Two and a Half Men was incredibly popular amid its 12-season run on CBS and, even now, many continue to watch the show by way of syndication or by binging it via streaming. As a result of that popularity, the main stars garnered major paychecks, especially Charlie Sheen. For his role as jingle writer Charlie Harper, Sheen’s salary was notably high and, by the time he was unceremoniously fired from Men, he was the highest paid actor on TV. What I didn’t know, however, was that he used some of his personal issues when bargaining for his fee.

Sheen’s Men co-star, Jon Cryer, recently reflected on the financial side of being one of the leads on the Chuck Lorre-created sitcom. While speaking with Page Six, Cryer recalled being flabbergasted over how Sheen “enhanced his negotiating stance.” Apparently, Sheen would use the hardships in his life – including legal issues and addiction struggles – to argue for higher pay. All in all, Cryer seemingly found the entire situation somewhat ironic:

I can’t believe I never considered this until now, but I suppose it makes sense. While on Two and a Half Men, Sheen went through two divorces. Also, in 2010, the Wall Street star was arrested for allegedly assaulting his second wife, Brooke Mueller, and eventually pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault. In the aftermath, Sheen also partook in a 30-day rehab program. So the combination of Sheen’s need for money due to his issues and his draw as a leading man on TV apparently proved to be solid bargaining chips for him.

Ahead of Men’s eighth season, which was Sheen’s last, he inked a deal for $1.8 million per episode, and that was apparently in stark contrast to Cryer’s contract. Apparently, the Alan Harper portrayer was paid around two-thirds less than what his on-screen sibling was making. Cryer joked with Page Six, saying that since his own life was so good at the time, he should’ve driven his car off a cliff in order to try to earn more cash. The Pretty in Pink alum also said:

Messiness from Charlie Sheen’s personal life arguably contributed to his firing. Around the fall of 2010, Sheen had been drinking and, by January 2011, he entered rehab. It was during the following month that the actor began to publicly lash out at Lorre, leading to a high-profile feud. Sheen was eventually dismissed by Warner Bros. TV in March of that year, and he later filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against Lorre and WBTV that was eventually settled. In the years since then, Sheen has claimed he was a “raging demon” on set, and he and Lorre reconciled and reunited to work on Bookie.

Not long after Sheen’s firing, Two and a Half Men needed a refresh, and Ashton Kutcher was brought on to play a new character, Walden Schmidt, alongside Cryer’s Alan. At that point, Cryer finally saw a bump in his pay, as he started earning $620,000 an episode. Cryer spoke about feeling “lucky” about not feeling financial insecurity. Today, with the show still in heavy rotation, I’m eager to know how much Cryer still profits from the series and, though he didn’t give a specific figure, he said this:

As for where Jon Cryer stands with Charlie Sheen, the two aren’t feuding, but they haven’t spoken in some time. Cryer did, however, share his experiences with Sheen in the 2025 documentary aka Charlie Sheen (which is streamable with a Netflix subscription). Regardless of the state of Sheen and Cryer’s relationship, the two will forever be linked due to Two and a Half Men, which seems to have provided them with varying levels of financial stability.

For eight seasons of Two and a Half Men, Jon Cryer and Charlie Sheen entertained viewers as brothers Alan and Charlie Harper, respectively, and earned acclaim for their portrayals. In the years since Sheen’s firing in 2011 and the hit CBS sitcom’s conclusion in 2015, a lot has been said about the state of Sheen and Cryer’s relationship. Both actors have occasionally spoken about where they stand with each other these days. Now, Cryer is getting real about one misconception the Internet has regarding his dynamic with Sheen.

Cryer recently appeared on an episode of The View, during which he spoke about his decision to be interviewed for the documentary aka Charlie Sheen (which is streamable with a Netflix subscription). From there, the Emmy winner was asked about the fact that he hadn’t actually spoken to Sheen in years and whether he’d be open to meeting up. Cryer confirmed that he would be down to with his former co-star if the opportunity arose and, from there, he explained something that gets distorted on social media:

It would seem that Cryer wants to make it known that he holds no animosity towards Sheen at this point in his life. What should be pointed out is that Sheen and Cryer were friends while working on Two and a Half Men, as the latter explained a few years ago. However, that relationship went sour amid Sheen’s viral meltdown in 2011, which also saw him call out Cryer for being a “traitor.” It all seems to be water under the bridge now, based on Cryer’s comments about why he chose to participate in the documentary:

As Jon Cryer mentioned during his recent interview, his longtime co-star was very appreciative of his decision to appear in the Netflix doc. Charlie Sheen actually sent a sentimental message to Cryer to thank him for his “contributions” to the project. The Anger Management star also expressed his hope to “see [Cryer] around the campus” at some point. With that, it’s hard not to wonder whether the Men stars will actually reunite personally or professionally.

Sheen also notably mended fences with Chuck Lorre, the co-creator of Two and a Half Men, and even reunited with him for the since-canceled HBO Max comedy Bookie. It was around that time that Cryer was asked if he’d reunite with Sheen and Lorre for the show. At that point, Cryer said he would have to see where Sheen was at personally but also stated that he wouldn’t “close anything off.”

It appears Cryer has now softened on his stance even more, at least from the perspective of just meeting up with Sheen socially. Whether or not the two co-stars will actually carve out some time to get together is unclear. Still, what’s evident now is that anyone under the impression that Cryer and Sheen still have beef may want to stay away from Internet speculation.

Check out Jon Cryer and Charlie Sheen on Two and a Half Men, which is available to stream with a Peacock subscription.

Charlie Sheen has experienced more very public ups and downs in his career than most in the entertainment industry, several of which he experienced during the run of Two and a Half Men. Created by Chuck Lorre, the sitcom launched Sheen into network TV stardom to the point of becoming the highest-paid actor on television. He was ultimately fired from the show in Season 8, and didn't hold back his feelings about Lorre during their feud before they'd eventually collaborate again in 2023. The target of that ire on one occasion? The Big Bang Theory.

Sheen's most recent project was aka Charlie Sheen, a documentary available streaming now with a Netflix subscription, but I only just learned about some comments he dropped about Chuck Lorre and The Big Bang Theory while Jim Parsons' series was still on the air. Speaking with The Guardian at the time, the Major League vet said:

Charlie Sheen did have multiple shows over the course of The Big Bang Theory's twelve-season run from 2007-2019. His time on Two and a Half Men lasted from 2003-2011, and both Chuck Lorre shows were airing on CBS on Thursdays. Anger Management ran for 100 episodes between 2012-2014 as Sheen's follow-up to Two and a Half Men. Sheen actually made a cameo on Big Bang as himself back in 2008, which wasn't quite substantial enough of an appearance to earn him a slot on the list of best Big Bang Theory guest stars.

