Everything and everyone deserves a second chance. And in the age of all kinds of remakes, it is probably time for Two and a Half Men to get its own reboot.
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Two and a Half Men was a sitcom that followed the story of two brothers who lived very different lives under the same roof. Charlie Harper (played by Charlie Sheen) was the bachelor whose hedonistic lifestyle in his Malibu beach house was interrupted by the arrival of his uptight brother Alan (played by Jon Cryer), who went through a divorce.
Alan’s son Jake (played by Angus T Jones), who would stay over every weekend, often visited the two of them. Together the three of them would get into plenty of trouble while spending time with each other, including dealing with stalkers and all sorts of entertaining nonsense. At the same time, Berta, the housekeeper, watches on with a judgemental quip at the ready. While Charlie has many casual relationships, Alan raises his son and deals with his divorce.
When Charlie Harper dies, Walden Schmidt (played by Ashton Kutcher), a hopelessly romantic internet billionaire who tries to drown himself because he’s going through a divorce, arrives on the scene and buys Charlie’s old house. He fills the hole left by the late Harper brother and forms a strong bond with Alan and Jake. He even adopts a young boy named Louis with Alan’s help; the two help each other grow.
Walden and Alan meet Charlie’s biological daughter, and the two eventually pursue the women they love.
The show was entertaining and a bit strange at times, with plenty of relationship twists and turns, many entertaining father-son, nephew-uncle and brotherly bonding moments and the occasional unexpected death. The show survived the trade out of Charlie Sheen for Ashton Kutcher and eventually ended with its 12th season in 2015. It seems that that would be the official end of the long-running sitcom. However, it looks like Sheen isn’t ready to say goodbye to the how just yet.
Is it time for a Two and a Half Men reboot?
Talks About a Potential Reboot
Reboot Trends: Success and Failure
Many popular TV shows and movies have received reboots in recent years (Full House got Fuller House and Friends got Friends: The Reunion). While many have been incredibly successful and left fans begging for more, such as the latest Scream film, the long-running Doctor Who series and Cobra Kai, others have been… not so great.
It often feels like the producers behind previously successful shows or movies go traipsing through their past work and take what was once an incredibly successful project and put it back through the machine in hopes that it will give them the same results as before. Disney has been the worst culprit with this, often remaking old films rather than developing new ones.
Unfortunately for fans of the original films and series, the newly created reboots usually feel more like an attempt to squeeze as much money out of a project as possible rather than a passionate recreation of a once beloved film or show. Sometimes it’s better just to let projects die with their dignity, but other times an absolute masterpiece is created that is occasionally better than the original.
Two and a Half Men is a project that should be left alone at this point, but some fans and cast members can’t let what could have been go.
Charlie Sheen is Hopeful to Make a Come Back as Charlie Harper
While everyone previously involved in the show has moved on to other projects, Charlie Sheen has come out of the woodwork and made it known that he wants to do a reboot of the show. In April of 2019, he appeared for an interview on Loose Women and spoke about how he’d be excited to make a return as his beloved character, Charlie Harper:
“I think as long as everybody involved is alive and kicking, then there’s definitely a possibility. Of course (I would like it to) because there’s a trend towards reboots these days, and I think that would be one that folks might tune in for. It doesn’t have to go on for another five years; it would just be nice to do a couple of seasons and end it as it should have.”
His want to play the character and return to the show was made more evident after the cancellation of Roseanne. When Roseanne Barr, one of the show’s co-creators and stars, made a Twitter post using a racial slur against Valerie Jarret (a senior advisor and one of the most influential aides to Barrack Obama during his time as president), Sheen saw the opportunity to return to his past role. He tweeted a picture of an old Two and a Half Men script and brought up the possibility of a reboot with the words:
“Adios Roseanne! good riddance. Hashtag NOT Winning. The runway is now clear for OUR reboot.”
