelandic
	Star World	2004"present [Season 7 and Season 10 reruns]	Two and a Half Men	Aired in English
	WB TV
	Comedy Central (UK and Ireland) Comedy Central Extra Comedy Central HD	2009"present	Two and a Half Men	(2011 Only " All reruns up to Season 8 [S8 Ran in order], Not airing S9)
	RT"? Two	2011"present		Aired in English. Not aired in order.
	Yes Comedy	2004"present	??? "?"???? "?"??? (Two and a Half Men)	Aired in English with Hebrew subtitles
	Fox (s. 1"2) Rai 2 Joi (s 3"6, 9+) Steel (s. 7"8)		Due uomini e mezzo (Two and a Half Men)	Dubbed in Italian
	Super! drama TV		??????"??????"??"???"?"? (Charlie Sheen's Harper Boys)	Dubbed in Japanese
Latin America	Warner Channel		Two and a Half Men	Dubbed in Spanish
	LNT Channel 2 SET Baltic FOX Latvia	2006"present 2011"present 2011"present 2012"present	Divarpus v?ri (Two and a Half Men)	Dubbed in Latvian, on SET Baltic subtitled in Latvian.
	A1		"??? ? ??? ???? (Two and a Half Men)	Aired in English with Macedonian subtitles
	Warner Channel Televisa		Two and a Half Men	Subtitled in Spanish
	WB TV STAR World			Aired in English
	Veronica			Subtitled in Dutch
	TV3 Viasat 4 TV Norge			Subtitled in Norwegian
	TVNZ TV 2
	STAR World Filmax
	Warner Channel			Dubbed in Spanish
	Warner Channel Red Global			Dubbed in Spanish on Red Global, and Subtitled on Warner Channel
	Studio 23			Subtitled in Filipino
	RTP 1 RTP 2 SET Portugal		Dois Homens e Meio (Two and a Half Men)	Subtitled in Portuguese
	Comedy Central TVN7 TVN		Dwóch i pó"? (Two and a Half)	Dubbed in Polish
	WAPA	2011"present	Dos Hombres y Medio (Two and a Half Men)	Dubbed in Spanish
	PRO TV		Doi b?rba?i ?i jum?tate (Two and a Half Men)	Subtitled in Romanian
	MTV Russia	2009"present	"??? ? ????????? "???????? (Two and a Half Men)	Dubbed in Russian
	2x2	2012
	SET Russia	2011"present
	Paramount Comedy Russia	2012"present
	B 92	April 2011 " present	Dva i po ?oveka (mu?karca) / "??? ? ?? "?????? (??????"??) (Two and a Half Men)	Aired in English with Serbian subtitles
	Kanal A, POP Fani		Dva mo?a in pol (Two and a Half Men)	Aired in English
	SABC3 M-net		Two and a Half Men	Aired in English
	Markiza		Dva a pol chlapa (Two and a Half Men)	Dubbed in Slovak
	Antena 3 TNT Spain Neox	2009"present	Dos Hombres y Medio (Two and a Half Men)	Dubbed in Spanish with optional English language track (digital TV only)
	TV3 TV6 TV4 Kanal 5	2004"present	2 1/2 män (2 1/2 men)	Aired in English with Swedish subtitles
	SF zwei (German part)		Mein cooler Onkel Charlie (My Cool Uncle Charlie)	Zweikanalton: Sound 1: Dubbed in German; Sound 2: Aired in English
	RSI La 1 (Italian part)		Due uomini e mezzo (Two and a Half Men)	Dubbed in Italian
	CNBC-e	2004"present	Two and a Half Men	Aired in English with Turkish subtitles
	k1	2010"present	"??? ? ????????? "?????-?? (Two and a Half Men)	Dubbed in Ukrainian
	Warner Channel		Two and a Half Men	Dubbed in Spanish
	Comedy Central (UK and Ireland) Comedy Central Extra Comedy Central HD	2009"present		Season 10 is currently airing and episodes are shown 2 days after US airing.
	Viva UK
	CBS and syndication	2003"present		Original run
	Warner Channel	2003"present		Subtitled in Spanish

Crossovers and other appearances

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CSI: 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."

The Two and a Half Men episode "Fish in a Drawer" was the first part of the crossover to air, on May 5, 2008, written by CSI writers Sarah Goldfinger, Evan Dunsky, Carol Mendelsohn and Naren Shankar. George Eads is the only CSI: Crime Scene Investigation cast member to make a cameo in this episode.

Three days later the second part of the crossover aired, the CSI episode "Two and a Half Deaths". Gil Grissom (William Petersen) investigated the murder of a sitcom diva named Annabelle (Katey Sagal), who was found murdered while she was filming her show in Las Vegas. The episode was written by Two and a Half Men creators Lorre and Aronsohn; Sheen, Cryer, and Jones all make uncredited cameos in this episode as themselves, in the same clothes their characters were wearing in "Fish in a Drawer".

Due Date

At the end of 2010 film Due Date, a scene from Two and a Half Men is shown, in which Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer, and Angus T. Jones appear as their characters, while Ethan Chase (played by Zach Galifianakis in the movie) plays Stu, Jake's tutor.

