Two and a Half Men

There was a kookie, sly twist in the finale of the CBS sitcom, followed a moment later by a piano falling on the show’s co-creator, Chuck Lorre, who had only a split-second to gloat that he had pulled a fast one on viewers

Chuck Lorre is a producer with one of the most impressive streaks in TV history. Of the last seven sitcoms he has played a part in creating, none has flopped. Two and a Half Men star Ashton Kutcher , who joined the show four years ago, said the prolific Lorre’s shows are “all built on these obscure, broken, beat-up, messed-up families that are just like yours.”

CBS wasn’t releasing the names of the guest cast for the Feb. 19 finale, but the notion that Charlie Sheen could return should help the ratings. The network has taken promotion to the next level with its teasers: “Charlie Harper is alive. Or is he?”

Television megaproducer Chuck Lorre said Thursday he has “nothing but good feelings” for Sheen, who was kicked off Lorre’s sitcom Two and a Half Men in 2011 during a spectacular meltdown that included calling Lorre a “contaminated little maggot.” Lorre’s keeping quiet on whether Sheen will return for the show’s upcoming finale.

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Charlie Sheen left “Two and a Half Men” amid great drama. Whether he’ll return for the show’s last episode is a mystery. CBS entertainment chief Nina […]

Two and a half years ago, Two and a Half Men was the biggest show on broadcast. Now it’s on the bubble for renewal for the second straight year, and how it performs the next couple weeks will determine whether it returns for a 12th season.

CBS is playing around with its top-rated Thursday. The block, which saw comedies expand into the 9 p.m. hour for the 2013-14 season, will switch comedies The Crazy Ones and Two and a Half Men when they return from their Olympics-induced hiatus. Two and a Half Men will now get the bigger lead-in from the Big Bang Theory/Millers combo, airing at 9 p.m. The Crazy Ones moves to 9:30 p.m., effective Feb. 27.

CBS may clean up with its primetime comedies, but if the volume of complaints received by the FCC is any indication, many Americans would like to wash the network’s mouth out with soap. According to documents unearthed by the Government Attic website via the Freedom of Information Act, the CBS comedies 2 Broke Girls and Two and a Half Men have generated reams of informal FCC complaints, the majority of which have to do with viewers’ concerns with sexual innuendo and coarse language.

While tweeting that the sitcom would return next season, it didn’t address whether the full cast would be back. Angus T. Jones’ character is serving in the Army this season and has been somewhat less visible.

Charlie Sheen, the volatile actor topped our list of the highest paid TV actors last year with $40 million. This year he’s nowhere to be seen, while the actor who took over his lead role on the hit CBS sitcom Two and A Half Men reigns in the No. 1 spot. We estimate that Ashton Kutcher earned $24 million between May 2011 and May 2012.

FX ordered another 90 episodes of the Charlie Sheen sitcom after a successful test run, clearing the way for broadcast syndication. Debmar-Mercury, which is handling the distribution, says the show is available for fall 2014.

Sources say the new actor pacts with CBS and producer Warner Bros. Television will give the Two and a Half Men stars small raises.

But the offers provide no raises from what the stars currently make, and that’s shaping up as a big problem for the reps for the actors.

For the first time this season, Two and a Half Men saw a week-to-week gain. The sitcom, from which Charlie Sheen was famously fired earlier this year and replaced by Ashton Kutcher, was once again the No. 1 program among adults 18-49 on broadcast Monday night. Men averaged a 5.1 rating in the 9 p.m. timeslot, up 9% over a 4.2 last week.

Two and a Half Men saw its first week-to-week gains of the season, and CBS remained the network to beat on Monday despite facing Fox’s coverage of the World Series. Men averaged a 5.6 adults 18-49 rating at 9 p.m. last night, up 6% over last week’s 5.3 and easily the night’s top show.

Five of network TV’s most established shows have undergone major cast changes since last season, spurred by contract disputes, growing movie careers and creative crises.

Two and a Half Men‘s audience continues to fall, but CBS nonetheless remains the network to beat on Monday night. Men averaged a 5.2 adults 18-49 rating at 9 p.m. last night, down 12% from last week’s 5.9 and less than half the 10.7 the show drew for its season premiere a month ago. But Men still remains slightly above last year’s rating for the same week, and season to date it is the highest-rated scripted show on television. It was also Monday’s highest-rated show for the fifth straight week.

Ratings for CBS’s Two and a Half Men remain strong, but they’re coming back to less-Olympian levels. What’s just as notable are the strong ratings for the sitcoms that surround Men on Monday nights, which helped CBS to its third straight Monday victory over a feistier Fox. Men averaged a 6.1 adults 18-49 rating at 9 p.m., down 18% from last week’s 7.4 but still well ahead of the 4.5 the show averaged on the same night last year.

Charlie Sheen will receive $25 million in his settlement with Warner Bros. Television and Chuck Lorre, according to a person familiar with the settlement. Warner Bros. announced the settlement Monday of Sheen’s lawsuit, in which he sought $100 million over his firing from Two and a Half Men. The person familiar with the settlement said the $25 million would cover back-end payments for Sheen’s appearances on the show.

Reality competition shows look close to the saturation point, while comedy is becoming more popular, as the new broadcast season unfurls. Among the big winners is the rejiggered Two and a Half Men on CBS, which pulled in 26 million viewers when it premiered, and the big Emmy winner Modern Family, on ABC.

The ninth-season premiere of Two and a Half Men more than lived up to the hype last night. The episode in which Charlie Sheen’s character was killed off and Ashton Kutcher’s character was introduced averaged 27.8 million total viewers, and a 10.3 adults 18-49 rating. It marked a series high for the show and more than doubled last year’s season premiere among 18-49s. No scripted series has scored that many viewers in years.

Charlie Sheen and Warner Bros. are putting the finishing touches on a deal to end their legal battle. Sheen, who had been in a fight with Warner Bros. over the studio’s firing him from his starring role on the CBS hit sitcom Two and a Half Men last March, will get about $25 million to settle out of his contract, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. The figure represents Sheen’s participation in profits from the show.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Allan Goodman ruled today that Charlie Sheen’s contract with Warner Bros. Television has a valid arbitration clause. The ruling will dampen publicity about the case, which Sheen filed on March 10 — days after he was fired from his starring role on television’s top-rated comedy.

CSI star Laurence Fishburne, thought to be a victim of the show’s softening ratings and growing expenses, joins a starry list that includes Charlie Sheen, Lisa Edelstein and Christopher Meloni.