While Sheen would go on to work with Chuck Lorre again on HBO Max's Bookie (and even participate in a wild Two and a Half Men reunion on the show), the actor didn't mince words about the famed sitcom creator when speaking with The Guardian years ago. Continuing to address The Big Bang Theory, he said:

"A while" didn't last forever, with Charlie Sheen appearing in three episodes of Bookie during its two-season run. While the show was among the disappointing TV cancellations of 2025, both seasons are still available streaming with an HBO Max subscription. Lorre also appeared in the aka Charlie Sheen documentary, as well Sheen's former Two and a Half Men costars Jon Cryer, Angus T. Jones, and Melanie Lynskey.

Sheen and Lorre being on better terms now is certainly an improvement from where they were while The Big Bang Theory was still airing on CBS, but Sheen hasn't gone on the record on whether or not his thoughts on that sitcom have changed by this point in the 2026 TV schedule. You can find Sheen's years on his hit CBS comedy (as well as the four seasons starring Ashton Kutcher opposite Jon Cryer) streaming with a Peacock subscription now.

Charlie Sheen has worked with director Oliver Stone in movies like Platoon and Wall Street. However, he thought that he would be starring in one of Stone’s best Vietnam War movies, Born on the Fourth of July. Sheen talked about how his brother Emilio Estevez felt he “needed to be seated” to break the news that Tom Cruise got the part.

Given the history Charlie Sheen had with Oliver Stone, it was natural for him to believe he’d be starring in one of his upcoming projects. However, on a segment of In Depth with Graham Bensinger, the Two and a Half Men alum got real about the confusion he felt not hearing from the award-winning director about Born on the Fourth of July:

That would leave me baffled if I had a meeting with the person I thought I was portraying, only to hear nothing again. I’d probably start second-guessing what I did wrong, if the project fell apart or if they had someone else in mind.

While Charlie Sheen heard nothing from Oliver Stone, there was one important person who reached out to him. Emilio Estevez, his sibling who has frequently starred alongside him, was the one who broke the news that casting went in a different direction:

It’s funny that the Major League actor didn’t take the news as hard as his brother imagined. As Sheen was a bankable actor at the time, he probably knew there would be other opportunities coming his way. Still, it's better to hear disappointing news from your brother compared to in a headline.

While Charlie Sheen didn’t “faint” finding out Tom Cruise would be playing Ron Kovac, it doesn’t mean he was happy about the news. He continued to tell Graham Bensinger what hurt the most about being passed over:

I don’t blame Charlie Sheen for feeling betrayed. It’s very upsetting to have meetings and talks only to hear in the most indirect way that you’re not getting the part. After the Oliver Stone film became one of Tom Cruise’s greatest movies of all time and made him leading star material in the ‘90s, it makes you think about how the military role would have shaped Sheen’s career.

The Primetime Emmy nominee and Oliver Stone may not have gotten to cross paths for one of the most patriotic movies of all time, but fate did bring the two together again. After the former collaborators ran into each other at a bar, here was the interesting exchange Sheen described:

The film/TV actor continued to mention that Stone was using his instincts to determine that Sheen wasn’t the right actor for the job. Sometimes, there’s no rhyme or reason why an actor doesn’t land a part. It could be that Tom Cruise showed Stone the charisma and intensity that the director was looking for to play the sergeant-turned-activist.

Despite the Top Gun actor getting to play Ron Kovic instead of Sheen, he explained why he doesn’t resent Cruise for it:

You can’t deny that Tom Cruise blew it out of the water in Born on the Fourth of July. It was his best performance of that decade, showing the powerful transformation of a young, patriotic Marine's war experiences turning into an anti-war voice. It’s hard to believe he never won an Oscar for that movie, but at least it was his first award recognition role.

The Young Guns actor also made sure to mention that everything may be meant to be the way it all played out. He believed that if he had taken on Born on the Fourth of July, he probably wouldn’t have been able to be in the cast of Major League, one of his most recognized films.

It must have been tough for Charlie Sheen to lose a role he thought was his to someone else. But even if he didn’t get the opportunity to hear the bad news from Oliver Stone, at least his good brother was there to soften the blow.

Charlie Sheen has been in the news a lot lately. His documentary, aka Charlie Sheen, dropped last month as part of the 2025 TV schedule, and it's currently available to watch with a Netflix subscription. All this talk about Sheen got me thinking about a totally bonkers movies that I absolutely loved when I was a kid, Navy SEALs. It’s a movie that currently holds a very low 15% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which, on the one hand, doesn’t surprise me, but on the other hand… 15%? That’s too low if my fond memories are any judge. I had to rewatch it to find if I was right or if RT is.

The Movie Is As Insane As I Remember It

I don’t know how I managed to see this R-rated movie in theaters when it came out because I was definitely too young. Alas, the ‘90s were a different time, so I did. I also remember renting it on at least two occasions, once on my own, and once when I just had to show it to friends. It was a big hit with us. The cast was stacked with ‘80s stars, and the action was pure-1980s over-the-top insanity.

It had a bunch of actors we knew from other movies we had no business seeing young teenagers, like Bill Paxton and Rick Rossovich from The Terminator (though you might best know Rossovich as Slider in Top Gun), and Michael Biehn from both The Terminator and Aliens. When I rewatched it, I realized Dennis Haysbert is also in it, who I didn’t remember, but who I must have known from another Charlie Sheen classic from a year earlier, Major League.

Does It Hold Up To The Lofty Standards I Set As A Teenager?

Rewatching Navy SEALs last weekend with my Amazon Prime Video subscription, I can confidently say that it probably deserves a low rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but it’s better than the 15%. The Popcornmeter (user reviews) pegs the Lewis Teague-directed flick at 43% and, yeah, that seems about right to me. It’s not Ben-Hur by any stretch of the imagination, and it’s certainly not going to rank on any list of the best war movies of all time, but it’s a still a fun, action-packed movie that oozes ‘80s action vibes.

The characters are, as you would expect, very cardboard, and the plot is inane, but that’s not why I watch movies like this. It’s absolutely the kind of movie I love to throw on on a rainy Saturday afternoon when I don’t want to have to think too much about a movie. There is no critical thinking required, just a bunch of testosterone-fueled action scenes and cheesy, quotable dialogue.

In the end, Navy SEALs is never going to be confused with any of the best movies of the 1990s, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth your time. If you love movies like Predator or the Steven Seagal classic from the same era, Under Siege, you should definitely check this movie out.

Jason Blum has seen more horror cycles than most people have seen horror movies. As the founder of Blumhouse Productions, the Fear Factory boss has built an empire on low-budget scares that pay off big. But after a rough year of box office misses and increased competition from high-priced auteur horror films like the 2025 movie releases, Weapons and Sinners, the veteran producer is once again confronting an old question: Are there too many upcoming horror movies? His answer, like most things Blum says, was blunt, but still, I didn’t expect this response.