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". Ashton Kutcher's debut was met with mixed reviews, and reviews for season 9 were also mixed. However reviews of the tenth season were much more positive. Cartermatt thought that the summer away gave the writers time to figure out Kutcher's character, come up with some interesting storylines, and that overall the show was getting better.

The show has received multiple award nominations. It was nominated for 30 Primetime Emmy Awards (winning four technical awards and two 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.

Ratings

American television ratings

Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of Two and a Half Men on CBS.

Note: Each U.S. network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps.

Season	Timeslot (ET/CT)	Season premiere	Season finale	TV season	Ranking	Viewers (in millions)
1	Mondays 9:30 pm/8:30 pm	September 22, 2003	May 24, 2004	2003"04	15	15.31
2		September 20, 2004	May 23, 2005	2004"05	11	16.45
3	Mondays 9:00 pm/8:00 pm	September 19, 2005	May 22, 2006	2005"06	17	15.14
4		September 18, 2006	May 14, 2007	2006"07	21	14.43
5		September 24, 2007	May 19, 2008	2007"08	17	13.68
6		September 22, 2008	May 18, 2009	2008"09	10	15.06
7		September 21, 2009	May 24, 2010	2009"10	11	14.95
8		September 20, 2010	February 14, 2011	2010"11	17	12.73
9		September 19, 2011	May 14, 2012	2011"12	11	14.64
10	Thursdays 8:30 pm/7:30 pm	September 27, 2012	May 9, 2013	2012"13	11	13.78
11	Thursdays 9:30 pm/8:30 pm	September 26, 2013	Spring 2014	2013"14	TBA	TBA

Awards

Primetime Emmy Awards

Year	Category	Nominee	Result
2004	Outstanding Main Title Theme Music	Lee Aronsohn, Grant Geissman, Chuck Lorre
	Outstanding Cinematography for a Multi-Camera Series	Steven V. Silver
	Outstanding Art Direction for a Multi-Camera Series	John Shaffner, Ann Shea
2005	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series	Holland Taylor
	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series	Conchata Ferrell
	Outstanding Multi-camera Sound Mixing for a Series or Special	Robert LaMasney, Charlie McDaniel, Kathy Oldham, Bruce Peters
	Outstanding Multi-camera Picture Editing for a Series	Joe Bella
	Outstanding Cinematography for a Multi-camera Series	Steven Silver
	Outstanding Art Direction for a Multi-camera Series	John Shaffner, Ann Shea
2006	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series	Jon Cryer
	Outstanding Multi-camera Sound Mixing for a Series or Special	Bob La Masney, Charlie McDaniel, Kathy Oldham, Bruce Peters
	Outstanding Multi-camera Picture Editing for a Series	Joe Bella
	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series	Charlie Sheen
	Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series	Martin Sheen
	Outstanding Comedy Series
	Outstanding Cinematography for a Multi-camera Series	Steven V. Silver
2007	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series	Holland Taylor
	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series	Conchata Ferrell
	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series	Jon Cryer
	Outstanding Multi-camera Picture Editing for a Series	Joe Bella
	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series	Charlie Sheen
	Outstanding Comedy Series
	Outstanding Cinematography for a Multi-camera Series	Steven Silver
2008	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series	Holland Taylor
	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series	Jon Cryer
	Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (half-hour) and Animation	Bruce Peters, Kathy Oldham, Charlie McDaniel, Bob La Masney
	Outstanding Makeup for a Multi-camera Series or a Special (non-prosthetic)	Janice Berridge, Peggy Nichols, Shelly Woodhouse-Collins, Gabriel Solana
	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series	Charlie Sheen
	Outstanding Hairstyling for a Multi-camera Series or a Special	Pixie Schwartz, Krista Borrelli, Ralph M. Abalos, Janice Zoladz
	Outstanding Comedy Series
2009	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series	Jon Cryer
	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series	Charlie Sheen
2010	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series	Jon Cryer
	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series	Holland Taylor
	Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series	Jane Lynch
	Outstanding Cinematography for a Half-Hour Series	Steven V. Silver
	Outstanding Hairstyling for a Multi-Camera Series or Special	Pixie Schwartz, Krista Borrelli, Ralph Abalos, Janice Allison
	Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour) and Animation	Bruce Peters, Bob LaMasney, Kathy Oldham
2011	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series	Jon Cryer
	Outstanding Cinematography For A Multi-camera Series	Steven V. Silver
2012	Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy Series	Jon Cryer
	Outstanding Cinematography For A Multi-camera Series	Steven V. Silver
	Outstanding Multi-Camera Picture Editing For A Comedy Series	Joseph Bella
	Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series	Kathy Bates
2013	Outstanding Cinematography For A Multi-camera Series	Steven V. Silver
	Outstanding Art Direction for a Multi-Camera Series	John Schaffner, Ann Shea, Francoise Cherry-Cohen

Golden Globe Awards

Year	Category	Nominee	Result
2004	Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series " Musical or Comedy	Charlie Sheen	Nominated
2005	Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series " Musical or Comedy	Charlie Sheen	Nominated

