The great curiosity of the television season has always been whether Charlie's Sheen's absence from Two and a Half Men would finally wind up killing one of television's most popular sitcoms, or whether it could survive a bit of a reboot with Ashton Kutcher on board. Sheen's been making numerous talkshow appearances and even popped up on the Emmys, trying to exude whatever kind of class and respect that's been missing from his public persona for the last year, but I still have to imagine that he would've indulged in a bit of schadenfreude had the series came back to a whimper.
Alas, it looks like it returned with a bang, with almost 28 million viewers tuning in to find out how his character was killed off. That's almost double the number of viewers from last season's premiere, a number which ought to give high-falutin' stars everywhere a bit of pause: if Two And A Half Men can thrive without the guy everyone assumed was its core (and we'll see if these numbers hold up), then no one's job is safe if you decide to flip out and sue your production company.
Speaking of lawsuits, rumor has it that Sheen is on the verge of settling his Warner Bros. lawsuit. He originally filed for $100 million, but between the payout that Warner Bros. will give him (in exchange for dropping all legal claims against them), and the reinstatement of his royalty checks from the shows he's already filmed, he could earn up to $25 million right out of the gate. So, maybe high-falutin' stars everywhere might want to just go ahead and be crazy; you'll get paid less, but you'll still apparently make a lot of money.
The big debut for Two And A Half Men also proved auspicious for 2 Broke Girls, which followed it and managed to nab 19.5 million viewers, the largest audience for a fall comedy series premiere in a decade, according to Deadline. Not so hot: The Playboy Club, which was "NBC's lowest-rated fall drama premiere ever," with only five million viewers.
We'll have an About Last Night up for The Playboy Club in a bit, but for now, what did you check out last night? Are you going to stick with 2.5 Men, or were you bowled over by 2 Broke Girls? Any of the other season premieres strike your fancy?
Fact: Not enough people watched Hawaii 5-0. That show is stupid fun, and now employs John F'n Locke.
didnt really find kutcher funny at all
I tried watching Two and Half Men and it still seemed boring to me, even with Ashton but Two Broke Girls seemed pretty average so I may check out the next 2-3 episodes. I did enjoy the hour of How I Met Your Mother though.
How old is that kid by now? Isn't he closer to three quarters of a man?
CASTLE CASTLE CASTLE CASTLE CASTLE CASTLE!!!
Two and a half was damn good. The way they respected/dissed Charlie's character was pretty cool, and Ashtons character wasnt just a cut and paste of Charlie's.
good Stuff. The only other show i watched was Castle, which was just sexy all around. Whole new dynamic for the show.
I watched Castle, then returned to playing Mass Effect 1 for the billionth time. I'm awaiting the return of Supernatural, as well as the Mentalist. That's about it.
Two and a Half Men continues to be predictable and utterly devoid of real laughs.
Castle is all I watch from network channels everything else is from cable.
They could put 30 minutes of a dog taking a shit after Two and a Half Men and it'd get at least 10 million viewers. I feel bad about NBC. They put so much into their production (compared to CBS), yet still can't make a show worth watching.
Never watched this show never will don't see the appeal.
As much as I love Kat Dennings, 2 Broke Girls is forgettable comedy fare.
I did check out 2 Broke Girls, despite what yesterday's What to Watch told me not to watch. I actually do like the premise, and if they're doing the money counter at the end of each episode, I think that's a cool idea. Antics will ensue. However, for the actual funny, the show has a long way to go just in terms of jokes and delivery.
Castle and How I Met Your Mother were great, as always.
I still don't get why people watch these terrible shows at all. Last night I watched half the Monday Night Football game (Jets fan who doesn't really like the Giants here) and then switched to the Charlie Sheen Roast.
Watched football then HIMYM. It was alright. Thought about watching Hawaii Five-O because I kinda liked how dumb it was last season. Haven't watched Two and a Half Men in a long time.
Just gotta wait for some more Archer and Its Always Sunny.
The Charlie Sheen Roast didn't suck....surprisingly. Mike Tyson had some awful lines but it was mostly pretty funny.