In a new Variety profile celebrating Blumhouse’s 15th anniversary, the producer admitted that, yes, horror may have reached a boiling point this year, but insisted that the industry’s ups and downs are just part of the cycle. On people saying horror is oversaturated, the producer said:

Now that quote is pure Jason Blum. Little chaotic, but true. He’s describing a Hollywood that can’t help but binge on whatever’s hot until it crashes, but ultimately, much like the actor recently did, it shows back up ready to do it all over again. Horror, more than any other genre, lives and dies by excess.

That excess may have finally caught up with the genre’s reigning king. Blumhouse has weathered a string of critical and box office disappointments, starting in 2024 with Night Swim and Imaginary, and continuing through 2025 with The Wolfman, The Woman in the Yard, Drop, and the underwhelming M3GAN 2.0. Meanwhile, some of the most acclaimed genre releases this year, like Ryan Coogler's Sinners and Zach Cregger's Weapons have scored massive wins with higher budgets and arguably riskier creative swings.

To make matters worse, Blum also lost a high-profile bidding war to A24 for the rights to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, admittedly, a painful setback for a producer whose legacy was built on resurrecting fading franchises. Still, the man who redefined modern horror doesn’t seem particularly shaken.

Blum told the outlet that these market swings are inevitable and survivable. He’s seen the genre crash and rebound too many times to panic now. And while this year’s results may look grim, not everything is doom and gloom. His sister company, Atomic Monster, continues to thrive. As the genre’s reigning mogul explained, the formula that continues to work is simple:

History backs up the scary movie powerhouse here. The post-Paranormal Activity boom led to the Conjuring era, which in turn influenced Get Out and the prestige-horror wave, paving the way for M3GAN and now Sinners. Each cycle burns hot, crashes hard, and rises again. The genre doesn’t die, but regenerates.

Jason Blum isn’t digging a grave for his company just yet. As the horror hitmaker himself put it, the horror genre “is like Charlie Sheen,” and if I were a betting man, my money would be on the horror mogul making one hell of a comeback. That comeback could arrive much sooner rather than later, with The Black Phone 2 and the highly anticipated Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 both on Blumhouse’s upcoming slate.

The death of Matthew Perry was a shock to many friends and fans. While Perry’s struggles with addiction were well known, it was believed that Perry was in recovery and was sober at the time that he drowned in a hot tub. However, it seems there was at least one person who suspected there was something else going on, with Charlie Sheen.

Charlie Sheen has dealt with his own demons, and has now written a book, and is at the center of a new Netflix documentary about his life. Sheen recently appeared on Piers Morgan Uncensored and says that it was when he watched Perry promote his own book, which was released shortly before the Friends actor's death, that Sheen says he saw something that he recognized, which indicated what Perry’s actual state was. Sheen said…

Perry and Sheen certainly had some things in common, which may have been what allowed the Two and a Half Men actor to see things that others perhaps could not. While Sheen was older and became a star earlier, both became the stars of massively popular sitcoms, and it was at that time that each had their major battles with addiction, with Sheen's battle being the more public at the time. Perry also became friends with Sheen's ex-wife during rehab.

Charlie Sheen says he read Matthew Perry’s book, reading it in a day. As it happens, each man is mentioned in the other’s book. Sheen admits he didn’t know Perry well, but it seems that, since the actors had similar experiences, Sheen recognized something in Perry that he felt he understood well.

Sheen specifically mentions a time that Perry was on Bill Maher’s show to discuss the book, and feeling that Perry wasn’t focused on the interview. Sheen also says he heard something similar when listening to part of the audiobook version of Perry’s memoir, saying…

Sheen said he wanted to reach out to Perry, but never did, though he admits it was unlikely he would have done anything that would have changed what happened. Perry was found drowned in a hot tub in October 2023. Ketamine was found in his system in concentrations much higher than should have been there based on the therapy he was taking at the time.

It’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has seen his share of peaks and valleys over the course of his career and personal life. Sheen’s off-camera escapades have generated plenty of headlines as well. However, the actor now appears to have entered a new phase in his life, one that sees him being more reflective. Sheen recently headlined a two-part documentary that’s now available to Netflix subscription holders, and he also wrote a memoir. While the star is getting candid, he’s also clear about this not being an “apology tour.”

During his doc, aka Charlie Sheen, the Two and a Half Men star hasn’t shy away from the fact that he’s burned some bridges in his time. The production, which is directed by Andrew Renzi, tackles Sheen’s career as well as his struggles with alcohol, drugs and more. Ultimately, Sheen’s actions also generated shockwaves that impacted members of his family and those he worked with. Sheen and his brother, Emilio Estevez touched on that while chatting for Interview Magazine, during which the former shared some honest thoughts:

The Spin City alum did indeed spend much of his 50s apologizing for past transgressions. Of course, given that the actor isn’t focused much on apologies at this point, that begs the question of what he’s actually seeking to do as he enters his 60s. Well, he went on to explain just that while continuing his conversation with his older brother:

Charlie Sheen makes a good point in that there is indeed a generation of people who only know him for the salacious headlines that have swirled around him as opposed to his work. Throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s, Sheen racked up more than a few notable movie credits like Red Dawn, Wall Street, Young Guns, Major League and The Rookie. As for TV before landing his famous Men role, Sheen starred in the final two seasons of Spin City. Some may not realize it, but Sheen’s filmography isn’t exactly small.

Nevertheless, it’s also understandable as to why all of that work sometimes gets overshadowed by the headlines. The “tiger blood” situation that Sheen alluded to, for example, specifically alludes to a viral comment he made during his meltdown after being fired from Two and a Half Men after making inflammatory comments about series creator Chuck Lorre. While “everything turned to shit,” Sheen has since become sober and he doesn’t think too fondly of his thoughts on tiger blood, and the same goes his “winning” comments,

So, at this point, it seems Charlie Sheen is in a position to chart out a new path for himself both professionally and personally. What exactly he chooses to do next remains to be seen. However, something that’s apparent right now is that the public probably shouldn’t expect him to seek more apologies for his past mistakes as he moves forward. In the meantime, check out his aka Charlie Sheen – one of the biggest titles on the 2025 Netflix schedule – now.

Back in 2011, the CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men was thrown into chaos in the middle of its eighth season amid star Charlie Sheen’s drug abuse and troublesome behavior. The actor is now opening up about his life — including his tumultuous exit from Two and a Half Men — in his memoir The Book of Sheen, and he said testosterone cream was partially to blame for the “raging demon” he became on set.