Sheen is very clearly ready to get back on the Two and a Half Men success train, but other cast and crew members don’t appear to be as excited for a reboot.
Creators, Cast and Crew, Remain Quiet
At this point, Sheen is the loudest and possibly only person from the original cast calling for a reboot. While it might be sad for fans that no one else is showing much interest in bringing the show back, after all the drama and tension Sheen caused during his last few years on the set of Two and a Half Men, you can’t blame people for not wanting to work with him again.
The showrunners of Two and a Half Men are happy with how the sitcom ended and want to leave it, seeing no need to change it. The only person who has given Sheen any sort of response was his old co-star Cryer, who retweeted his post with the answer, “What could possibly go wrong?”
The words are hopeful and damning at the same time. On the one hand, this could be interpreted as Cry considering the possibility of working with Sheen again and bringing back the beloved series. But, on the other hand, he has stated that he has no ill will towards his past co-star: “I’m glad that his health has rebounded; I think that’s great, you know? I hope nothing but success for the guy.”
On the other hand, this could have instead been a sarcastic but solid shutdown of any hope Sheen and fans might have had for a reboot happening. Cryer has previously described his time working with Sheen as a rollercoaster. “We went our separate ways, you know it’s, you kind of have to decide how much Charlie Sheen do I want in my life, you know?”
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The Drama of the Past
Issues with Charlie Sheen
Sheen has struggled with several personal issues over the years and has made some terrible decisions in response, earning an abysmal reputation in the film industry. When Two and a Half Men first began, he had been sober for two years. Cryer said that the first few years working with Sheen on the show had been “an incredible joy”. But, unfortunately, things took a turn for the worst after Sheen’s divorce from Denise Richards.
He couldn’t handle the stress that came with the divorce and soon developed a drug and alcohol problem that made him erratic and an incredibly difficult person with which to work. He later got into quite a bit of trouble with the media and was even arrested for assault before he was sent to rehab and anger management. Unfortunately for those that were trying to help him, he refused to go to either.
Chuck Lorre (the show’s creator) and Cryer had noticed subtle changes in Sheen’s behaviour. Still, it didn’t become a real problem until he began a public feud with Lorre over certain writing decisions that were made for his character. Lorre soon decided to cut Sheen loose for his own safety, as well as that of the cast and crew working on the set of Two and a Half Men, and bring on Ashton Kutcher.
During an interview with Cryer, when asked about the matter, he said, “I think there was a moment where Chuck Lorre and I were looking at each other, and we said, ‘It’s not worth this show going on if going on enables Charlie Sheen to kill himself. If giving him enough money to do whatever is the thing that ends his life, you know, we don’t want to be a part of that,’”
Unfortunately, Sheen wasn’t planning on letting himself be fired quietly. Instead, he angrily approached TMZ and told them, “This is very good news. They continue to be in breach, like so many whales. It is a big day of gladness at the Sober Valley Lodge because now I can take all of the bazillions, never have to look at (them) again, and I never have to put on those silly shirts for as long as this warlock exists in the terrestrial dimension.”
For the series finale, the showrunners considered bringing Sheen back for a cameo. They planned to be a short scene in which Sheen’s newly revived character would ring a doorbell, rant to the camera about drugs able then die via a piano falling from the sky.
Unfortunately for fans of his character, Sheen refused to do the cameo. He wanted his character to be given an ending that would help launch a spin-off series Sheen was planning called The Harpers that would again star him and Cryer as Charlie and Alan Harper. The showrunners disagreed, and Charlie Harper was killed by a falling piano anyway.
Years later, Sheen admitted that he’d handled how everything had gone down poorly. But, he said, “There was 55 different ways for me to handle that situation, and I chose number 56. And so, you know, I think the growth for me post-meltdown or melt forward or melt somewhere – however you want to label it – it has to start with absolute ownership of my role in all of it.”
