'Two and a Half Men' faces uncertain future after CBS shuts down season in wake of Charlie Sheen outburst

Following a stormy month that culminated with wayward star Charlie Sheen attacking his employers in vitriolic rants Thursday, CBS and Warner Bros. announced they would cancel the rest of the season of the hit sitcom “Two and a Half Men,” casting a pall over the fate of TV’s most-watched comedy.

Interviewed on radio’s “The Alex Jones Show,” Sheen, who is said to be vacationing in the Bahamas, called his boss, executive producer Chuck Lorre, “a clown” and referred to him as “Haim Levine” (Lorre’s birth name is Charles Michael Levine). In a later interview with the website TMZ.com, Sheen said, “I violently hate Haim Levine,” and accused Lorre of taking money from him.

Within hours, the studio and network issued a joint statement: “Based on the totality of Charlie Sheen’s statements, conduct and condition, CBS and Warner Bros. Television have decided to discontinue production of ‘Two and a Half Men’ for the remainder of the season.”

The decision will put at least 200 show staffers out of work indefinitely, as well as deprive No. 1-ranked CBS of the anchor of its Monday night comedy lineup. Sheen has a deal that carries him through May 2012, although it’s unclear now whether CBS will risk ordering the show again for next season.

The series was supposed to return to production Monday after Sheen –- who earns nearly $2 million per episode -- completed an unusual home-based rehab program. It was the second time in as many years that the show was forced to halt production due to the star’s substance-abuse problems. But producers believed there was still enough time left this season to complete four more episodes, as opposed to the eight more originally scheduled.

But Sheen over the last few weeks launched an escalating series of tirades and bizarre behavior. Earlier this month, he told radio host Dan Patrick that he was ready to return to work but his employers weren’t. He reportedly partied with baseball stars and headed on vacation with his estranged wife, a porn star and a third woman.

Studio and network bosses, who had urged Sheen to enter rehab after a trip to the emergency room last month, relied on addiction specialists who said that the actor could return to work, with the proviso that he continue treatment for months afterward. But the personal attack on Lorre pushed the studio to switch gears.

Shortly after the network and studio announced they would terminate the season, the gossip site Radar Online quoted Sheen as saying that he would allow them to film his drug test. “That’s how confident I am” of passing,  the star was quoted as saying.

[Updated at 7:30 p.m.] In a letter to TMZ issued after the network decision had been made, Sheen wrote of Lorre: “Clearly I have defeated this earthworm with my words -- imagine what I would have done with my fire breathing fists.”

-- Scott Collins (Twitter: @scottcollinsLAT)

Photo: Jon Cryer and Charlie Sheen star in "Two and a Half Men." Credit: Greg Gayne / CBS

Comments

[sreno]

What a sad little man.

[D.Roy Atkinson]

If Charlie Sheen won't appologize to Chuck Lorre, the man who made him rich, maybe someone from his family should do so.Why is he so determined to torpedo the kind of success that other actors can only dream of?

[steve]

people that use crack like him are the lowest form of life they are snakes in human bodies

[vars324]

It's unfortunate for the crew and their families that will lose their income as a result of Mr. Sheen's meltdown. May these families be supported through generosity and love of their own family and friends. May Mr. Sheen find the help he needs to defeat the monster growing inside his mind. He needs to think about his children now and not himself and his urges. Shutting down production is a harsh decision by CBS, however, why should CBS foot the bill for Mr. Sheen's obnoxious and immoral behaviour? May Mr. Sheen experience true reconciliation of his heart, mind and soul so he can be a better father and man.

[DG3]

The show got lucky, coming right after "Raymond" when it was hot. Somehow, inexplicably, the ratings stayed strong.

[vars324]

It's unfortunate for the crew and their families that will lose their income as a result of Mr. Sheen's meltdown. May these families be supported through generosity and love of their own family and friends. May Mr. Sheen find the help he needs to defeat the monster growing inside his mind. He needs to think about his children now and not himself and his urges. Shutting down production is a harsh decision by CBS, however, why should CBS foot the bill for Mr. Sheen's obnoxious and immoral behaviour? May Mr. Sheen experience true reconciliation of his heart, mind and soul so he can be a better father and man.

[vars324]

It's unfortunate for the crew and their families that will lose their income as a result of Mr. Sheen's meltdown. May these families be supported through generosity and love of their own family and friends. May Mr. Sheen find the help he needs to defeat the monster growing inside his mind. He needs to think about his children now and not himself and his urges. Shutting down production is a harsh decision by CBS, however, why should CBS foot the bill for Mr. Sheen's obnoxious and immoral behaviour? May Mr. Sheen experience true reconciliation of his heart, mind and soul so he can be a better father and man.

[Friend]

Lorre had a vanity card earlier this season that said his birth name was Chaim Levine, not Charles Levine.

[Reality Chick]

What a total putz this guy is. Shame on CBS for keeping him on the show this long. Now and entire cast and crew is out of work because this over paid junkie perv can't control himself.

[owby]

First, why would he call the Alex Jones Show? Second, Charlie clearly lacks any concern for all the other people who worked with him on the show. Third, Charlie is clearly meglomaniacal and deluded about himself in relation to other human beings (otherwise known as humility).

[Marie]

Unless there are some comments on this Sheen article I'm not seeing, I'd say the "O" comments on this ridiculous outcome tells Sheen all he needs to know. He's a loser and no one cares. But what Sheen should care about are the 200 employees he's put out of work. Wow. I'd like to be in the room when he sobers up and realizes that he personally messed with the livelihood of 200 people in an extremely tough economic environment where jobs are scarce, not to mention the perhaps unmeasurable broader ramifications of causing a top rated show to be cancelled. Another thing that has to be looked at are these ridiculous salaries being paid to out of control children. I don't care what his chronological age is, Sheen is acting like a petulant, pampered, self indulgent brat. Very unattractive in a grown man's body. But, hey, the entertainment world supports these ridiculous salaries that contribute to outlandish behavior and support, if not create, addictions. Maybe Sheen should be court-ordered to use his earnings to compensate the families he put out of work. Absolutely disgusting.

[Tom Halley]

About time.

[Commentor]

I love Charlie, he may be the most honest person in Hollywood

[Heisenberg]

Take the $2 million (that is utterly insane, by the way) that he would've made for one more episode this season and pay the crew what they deserve, plus bonuses. (While you're at it, feed some hungry Angelenos. That is a lot of money.)

Then thank Sheen for the one good performance of his entire career (Platoon), and put him in jail.

Then TiVo his E! True Hollywood Story, but fail to ever watch it because your girlfriend has a weird thing for the sick and twisted Toddlers & Tiaras.

Good game!

[Rocco]

Good night, Mr Looney Tunes.

[Lem Utu]

Deathwatch begins now. I give him less than two years before driving off a cliff in a high speed chase.

[RCV]

Ok then, I will not watch anything CBS and boycott until this show is back on the air! Whoever the H3LL Haim Levine or Chuck Lorre are, they are not the stars of this show in any way shape or form! I will not watch anything else on this channel until 2 and 1/2 men is back on the air!

[Evad Rellim]

Where in this does the reality end and the sitcom start?

[Paleta Fresca]

Blaze of glory, Charlie. Blaze of glory.

[Big Al's Tires]

Cocaine is a hell of a drug.