In his new book, Charlie Sheen opens up about the events that led to CBS firing him after he made disparaging remarks about series co-creator Chuck Lorre and production was shut down on Two and a Half Men’s eighth season. Sheen says CBS head Les Moonves had offered to send him to rehab but the actor declined, quitting all of the drugs cold turkey, he says in The Book of Sheen (via EW). He continues:

While Charlie Sheen doesn’t deny using drugs, he said the testosterone cream — in the amounts he was using it — caused some of the behavior that became an issue on the set of Two and a Half Men. He writes in the book:

Charlie Sheen says this doesn’t excuse any of his actions, but he wanted to provide context for what those around him witnessed. He went on:

The actor’s behavior in 2011 ignited a longtime feud with Chuck Lorre that ended in 2023, when Charlie Sheen cameoed as himself on Lorre’s HBO Max comedy Bookie. Sheen has also since attempted to reconnect with Jon Cryer, his Two and a Half Men co-star.

The release of Charlie Sheen’s memoir coincides with the Netflix documentary aka Charlie Sheen, which hits the 2025 TV schedule on Wednesday, September 10. The two-part series features Jon Cryer, Sheen’s ex-wives Denise Richards — who appeared with him on the red carpet at the premiere — and Brooke Mueller, as well as many others, including his alleged former drug dealer.

It’s wild to think that of all the drug use that Charlie Sheen admits to, a big part of his issues might have stemmed from a street-legal testosterone cream. Be sure to check out the actor’s documentary with a Netflix subscription and/or his new memoir if you want to learn more.

Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards have seen their share of ups and downs over the years. The two stars – who were married from 2002 to 2006 – notably experienced a number of relationship issues, which ultimately led to their breakup. More recently, it would appear that the two are on somewhat better terms, and Richards and Sheen even just reunited on the red carpet for the release of the latter’s docuseries. So, given this positive energy, could the two reconcile? Well, sources are sharing thoughts on the notion of a reconciliation.

As of this writing, neither Denise Richards (54) nor Charlie Sheen (60) have confirmed or denied any kind of romantic relationship developing between them. Hollywood insider Rob Shuter, however, recently spoke to a confident, though, who suggests that there are indeed some sparks being ignited. Apparently, Sheen and Richards have allegedly been spending a significant amount of time together as of late:

Years ago, Sheen and Richards’ marriage ultimately took a negative turn due to the former’s reported issues with drugs and alcohol. Richards also accused Sheen of threatening violence against her and, eventually, she filed for divorce in 2005. Even after their split was finalized in 2006, though, Sheen and Richards engaged in a lengthy custody battle over their two daughters, Sami and Lola. In the years since the legal and marital drama, both Richards and Sheen have shared positive thoughts about each other.

More recently, purported friends of the Good Advice co-stars claim that they’re currently “taking it slow.” Despite that, per a red carpet insider, it was hard to deny the “chemistry” that the two stars had when they appeared in public together days ago. As for what’s reportedly drawing Richards back to her ex-husband, a source says she's taken by the person he’s become:

The past several years have seen Charlie Sheen maintain sobriety and overcome drug addiction. Sheen has also been raising twin sons Max and Bob while his other ex-wife, Brooke Mueller, has reportedly been dealing with personal issues. Sheen has also continued to take on work as an actor, with one of his biggest gigs in recent years being the sitcom Bookie, which reunited him with Chuck Lorre of Two and a Half Men.

Denise Richards, meanwhile, has recently been contending with more reported marriage issues. Earlier this summer, Aaron Phypers, Richards’ husband, filed for divorce from her, citing “irreconcilable differences.” Richards was later granted a restraining order from Phypers, who she accused of committing domestic violence on multiple occasions. Phypers denied the claims and, in turn, he accused Richards of being addicted to Vicodin and being under the influence of drugs while driving with their daughter, Eloise, in the car.

While the Real Housewives alum sorts through her legal issues with Aaron Phypers, though, reports seem to point to her, at the very least, being on solid footing with Charlie Sheen. Richards and Sheen may have had their issues but, in several cases during the past several years, they’ve seemingly had each other’s backs. Still, it remains to be seen whether that cordial dynamic will actually blossom into another full-blown romance for the two exes.

See Richards and Sheen share insight into their relationship and more in the two-part docuseries aka Charlie Sheen. The doc will be available for Netflix subscription holders starting on September 10.

September streaming got off to a strong start last week with several high-profile shows debuting. Several of them, including The Great British Baking Show and The Paper, which has already been renewed for a second season, will continue this week. However, if you need something else to watch between episodes, there are some fresh options.

The Wedding Banquet - September 8 (Paramount+)

Ang Lee’s 1993 film, The Wedding Banquet, is arguably the movie that put him on the map as a director. However, you may not even know that the film was remade in 2025 with a solid cast including Bowen Yang, Lily Gladstone, and Kelly Marie Tran. The well-reviewed Wedding Banquet remake came and went at the box office amid the positive reception, so if you have a Paramount+ subscription, you can check it out this week.

Only Murders In the Building, Season 5 - September 9 (Hulu)

Only Murders in the Building continues to be one of the best shows available streaming. That's partially because of its incredible core cast of Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez, and the fact that fans don't have to wait three years between seasons. Season 5 of the show drops for Hulu subscription holders this week. The main trio will investigate the death of loveable doorman Lester (Teddy Coluca,) who was found dead in a fountain at the end of last season.

Seen & Heard: The History Of Black Television - September 9 (HBO Max)

From producer Issa Rae, Seen & Heard is a two-part documentary that follows the history of Black representation on television. It’s certainly a story that doesn’t get told enough. Also, Shonda Rhimes and Oprah Winfrey are just some of the major media figures interviewed for the production.

Aka Charlie Sheen - September 10 Netflix

There was a time not that long ago when Charlie Sheen was a name that was always in the news, and usually for the wrong reasons. A new documentary available with a Netflix subscription takes a look at the life and career of the former Two and a Half Men star, both his successes and his difficulties.

Warfare - September 12 (HBO Max)

One of the best reasons to have an HBO Max subscription is the platform's deal with A24, as it means unique and interesting films are always debuting. The latest feature from the studio to hit the streamer is Warfare. Written and directed by Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland, the movie has been widely praised for its emotionally harrowing journey. If you missed this one in theaters, check it out at home.

Screamboat - September 12 (Peacock)

No, you’re not having deja vu. This isn’t The Mouse Trap, that terrible horror movie cashing on the public domain status of Steamboat Willie. This is the other horror movie cashing in on the public domain status of Steamboat Willie, the one that used Colin Jost and Pete Davidson's Staton Island Ferry.

September will continue to go strong on the streaming front. With new seasons of Slow Horses andTulsa King as well as the premiere of the Marvel Zombies animated series, there’s certainly something for everybody.

Charlie Sheen has been reflective as of late, and he’s baring all in a documentary, which is a major release on Netflix’s 2025 release schedule. Directed by Andrew Renzi, the two-part aka Charlie Sheen sees the titular star discussing his professional and personal highs and lows, and it features interviews from major stars. Two and a Half Men co-lead, Jon Cryer, is even featured in the doc, and Sheen just revealed the warm message he sent his former co-star after he participated in the project.

