Two and a Half Men (2003)

*Two and a Half Men* is a sitcom that premiered in 2003. It primarily follows the comedic events in the lives of three men: Alan, who moves in with his bachelor brother Charlie after a divorce, and Alan’s son Jake. The show depicts their hilarious experiences living together. *The New York Times* once referred to it as the highest-rated comedy series in television history. The show has won 1 Emmy Award, 7 other major awards, and received 18 various nominations, including 2 Golden Globe nominations.

At the time, two writers pitched the concept of *Two and a Half Men* to producers Eric Tannenbaum and Kim Tannenbaum and proposed it to CBS as a primetime series. Although CBS approved the concept, they believed the writers lacked sufficient experience to serve as showrunners for the series.

The show's development process was full of twists and turns. Once production formally began, *Two and a Half Men* was developed by Chuck Lorre, Lee Aronsohn, and a writers’ room of seven other writers. As the series progressed, the writers’ room expanded, and the budget for each episode increased to \$120,000. Later, Chuck Lorre expressed a desire to bring in new talent—writers who were not necessarily the networks' first choices. Thanks to his reputation in the industry, this idea was embraced, and most of the original writers went on to work on new series like *The Big Bang Theory* (also produced by Lorre) and *Mike & Molly*.

Up until Season 7, *Two and a Half Men* lived up to CBS’s expectations and remained one of the network’s flagship shows. However, by the time the series reached Season 8, lead actor Charlie Sheen had a falling-out with the producers, which ultimately led to his dismissal from the show. As a result, the eighth season was cut short and ended after just 16 episodes. Later, Ashton Kutcher was brought in to replace Charlie’s role, but after four more seasons, the show eventually disappeared from television screens for good.