Issues with Angus T Jones
Jones went through some drama of his own, but he managed to patch things up significantly easier than Sheen. In 2012 he left the show after converting to Christianity and then proceeded to attack it, stating that he was “sick of being part of” a project that “contradicts his moral values”. He followed this by asking fans to stop watching the show.
After Jones stepped away, Sheen took the opportunity to try and bash Two and a Half Men and Chuck Lorre again, claiming that “Jones’ outburst isn’t an isolated incident but rather a symptom of the toxic environment surrounding the show.” However, Jones was quick to issue an apology for his actions and made his reasons for leaving the show perfectly clear. With everything set straight and after a couple of seasons of not making an appearance, Jones made a cameo as Jake during the season 12 finale.
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Who Will Return if There is a Reboot
At this point, Jon Cryer is the only actor who will most likely return to the set of Two and a Half Men if CBS reboots the show. This is because he has been one of the only characters to appear in every single episode since the first one aired in 2003.
After all the drama he caused, both behind the scenes during season 7 and season 8 and the few years after CBS and Lorre fired him, the chance of Sheen ever returning to play Charlie Harper doesn’t look great. While he has taken accountability for his actions and has done his best to right his wrongs, Sheen’s actions may have caused irreparable damage to the friendships and relationships he once had with those he worked with on Two and a Half Men. As a result, a lot of healing and damage control needs to be done before he can think of returning to play the character that was created for him.
Unfortunately for fans of the later seasons, it doesn’t look like Kutcher will be returning to play his character either. With all his upcoming projects, the That 70’s Show actor doesn’t actually have any time to take his place in a reboot alongside Cryer. It’s unfortunate. However, it does leave room for Lorre to explore a different avenue with a new character if he decides to bring the show back for a 13th season or a complete story revamp. Several entertainment sites reported that actors such as Matt Dillion, Taylor Lautner and even Chris Evans were being considered to replace him.
Jones has been making a slow return to acting, doing more independent films after taking a step back in 2012. While at this point, he may no longer want to play as big of a role as he used to, given what Jones said when he first left the show, there is a chance he might still return as Jake, similarly to how he did for the series finale.
It will be unfortunate not to see him play a large part if Lorre does a reboot of the series. Fortunately, several other characters were introduced in the show’s later seasons. They could easily take on the role of the kid that gets into shenanigans and makes like slightly difficult for their father.
Is it a Good Idea for Two and a Half Men to be Brough Back?
It’s been seven years since the final episode of Two and a Half Men dropped, and with all the news of the show potentially coming back circling, fans are excited to see it come back to their screens. With Charlie Sheen’s substance abuse and other personal issues seemingly resolved and Angus T Jones returning to the film industry, it seems like the perfect opportunity to bring the show back with the original cast.
Seeing the new dynamic between the original characters and those that were introduced along the way would be interesting. Potential tensions between Walden Schmidt and Charlie Harper and seeing whether Alan actually managed to keep his marriage together could make for some entertaining story plots.
While fans are excited, and there is definitely an opportunity to do something with the old characters, it might be time to let Two and a Half Men go.
Besides Sheen, none of the actors seems particularly keen on the idea of a reboot. However, CBS might consider doing something similar to what was done with Friends. Instead of doing an entirely new series, HBO Max and Sky One arranged a documentary/interview. The original six actors and several others who starred in the show were brought together and spoke about beloved memories, their favourite scenes to shoot, how the show impacted them and what they were doing now.
There has been no official news about a 13th season or a Two and a Half Men series reboot. Unfortunately, it may be a while before fans hear anything about a potential reboot, so until then, they will just need to keep rewatching old episodes of Two and a Half Men.
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Reboot IMMEDIATELY! However NOT WITHOUT CHARLIE SHEEN ! Show the best EVER … Til Charlie sheen left! NEVER WATCHED IT AGAIN!! EVER!!!! AS ARE THE MILLIONS WHO CONCUR! Thank you, Patrick Ryan
Yes time for a reboot it is the only show that really made me laugh