He may have made himself a pariah at his old studio and network, but Charlie Sheen proved Monday night that he remains a television ratings force -– or force field at least.
Twin events Monday – the first new edition of his former sit-com “Two and a Half Men” on CBS and a roast of Mr. Sheen by a roster of comedians on the Comedy Central channel — played on the public fascination with Mr. Sheen’s drug-infused meltdown that ultimately resulted in his being fired from his role on “Two and A Half Men.” Both produced spectacular ratings.
His old comedy, in its first outing since his ousting, generated an audience usually reserved only for events like National Football League playoff games: Now featuring Ashton Kutcher as Mr. Sheen’s replacement, the show was seen by 27.8 million viewers.
To put that number in context: that single episode was seen by more people than any game of last year’s World Series, more than the college basketball finals, and more than the title game in the National Basketball Association finals. It was the most watched episode of any comedy on television since the final episode of “Everybody Loves Raymond” in 2005. Of course that means it was also the most-watched episode of “Two and a Half Men” ever.
The episode also scored a gigantic 10.3 rating among the 18-49-year-old audience that drives much of television commerce, a number so big it could be cut in half and still rank as the top comedy on television.
Mr. Sheen wasn’t in the episode, but it was all about him. The show opened with a funeral for his dead character and included a scene where his ashes were blown over the stage.
The show most likely got a boost from Mr. Sheen’s appearance on the Emmy Awards Sunday night, where he offered his blessing to the new version of the show, surprisingly many in the industry, including executives from CBS and Warner Brothers, the network and studio that back “Two and a Half Men.”
That appearance also may have heightened the interest in the Comedy Central roast of Mr. Sheen, which followed a half-hour after the sit-com ended. The results were equally eye-opening. The roast was not only the biggest event of its kind for Comedy Central, it was the second-most watched show of any kind on that channel with 6.4 million viewers; and it was the No. 1 telecast ever on the channel among those 18-49 year old viewers.
The roast had more viewers than either NBC or Fox attracted for any of its shows Monday night.