Screen Actors Guild Awards

Year	Category	Nominee	Result
2005	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series	Charlie Sheen	Nominated
2010	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series	Charlie Sheen	Nominated
2012	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series	Jon Cryer	Nominated

Teen Choice Awards

Year	Category	Nominee	Result
2007	Choice TV Actor:Comedy	Charlie Sheen	Nominated
2008	Choice TV Show:Comedy	Two and a Half Men	Nominated
2008	Choice TV Actor:Comedy	Charlie Sheen	Nominated
2009	Choice TV Actor:Comedy	Charlie Sheen	Nominated
2012	Choice TV Actor:Comedy	Ashton Kutcher	Nominated
2013	Choice TV Actor:Comedy	Ashton Kutcher	Nominated
2013	Choice TV:Female Scene Stealer	Miley Cyrus

People's Choice Awards

Year	Category	Nominee	Result
2012	Favorite Network TV Comedy	Two and a Half Men	Nominated
2011	Favorite TV Comedy	Two and a Half Men	Nominated
2009	Favorite TV Comedy	Two and a Half Men
2008	Favorite TV Comedy	Two and a Half Men
2007	Favorite TV Comedy	Two and a Half Men
2004	Favorite New TV Comedy	Two and a Half Men

ALMA Awards

Year	Category	Nominee	Result
2008	Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series	Charlie Sheen
2009	Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series	Charlie Sheen	Nominated

Home media

DVD name	Ep #	Region 1	Region 2	Region 4
The Complete First Season	24	September 11, 2007	September 12, 2005	February 15, 2006
The Complete Second Season	24	January 8, 2008	August 28, 2006	September 6, 2006
The Complete Third Season	24	May 13, 2008	May 19, 2008	July 23, 2008
The Complete Fourth Season	24	September 23, 2008	October 6, 2008	October 8, 2008
The Complete Fifth Season	19	May 12, 2009	April 13, 2009	July 1, 2009
The Complete Sixth Season	24	September 1, 2009	October 19, 2009	March 3, 2010
The Complete Seventh Season	22	September 21, 2010	October 11, 2010	October 13, 2010
The Complete Eighth Season	16	September 6, 2011	August 8, 2011	August 24, 2011
The Complete Ninth Season	24	August 28, 2012	October 8, 2012	October 31, 2012
The Complete Tenth Season	23	September 24, 2013	TBA, 2013	TBA, 2013

Season 1 extras

• Four disc set
• Two Adults, One Kid, No Grown-Ups " behind the scenes with the cast and crew.
• Backstage tour with Angus T. Jones.
• Dolby Stereo 2.0 sound format
• Gag reel.

Season 2 extras

• Four disc set
• 2 Days in the Life of 2 " viewers are invited for a behind-the-scenes look at a typical day in the life of cast members Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer, and Angus T. Jones.
• The Serious Business of Writing Comedy " a hilarious look at what it really takes to write a comedy show.
• Dolby Stereo 2.0 sound format
• Gag reel.

Season 3 extras

• Four disc set
• Dolby Stereo 2.0 sound format
• Gag reel.

Season 4 extras

• Four disc set
• Two men talking about Two and a Half Men " Creators Chuck Lorre and Lee Aronsohn talk about the show.
• "Tucked, Taped and Gorgeous" commentary with Chuck Lorre and Lee Aronsohn.
• "Mr. McGlue's Feedbag" commentary with Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer, and Angus T. Jones.
• Dolby Stereo 2.0 sound format
• Gag reel.

Season 5 extras

• Three disc set
• Two and a Half Men at 100 " featurette on the show's 100th episode.
• The Lore of Chuck Lorre: Must Pause TV " the genesis and evolution of his vanity cards at the end of each episode.
• Dying Is Easy, Comedy Is Hard " chronicling the crossover episodes between writing teams of Two and a Half Men and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.
• Bonus episode: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation " "Two and a Half Deaths."
• Dolby Stereo 2.0 sound format

Season 6 extras

• Four disc set
• Growing Up Harper " The evolution of Jake Harper and the actor who portrays him, Angus T. Jones
• The Women of "Two and a Half Men" " Interviews with the women
• Dolby Stereo 2.0 sound format
• Gag reel

Season 7 extras

• Three disc set
• Ghosts of Charlie's Girlfriends Past Featurette
• Dolby Stereo 2.0 sound format
• Gag Reel

Season 8 extras

• Two disc set
• Dolby Surround 5.1 sound format

Season 9 Extras

• Three disc set
• 2.5 Men, Version 2.0: Experience the excitement of the first night Ashton Kutcher took the stage, through backstage footage, crew, audience and talent interviews.
• The Billionaire Upgrade " Walden Schmidt's Malibu House Redesign: The Harper House is due for a makeover when Walden Schmidt snaps it up, and it's up to the crack production design team at "Two and a Half Men" to express Walden's personality in a big overhaul of the show's signature set.
• Dolby Surround 5.1 sound format
• Gag reel

Season 10 Extras

• Three disc set
• Two Manly Men Singing and Dancing " Ashton Kutcher and Jon Cryer take us behind the scenes in the production of their first-ever musical number.
• Dolby Surround 5.1 sound format
• Gag Reel