For eight years, Charlie Sheen and Jon Cryer entertained the masses as brothers Charlie and Alan Harper on Chuck Lorre’s hit CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men. The two actors’ relationship took a serious turn, however, due to Sheen’s downward spiral in 2011. Sheen has been candid about the damage that’s been done to his relationship with Cryer, expressing regrets for how the situation played out. While discussing his doc and memoir with People, Sheen recalled reaching out to Cryer after watching him in the doc:

Charlie Sheen’s message is major, considering the drama that unfolded in 2011. Amid his issues with alcohol and drugs, Sheen made disparaging remarks against Chuck Lorre. Jon Cryer didn’t publicly comment on the situation, leading to Sheen calling him out and referring to him as a “a turncoat, a traitor, a troll” while speaking to E! News at the time. Sheen later changed his tune, as he spoke highly of Cryer as a collaborator. During his recent interview, Sheen reflected on that tumultuous time in his life and how Cryer was impacted:

Even before appearing in his colleague’s Netflix documentary, Jon Cryer discussed his relationship with Charlie Sheen on a few occasions over the years. Cryer revealed that he and Sheen had a solid working relationship on Two and a Half Men (which is streamable with a Peacock subscription) and hung out occasionally off set. However, they “split off’ a bit due to Sheen’s growing drug habit. Now, Sheen is clean and sober, though, and it sounds like he wouldn’t mind hearing from Cryer:

Jon Cryer previously discussed the possibility of once again working with Charlie Sheen and Chuck Lorre, who mended fences while working on the show Bookie. On the whole, Cryer didn’t seem to totally shut down the possibility of joining forces with his Men collaborators again, but he also said he was unsure as to how Sheen was doing from a personal standpoint. Even if they don’t work together again, as it stands, there still seems to be a solid level of respect between Sheen and Cryer.

Fans can see Jon Cryer – along with Denise Richards, Chuck Lorre, Chris Tucker and more – get candid on aka Charlie Sheen, which will be available for Netflix subscription holders starting on September 10.

When it comes to messy celebrity relationships, Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards have definitely seen their share of tough times. When their four-year marriage ended in 2006, the divorce played out in the tabloids but was apparently “way worse” behind the scenes. Somehow they’ve since recovered from the custody battles, social media attacks and more, and on Thursday, they even walked the red carpet together (and posed for photos!) as Sheen’s docuseries hits the 2025 TV schedule.

One of Netflix’s upcoming releases is aka Charlie Sheen, a two-part documentary on the rise, fall and recovery of the Two and a Half Men star. The project had its premiere in Los Angeles this week ahead of its September 10 drop, and Denise Richards not only attended the event to support her ex-husband, but she walked the red carpet with him for the first time in nearly 20 years. Take a look for yourself:

Seeing these two happy together is such a blast from the past, and they both look fantastic. Charlie Sheen sported a black suit jacket with a subtle tartan pattern over a white button-down shirt and blue jeans. For her part, Denise Richards matched him in black, donning a sequined crop top and flared satin pants. She accessorized with a diamond cross necklace.

The exes — who are parents to daughters Sami, 21, and Lola, 20 — even shared a hug in front of the cameras, with Charlie Sheen smiling sweetly:

Denise Richards was one of many celebs to take part in aka Charlie Sheen, in which apparently no topic is off-limits regarding her ex-husband’s past. The trailer for the documentary (which will be available to those with a Netflix subscription) shows the former Bond girl saying that, “When things started to change, it was quick.” Presumably, she’s talking about his addiction struggles, because their daughter Lola is also shown commenting on the issue. (Sheen got sober in 2017.)

The two-part series will also discuss Charlie Sheen’s tumultuous exit from Two and a Half Men. Jon Cryer, who has spoken openly about his relationship with Sheen and how his addiction affected their CBS sitcom, is also interviewed in the documentary.

In fact, a number of people who worked with the Major League star and witnessed his struggles will be featured on aka Charlie Sheen, including his third ex-wife, Brooke Mueller, Sean Penn, Chris Tucker, Chuck Lorre — whose longtime feud with Sheen ended in 2023 — his brother Ramon Estevez and even his former drug dealer. Check out the trailer below:

Despite everyone's participation in the doc, I certainly didn't expect to see Denise Richards by her ex's side for the premiere. But while this was their first red carpet together in two decades, Charlie Sheen did appear on the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum’s Bravo series Denise Richards & Her Wild Things earlier this year, where they had lunch with Lola.

We don’t know yet if he’ll talk about the secret charitable donations he’s made or his knee-jerk reaction to Denise Richards and their daughter Sami joining OnlyFans, but we don’t have long to wait to see what all is divulged. The two-part series aka Charlie Sheen premieres Wednesday, September 10, on Netflix.

Charlie Sheen is a veteran of large and small screens alike, with projects ranging from beloved classics like Major League to long-running comedies like Two and a Half Men. For some people, however, Sheen may be more remembered for the kinds of controversies that got him ousted from the CBS sitcom. He's telling his story in his own way in aka Charlie Sheen, an upcoming release in the 2025 Netflix schedule, so the timing is right for the reports that he has made massive contributions to charity even when making headlines for the wrong reasons.

Back when Charlie Sheen was one of the most popular actors on the small screen in his Two and a Half Men heyday, TMZ reports that he donated between $26 - $30 million to charity. No, I didn't skip a decimal point there – the outlet cites sources claiming that Sheen donated up to $30 million to good causes. Among those causes were cancer research, projects to help those without homes, and Autism Speaks. The star reportedly insisted on anonymity regarding the donations, which has lasted up until late 2025.

Considering that his very public controversies include "winning" comments that he went on to regret, his addiction issues during the Two and a Half Men era, and how he announced that he was diagnosed as HIV positive, Sheen had plenty of opportunities to give himself credit for making huge donations to good causes. Instead, he remained anonymous.

That said, nothing was apparently off limits when he candidly spoke about his life and career in the two-part aka Charlie Sheen documentary, which will be available with a Netflix subscription starting on Wednesday, September 10.

The group of people from his life who participated in the documentary include Sean Penn, ex-wife Denise Richards (who says she talked her then-husband into joining the hit CBS sitcom), former Two and a Half Men co-lead Jon Cryer, Money Talks costar Chris Tucker, ex-wife Brooke Mueller, sitcom legend Chuck Lorre, brother Ramon Estevez, daughter Lola Sheen and – as credited in the trailer for aka Charlie – "Charlie's Dealer." Take a look:

It remains to be seen if Sheen touches on any of his charitable acts in the documentary, which could perhaps explain why sources are reportedly coming forward only now to address the donations. The focus of the Netflix trailer seems to be more on his career and addiction issues, however. I do have to wonder if he'll be 100% on board with the finished product of aka Charlie or have some regrets like Martha Stewart did after her Martha documentary released on the streamer.

