Two and a Half Men is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Lee Aronsohn that aired on CBS from September 22, 2003, to February 19, 2015, for 12 seasons and 262 episodes.

[1][2] In February 2011, however, CBS and Warner Bros. Television decided to end production for the rest of the eighth season after Sheen entered drug rehabilitation and made "disparaging" comments about the series' creator and executive producer Chuck Lorre.

[4] Ashton Kutcher was hired to replace him for the ninth season as Walden Schmidt, a billionaire who buys Charlie's house after his death.

Cryer was promoted to the series lead, and Amber Tamblyn and Edan Alexander joined the main cast in season 11 and 12, respectively.

When Alan's wife, Judith (Marin Hinkle), decides to divorce him, he moves into Charlie's Malibu beach house, with Jake coming to stay over the weekends.

Charlie's housekeeper is Berta (Conchata Ferrell), a sardonic woman who initially resents the change to the household, but eventually accepts it.

In the fourth season, Alan is back at the beach house paying alimony to two women out of his low earnings as a chiropractor.

In the ninth-season premiere (after Charlie's death), the beach house is sold to Walden Schmidt (Ashton Kutcher), an Internet billionaire going through a divorce from Bridget (Judy Greer).

Meanwhile, Alan gets engaged to his girlfriend Lyndsey, while Judith leaves her second husband Herb Melnick (Ryan Stiles) (to whom she had been married since the fourth season) after he cheats on her with his receptionist (they later reconcile).

In the 11th season, a young woman arrives at the beach house, announcing that she is Charlie Harper's biological daughter, Jenny (Amber Tamblyn).

Alan proposes to Lyndsey a second time and she accepts, while Walden begins a relationship with Louis' social worker, Ms. McMartin (Maggie Lawson).

Following a February 2010 announcement that Sheen was entering drug rehabilitation, filming of the show was put on hiatus,[15] but resumed the following month.

"To put a fitting end on the two and one-half months of whirlwind speculation, I'm looking forward to returning to my CBS home on Monday nights," Sheen was quoted as saying.

[24] Afterward, Sheen was interviewed on ABC's 20/20, NBC's Today and CNN's Piers Morgan Tonight, where he continued to criticize Lorre and CBS.

[25] On March 7, CBS and Warner Bros. Television jointly announced that they had terminated Sheen's Two and a Half Men contract, citing "moral turpitude" as a main cause of separation.

[30] In April 2011, Sheen mentioned during a radio interview during his tour's stop in Boston that CBS and he were discussing a possible return to the show.

[31] Lorre announced the same month that he had developed an idea for a revival of Two and a Half Men, excluding Sheen, with Cryer in a key role alongside a new character.

Afterward, Charlie's Malibu home would be put up for sale; interested buyers would include celebrities from Lorre's other sitcoms and John Stamos, as well as Kutcher's character, Walden Schmidt, "an Internet billionaire with a broken heart."

Jennifer Graham Kizer of IVillage thought that the series changed tone in its Kutcher era, saying it felt "less evil".

[53] Producers explained that Jones was not expected back on the set until 2013, because his character was not scheduled to appear in the final two episodes before the winter hiatus.

[64] Warner Bros. Television also distributed blue Micargi Rover bicycles adorned with the Two and a Half Men logo along with the words "100 Episodes".

On May 12, 2012, CBS renewed Two and a Half Men for a 10th season, moving it to Thursday nights at 8:30 pm, following The Big Bang Theory.

If no ninth season had occurred because of Sheen's departure, due to the first cycle's premature end, Warner Bros. Television would not have received about $80 million in license fees.

In 2007, Two and a Half Men creator Chuck Lorre contacted CSI: Crime Scene Investigation executive producer Carol Mendelsohn about a crossover.

Mendelsohn later stated: "We're all used to being in control and in charge of our own shows and even though this was a freelance-type situation ... there was an expectation and also a desire on all of our parts to really have a true collaboration.

"[70] The Two and a Half Men episode "Fish in a Drawer" was the first part of the crossover to air, on May 5, 2008, written by CSI writers Sarah Goldfinger, Evan Dunsky, Carol Mendelsohn and Naren Shankar.

The website's consensus reads: "Two and a Half Men's inaugural season rises above its sitcom formula with a rapid-fire clip of bawdy quips as well as the sparky chemistry between stars Jon Cryer and Charlie Sheen.

The website's consensus reads: "Ashton Kutcher proves to be a game replacement for the unceremoniously departed Charlie Sheen, but Two and a Half Men feels exhausted and bitter as it trudges beyond its natural lifespan.

The website's consensus reads: "Two and a Half Men putters to an unpleasant end that continues to beat the dead Charlie horse while spinning an offensive, homophobic subplot.

[104] In response, Jon Cryer expressed reluctance to return to working with Sheen full time, comparing it to a roller coaster.