"Two and a Half Men" is coming to an end. The final season of the longest-running comedy on broadcast TV was announced Wednesday by CBS executives at a news conference while sharing the network's upcoming fall television schedule.
"Chuck Lorre is creating a season-long event. We did very well last year with announcing final season of How I Met Your Mother here, too. Chuck is very psyched about this; he's got some great ideas and very big surprises," CBS' Nina Tassler said Wednesday at the network's pre-upfront press breakfast in New York City,
according to The Hollywood Reporter.
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"We know fans and audiences respond to that and that should really give us a nice boost when we launch our new comedy," Tassler added.
The CBS executive refused to address any of the lingering rumors surrounding Season 12, such as whether Charlie Sheen would return to the series for one last hurrah.
Season 11 of "Two and a Half Men" averaged 9.1 million total viewers, not counting DVR viewers, with 2.3 million being adults under 50,
The Los Angeles Times noted.
During the 11th season, the series was moved from its Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. timeslot to 9:30 p.m. as an apparent attempt by CBS to assist Greg Garcia's rookie comedy The Millers, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The series' main two actors, 36-year-old Ashton Kutcher and 49-year-old Jon Cryer, earn $700,000 and about $620,000 per episode respectively, the celebrity news site noted.
Over its 11 seasons, the show has at times been overshadowed by its behind-the-scene controversies that quickly became very public disputes garnering more headlines than the show itself.
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Perhaps the most newsworthy controversy occurred in 2012 when
Sheen was fired from "Two and a Half Men" following an alcohol and drug-fueled meltdown that included a prolonged dispute between the actor and Lorre and other executives at CBS.
Then last year, 19-year-old Angus T. Jones departed as a regular cast member after the born-again Christian
called the show that launched his career "filth" and advised people to "please stop watching it" during a November 2012 interview.