For now, you can plan on checking out aka Charlie Sheen when it premieres on Wednesday, September 10 at 12:01 a.m. PT on Netflix. Since Jon Cryer and creator Chuck Lorre both gave interviews for the documentary, it may also be worth revisiting Two and a Half Men. All of Sheen's eight seasons (as well as the four starring Ashton Kutcher) are available streaming with a Peacock subscription now.

We’re nearing the end of the 2024 TV schedule, but that doesn’t mean all of the year’s noteworthy premieres happened already. Case in point: the same night that the Chuck Lorre-produced spinoff Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage aired its first midseason finale, the mega-producer’s streaming comedy Bookie kicked off Season 2 on Max, with viewers once again getting a special appearance or two from Two and a Half Men vet and one-time star Charlie Sheen.

As many area already aware, Lorre and Sheen were engaged in one of pop culture’s wildest feuds, with the actor’s increasingly bizarre behavior sabotaging his stint on Two and a Half Men and causing him to lose that gig. It took years for the two celebs to bury the hatchet, which essentially happened as Bookie’s first season was coming together. And it’s clear that initial reunion was not only comfortable for the duo, but also enjoyable, considering they teamed back up for Season 2 cameos.

Speaking with People, Lorre addressed working with Charlie Sheen again for the streaming comedy alongside stars Sebastian Maniscalco and Omar Dorsey, and had only good things to say. In his words:

To that end, Sheen plays himself on Bookie, or at least a partially fictionalized version of himself. It's definitely not the most flattering role, as the Hot Shots actor is engaging in a bit of self-parody that addresses his impulses and addictions. That said, Lorre spoke ahead of Season 1 about Sheen’s one big request being that he didn’t want to specifically address his past drug addiction, saying that time of his life had already been covered more than enough.

Chuck Lorre talked about how he and Sheen had such a good working relationship for longer than many shows get to stay on the air, and shared kind words for Charlie Sheen’s professional talents, saying:

After watching Season 2 of Bookie, fans will probably hope to see Sheen taking on more of a starring role in an upcoming Chuck Lorre creation, possibly even with former Two and a Half Men co-star Jon Cryer joining in. But we'll have to wait and see if the writer-producer can craft a new story that utilizes the Spin City vet's comedic chops just as well.

Bookie’s Season 2 premiere is currently available to steam with a Max subscription, with new episodes debuting every Thursday until the season wraps up a month into the 2025 TV schedule.

The notion of a TV show going through cast changes for one reason or another isn’t all that unusual. In some cases, an actor might choose to leave a show in order to pursue other opportunities. And, at other times, a character naturally runs their course and is written out, leading to a star being ushered out of a production gracefully. However, there have been a number of instances in which an actor has dramatically exited a popular show for more salacious reasons. And we’re going to talk about a number of those situations.

Mackenzie Phillips (One Day At A Time)

Mackenzie Phillips dealt with substance and alcohol abuse during her tenure on One Day at a Time. As her problems increased and she allegedly became erratic on set, the actress was fired after the fifth season of the Norman Lear-produced sitcom. After voluntarily receiving treatment, Philips was invited back to the series at the start of Season 7. But, as mentioned in her Biography special she was fired one more time early in Season 9.

Delta Burke (Designing Women)

Designing Women cast member Delta Burke, who played breakout character Suzanne Sugarbaker, left the beloved CBS comedy after its fifth season. At the time, Burke was having issues with series creator Linda Bloodworth-Thomason. While appearing on the Glamorous Trash podcast years later, Burke said she and the EP “tried to kill each other” but “survived.” They eventually patched things up and teamed up again for a short-lived spinoff series, Women of the House.

John Amos (Good Times) 

Fans, like myself, would probably argue that Good Times – one of the greatest sitcoms of all time – changed tremendously after John Amos’ James Evans Sr. was written out following Season 3. That creative decision was the result of Amos being incredibly vocal about his frustrations with the direction of the show and even threatening the writers. As the actor explained during an interview, series EP Norman Lear called him up personally to tell him he’d been fired. 

Rob Lowe (The West Wing)

Before he dazzled on Parks and Recreation and after rising to prominence as a “Brat Pack” member, Rob Lowe starred on The West Wing. The show was originally set to center around his character, Sam Seaborn, though the focus shifted early on. Feeling underutilized as time went on, Lowe left the show after four seasons.

Roseanne Barr (Roseanne)

Roseanne Barr’s eponymous ABC sitcom was revived for a tenth season that aired in 2018, and it saw considerable success. Following its renewal, Barr was fired after posting a tweet about former government official Valerie Janet that was condemned as being racist. Her dismissal led to the cancellation of Roseanne and the conception of a spinoff sequel series The Conners.

Janet Hubert (The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air)

Two actresses portrayed Vivian “Aunt Viv” Banks on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, the first being Janet Hubert. By the NBC sitcom’s third season, she and lead actor Will Smith began to butt heads. Both were also dealing with situations in their personal lives. Ultimately, Hubert left Fresh Prince due to getting an unsatisfactory new contract offer and, years later, she and Smith made amends during the show’s 2020 reunion.

Kevin Spacey (House Of Cards)

House of Cards experienced a significant shake-up after Kevin Spacey was accused of being inappropriate towards actor Anthony Rapp while he was still a minor. Netflix eventually cut ties with Spacey and, as a result, he was replaced as the lead of the show by co-star Robin Wright.

Charlie Sheen (Two And A Half Men)

When it comes to an exit from a TV series, few get more dramatic than Charlie Sheen’s departure from Two and a Half Men. During the eighth season of the hit CBS show, he made headlines for partaking in wild parties and even entered rehab. Sheen’s fate was sealed, however, when he made disparaging remarks about series co-creator Chuck Lorre. Men would continue for four more seasons, with Ashton Kutcher taking over as co-lead.

Katherine Heigl (Grey’s Anatomy) 

There are a lot of moving parts to Katherine Heigl’s Grey’s Anatomy exit, but it was truly set in motion after the actress kept her name from Emmy consideration in 2008. Heigl did that because she didn’t think the work she’d done for that particular season was Emmy-worthy. In 2009, the Izzie Stevens actress accused series creator Shonda Rhimes and the producers of initiating long work hours for the cast and crew. And, in 2010, amid Season 6 of the drama series, Rhimes released Heigl from her contract early.

Valerie Harper (Valerie/Valerie’s Family/The Hogan Family)

Amid the second season of Valerie, lead actress Valerie Harper became engaged in a salary dispute with both NBC and production company Lorimar. It was after that season that the Emmy winner was fired, and she ultimately sued both of the aforementioned companies for breach of contract. The series aired for four more seasons – and had two more names. But, ultimately, Harper won her case and was awarded $1.4 million and future show profits.

