Charlie Sheen Fired from ‘Two and a Half Men’
Charlie Sheen was the highest paid sitcom actor on the planet. Until a few minutes ago:
AP (“Warner: Sheen fired from `Two and a Half Men’“)”
Charlie Sheen was fired Monday from “Two and a Half Men” by Warner Bros. Television following repeated misbehavior and weeks of the actor’s angry, often-manic media campaign against his studio bosses.
The was taken after “careful consideration” and is effective immediately, the studio said in a statement. No decision has been made on the show’s future without its star, said Paul McGuire, a Warner spokesman.
The actor, who has used TV, radio and social media to create a big megaphone for himself, was not silent for long.
In a text to The Associated Press, Sheen responded, with the F-word and “They lose,” followed by the word “Trolls.” Asked if he planned to sue, Sheen texted back, “Big.” As for his next move, Sheen texted, “A big one.”
Who could have possibly seen this coming?
Actually, many of us. During some speculation about this inevitability on Twitter last week, someone mentioned the “Valerie’s Family/Hogan’s Family” scenario from years ago, wherein the star, Valerie Harper, was replaced by Sandy Duncan. I suggested that Duncan be hired to replace Sheen.
More seriously, I thought it would be cool if they hired Michael J. Fox. Sheen replaced him some years back on “Spin City.”
About James Joyner
Someone suggested pulling a Darrin Stevens with Ron Livingston or someone else. That’s really the only way I can see the show surviving Sheen’s absence.
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But he was the male lead, not the star (that was Elizabeth Montgomery). I’m trying to think of a show where they’ve successfully replaced the star. And this is even worse than that, in that Sheen was a genuine star before the show launched. Montgomery was an unknown prior to “Bewitched.”
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They should keep making it, but just bin Sheen’s character entirely and have Fred Willard and Michael McKean move in for no apparent reason.
It just might work.
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Ten years ago I would have suggested Nic Cage to replace Charlie. He had a wonderful goofyness that would fit in perfectly on the show. Today….not so much.
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James, I don’t disagree. I doubt it will be successful without Sheen in any event. It’s unlikely to succeed with a new actor playing Charlie Harper, but it’s certain to fail without Charlie Harper. There are cases, like Spin City, where you can just replace the character. This isn’t one of them. It’s a show about brothers. You need at least two of them.
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What am I going to do for quality programming now?
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Let’s face it, they’ve had their run. It is no longer two and a half men, more like two and seven eighths men. Question really is can they spin off from here.
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They should just drop the Charlie character and change the name of the show to Two Men. ZING!
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They should just drop the Charlie character and change the name of the show to Two Men. ZING!
There’s an idea. Have an illegitimate kid of Charlie Harper’s show up and it’s Two-and-a-Half Men all over again.
(I still think the show needs Charlie Harper.)
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Too bad he lost it. He was awesome while the show lasted.
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It is not surprising at all that Charlie has been fired from his hit sitcom. It will be interesting, however, to see what the popular show does now without one of the main characters. Even though he has been fired, he still manages to sweep the headlines with his crazy antics.
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