A second chance...? Charlie Sheen takes the blame for Two and a Half Men's demise
In 2011 Charlie Sheen unexpectedly left the popular sitcom 'Two and a Half Men'. He had been the soul of the series for eight seasons.
The series had made him the highest-paid actor on television (1.8 million dollars per episode). Then, all of a sudden, the big star left and the remaining four seasons were not the same as before.
For 13 years, Charlie Sheen never took responsibility for what happened on the set of 'Two and a Half Men.' Now, he admits that his attitude, excesses, vices, and mental problems were what led the series to disaster.
The actor said on 'Deadline': "Yeah, if I hadn’t f_ everything up, we could have done it as long as we wanted to."
Despite Charlie Sheen's departure after two-thirds of its run, 'Two and a Half Men' would have an average audience of 13.4 million viewers during its 12 seasons.
However, the protagonist and his excessive lifestyle broke the momentum of the sitcom. According to the actor, things began to go wrong during the seventh season, when his personal life hit rock bottom.
"I went and sought help and got better and came back," he explained, "and then … yeah, I don’t know why I was unable to maintain that."
Charlie Sheen would blame other actors or staff on the show for the bad vibe on set and the breakup of the cast after eight seasons. "Anytime external elements contaminated the main thing, I would look for someone to blame," Sheen now admits. "And that’s not fair."
Specifically, Charlie Sheen addresses Chuck Lorre, the creator of the series. "It’s not fair to Chuck. It’s not fair to the show."
"There was a moment when I was in rehab and I guess we’d finished Season 7, or we were trying to finish Season 7 and we got the call for the renegotiation," Sheen remembers. "And I was on the phone with my manager and I think one of the agents. And I said, I don’t know, man."
The tortured actor told his manager: "I feel like we might’ve reached our limit here" - referring to the sitcom. "And I’m hearing no, no, no, man, there’s so many more stories to tell."
While the actor's judgment was clouded by his fragile personal condition, his agent and manager had their own reasons to push for more seasons of 'Two and a Half Men.' As Sheen recalls about their efforts to convince him: "Translation: money to be made for them."
Sheen says he had a bad feeling about the show. "I said, I don’t know guys. My gut is screaming that if I go back, it’s going to go horribly wrong. I actually said that, and they were like, well, it can also go perfectly fabulous."
While making the eighth season, the situation on set did indeed become unsustainable. "Everybody was happy [at the beginning] and then everything went horribly," he said. Charlie Sheen then left the series and they replaced him with Ashton Kutcher.
In addition to his addictions and excesses, Charlie Sheen had to deal with two divorces (Denise Richards and Brooke Allen) while making the series. In addition, he had four children (Samantha, Lola Rose, Bob, and Max).
"I went through two divorces, had four kids during that show. There was a lot of sh_ in my personal life that was a little bit distracting," he recalls.
It's been a long time but it's never too late if the mood is alright. What's more, Jon Cryer, Charlie's brother Alan in the series, has already said that he is open to a reunion. So who knows... Maybe we'll get to see 'Two and a Half Men' 2.0!