Robert Downey Jr. (Ally McBeal)

Robert Downey Jr. had experienced a number of personal issues by the time he was cast for Season 4 of Ally McBeal, and they continued throughout his tenure. During that season, he was arrested in November 2000 for drug possession and was taken into custody again under suspicion of being under the influence in Culver City in 2001. With that, Downey was fired from McBeal.

Jeffrey Tambor (Transparent)

In 2017, amid the MeToo Movement, Jeffrey Tambor was accused of inappropriate behavior by his former assistant. Shortly after, one of Tambor’s Transparent co-stars accused him of misconduct as well. Amazon, which had renewed the Emmy-winning dramedy for a fifth and final season, officially fired Tambor in early 2018. His character, who was the lead, was ultimately killed off in the musical series finale special.

Esther Rolle (Good Times)

Esther Rolle took issue with some of the creative decisions made on Good Times, not unlike her co-star, John Amos – who was fired after Season 3 even though Rolle was more publicly vocal about her disdain. Given her discomfort, Rolle left after the fourth season when her contract expired. She did, however, return as a main cast member for the sixth and final season. 

Suzanne Somers (Three’s Company)

Some TV devotees may not be aware that Suzanne Somers exited Three’s Company after five seasons due to a salary dispute with ABC’s execs. Her attempts to renegotiate a new deal proved to be unsuccessful, and her contract was not renewed. Throughout the remainder of the show's run, Somers' Chrissy Snow would be succeeded by two other characters.

Chad Michael Murray (One Tree Hill)

Many were likely surprised when Chad Michael Murray was one of two major stars to exit One Tree Hill ahead of its seventh season. At this point, there’s been no clear reason as to why Murray, who played Lucas Scott parted ways with the show. Some contend that he was ready to leave, but Murray was even recorded saying that the network wanted to drop him to save money.

Lori Loughlin (Fuller House)

Veteran actress Lori Loughlin was starring on Netflix’s Fuller House when she was indicted as part of the 2019 college admissions scandal. In 2020, Loughlin pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and was sentenced to two months in prison. Given her legal woes, Loughlin’s Aunt Becky was excluded from the sitcom’s final season.

Isaiah Washington (Grey’s Anatomy)

It was in October 2006 that Isaiah Washington made headlines after it was reported that during an on-set conflict with Patrick Dempsey, he insulted their fellow Grey’s Anatomy co-star, T.R. Knight, with a homophobic slur. Washington reportedly issued an apology though, by the summer of 2007, his contract with ABC was eliminated after Season 3. Washington did, however, reprise the role for a Season 10 episode.

Thomas Gibson (Criminal Minds)

Criminal Minds fired Thomas Gibson amid production on Season 12. As has been reported, Gibson, who was directing an episode at the time, had a disagreement with the episode’s writer. The scribe was on set at the time and, during an encounter with Gibson, the actor apparently kicked him. Gibson subsequently expressed regret over his actions.

Shannen Doherty (Charmed)

Few TV deaths were more tragic than that of Shannen Doherty’s Prue Halliwell during Charmed’s third season finale. In the years since she departed the show, Doherty has claimed that her on-set tension with co-star Alyssa Milano caused her to be let go. For her part, Milano said she was “sad” that Doherty blamed her for how everything panned out.

Danny Masterson (The Ranch)

While starring on Netflix’s The Ranch, Danny Masterson was investigated by police due to allegations of assault by multiple women. Masterson was soon fired from the series amid production on Season 3 and, in 2023, he was sentenced to prison.

Ruby Rose (Batwoman)

After leading Batwoman for just one season, Ruby Rose exited the Arrowverse show in 2020. The actress initially attributed her decision to the “taxing” nature of heading up a TV show as well as an allergic reaction to the latex in her costume. However, Rose later made claims of an abusive workplace against her ex-co-stars, The CW and more. Warner Bros. TV denied the allegations as did Rose’s former scene partners.

Cindy Williams (Laverne & Shirley)

Laverne & Shirley lost co-lead Cindy Williams early into the show’s eighth and final season. Williams became pregnant early into production and, as she explained to Today, she wouldn’t sign a new contract due to the producers having her work on her due date. So Penny Marshall’s Laverne DeFazio finished out those last episodes without Williams’ Shirley Feeney.

Chevy Chase (Community)

It’s been well documented that Community’s Chevy Chase had creative differences with series creator Dan Harmon over his character, Pierce Hawthorne. While working on Season 4, the veteran funnyman reportedly had an on-set tirade during which he dropped the N-word. Chase departed the show shortly after that.

Daniel Dae Kim (Hawaii Five-0)

Daniel Dae Kim’s exit from CBS’ Hawaii Five-0 reboot after seven seasons came down to a salary dispute with the network. After the news of his departure was reported, Kim himself (who was one of the procedural’s most recognizable stars) addressed the situation, confirming that he and the network couldn’t agree to terms on a new deal.

Lisa Bonet (A Different World)

Cosby Show spinoff A Different World finished its first season on NBC in early 1988 and, afterward, lead actress Lisa Bonet announced her pregnancy with then-husband Lenny Kravitz. The sitcom’s incoming showrunner, Debbie Allen, wanted to keep Bonet on the show and depict her character, Denise Huxtable, as a single mom. But, as Allen explained years later, series creator Bill Cosby preferred that Bonet be dropped from the show.

Columbus Short (Scandal)

After three seasons on ABC’s Scandal, Columbus Short was removed from the cast of the hit drama series. It was during that time that the actor was dealing with personal issues and was even arrested on a domestic violence charge. Short later explained that he was cut due to his struggles with drugs and alcohol.

Gina Carano (The Mandalorian)

MMA fighter-turned-actress Gina Carano established a polarizing social media presence during her two-season stint on The Mandalorian. Among the controversial posts she shared was a message that seemingly compared being a modern-day conservative to being a Jewish person during the Holocaust. Disney and Lucasfilm fired Carano in 2021 ahead of the highly popular Star Wars show’s third season.

Nicollette Sheridan (Desperate Housewives)

Desperate Housewives star Nicollette Sheridan was written out of the show after the show’s fifth season, with her character, Edie Britt, being killed off. Several years later, the actress filed suit against Marc Cherry, the show’s creator and ABC. Sheridan alleged that Cherry assaulted her on the set and that she was fired for reporting it. Cherry provided an account of events and, in time, the harassment claims were thrown and Sheridan was unsuccessful in getting a retrial.

T.R. Knight (Grey’s Anatomy)

In 2009, T.R. Knight – who played Dr. George O’Malley on Grey’s Anatomy – left the show after the fifth season. Knight said his reason for leaving was due to a “breakdown of communication” with series EP Shonda Rhimes, his own decision to come out as gay and more. This also all came a few years after Knight was allegedly insulted with a homophobic slur by ex-co-star Isaiah Washington. 

Hilarie Burton (One Tree Hill)

Much has been said about Hilarie Burton’s exit from One Tree Hill after the sixth season. The most common assertion has been that the Peyton Sawyer actress couldn’t agree with the network on a new deal. Interestingly, while Burton recalled filming her final scene for the show, she noted that while shooting another sequence, a producer announced on set that the show was renewed for Season 7. However, both Burton and co-star Chad Michael Muray were surprised as they apparently hadn’t been offered new deals.

Justin Roiland (Rick And Morty)

Rick and Morty actor and co-creator Justin Roiland was fired from the Adult Swim show in 2023 after it was revealed that he was facing a domestic violence charge and other offenses in court. Roiland’s case was eventually thrown out later that year. However, the animator and voice actor was later accused of assault and messaging underage girls.

John Rhys-Davies (Sliders)

The sci-fi cult classic Sliders lost cast member John Rhys-Davies when the actor opted to depart after three seasons amid other cast changes. Sometime later, Rhys-Davies explained that he left due to conflicts with the writers. The veteran actor later explained that by the time he left the show, the scripts had become “incomprehensible gibberish.”

When Matthew Perry died in October it was a shock to fans and friends alike. The actor drowned in a hot tub, an accident attributed to the fact that ketamine was found in Perry’s system. While the Friends star had been known to deal with substance abuse issues throughout his career, he was known to be proudly sober at the time of his death, leading some to wonder what had happened. Police have been investigating that question, which has reportedly led them to the door of actress Brooke Mueller.

Brooke Mueller has a small handful of screen credits but may be better known as the ex-wife of actor Charlie Sheen. Mueller has been dealing with her own substance abuse issues over the years, and it was apparently in rehab that Mueller met Matthew Perry and the pair formed a friendship. 

It’s unclear exactly what law enforcement may suspect, but InTouch Weekly reports that Mueller has spoken with authorities multiple times, leading to her hiring an attorney. The sober living facility where she currently resides has been searched, and police have taken a phone and a laptop from her. Police had a warrant, so there must have been something they believed they could find in the search of the room and the electronics, but it’s unclear if anything has been found. 

An “insider” told InTouch that Mueller isn’t saying much to anybody about the situation, beyond the fact that she is “adamant” she had nothing to do with Perry’s death. She has apparently been entirely forthcoming with authorities when questioned.

The criminal investigation is a joint operation between the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the organizations are searching for exactly how Matthew Perry came into possession of the ketamine that led to his drowning. Perry had been using ketamine as part of a therapy regimen but the amount found in his body at the time was apparently far greater than what should have been in his system through the therapy alone.

Matthew Perry spoke openly about his substance abuse issues in his memoir which was published shortly before his death. In it, he specifically mentions ketamine as one of the drugs that he abused.

A report from People claims that law enforcement is close to the end of their investigation and that police expect to charge "multiple people." No names are mentioned as far as who may be facing charges, so whether Mueller could actually be one of them is unknown. If the report is accurate and the investigation is coming to a conclusion, then we will likely all have answers soon. 

Here’s some simple TV math: the longer a series airs, the less likely its original cast will remain intact, regardless of how beloved the show or actor is. The majority of popular series over the years have gone through at least one major exit, and it’s bad enough when changes are revealed early, and characters’ last episodes are planned out and logical. It's far worse, however, when actors suddenly exit projects without any on-screen closure.

Surprise departures can curb audiences' enjoyment of a show, whether from disrupted cast dynamics or shoddy storytelling. And depending on how controversial the exits are, a key departure can completely derail a show's success. So let’s take a look back at some of the most memorable instances when stars parted ways with projects without closing their characters' stories.

Anna Faris (Mom)

During Mom's hiatus following Season 7, co-star Anna Faris suddenly revealed she was leaving the show, which reportedly shocked the creative team as much as fans. Allison Janney & Co. went forward with the eighth season, occasionally referencing Faris’ character Christy, but it was canceled without any kind of conclusion for the character, though the creators made it clear they didn’t want to kill her off.

Chevy Chase (Community)

Community already suffered the exodus of creator Dan Harmon and more creatives in Season 4, and then Chevy Chase allegedly used a racial slur on the set, leading him to drop out of the NBC comedy through mutual agreement with network execs. His character Pierce appeared multiple times after his official exit, due to episodes airing out of order, as well as that hologram cameo in the Season 5 premiere, but the SNL vet never returned as a regular, and was unceremoniously killed off via dialogue two episodes after the cameo.

Danny Masterson (The Ranch)

That ‘70s Show vet Danny Masterson reteamed with Ashton Kutcher on Netflix’s sitcom The Ranch, but was fired in December 2017 after multiple assault allegations against him were publicized. Masterson later faced trial, was convicted and sentenced to prison in September 2023, and did not return as Rooster Bennett, who was written as missing and presumed dead via motorcycle accident.

Suzanne Somers (Three's Company)

Three’s Company's early seasons were bolstered by the popularity of Suzanne Somers’ Chrissy Snow, but network execs reportedly refused the actress’ salary increase requests, leading to a unique stalemate agreement. Somers made only contractually obligated appearances in Season 4 episodes' closing tag scenes, which she filmed separately from her co-stars. Somers was fired by the season’s end, with Chrissy said to be caring for her sick mom in Fresno.

Corey Hawkins (The Walking Dead)

Corey Hawkins joined The Walking Dead Season 6 as comic book fan-favorite Heath, but Straight Outta Compton's release that same year shot him to Hollywood’s stratosphere. In one of TWD’s most baffling moments, Heath disappeared in Season 7, and was never seen from again. Reportedly, Heath would have returned for the movies, but those plans have been shut down.

Emmy Rossum (Shameless)

The final two years of Shameless' 11-season run were without Emmy Rossum’s Fiona Gallagher. The actress announced her shocking exit in 2018, and Fiona’s final appearance came in the emotional Season 9 finale. Despite fans’ hopes, Rossum opted not to return for cameos in the remaining seasons, and the series finale wrapped without any major Fiona updates.

Mandy Patinkin (Criminal Minds)

Criminal Minds began its lengthy run with Mandy Patinkin’s Jason Gideon running the BAU, but that changed ahead of the third season when Patinkin left the show entirely over his disgust with the violent storylines. (He called joining the crime drama his “biggest public mistake” in 2012.) Gideon was replaced and killed off-screen seven seasons later, with Ben Savage guest-starring as young Gideon in flashbacks.

Columbus Short (Scandal)

Ahead of Scandal's Season 3 finale, co-star Columbus Short was arrested over a physical altercation at an L.A. restaurant, and eventually confessed he’d developed drinking and drug habits while dealing with a divorce and custody disputes. Short was fired from Scandal in April 2014, and his character Harrison Wright was revealed in Season 4 to have been killed off.

Gina Carano (The Mandalorian)

Former MMA badass Gina Carano landed the role of Star Wars merc Cara Dune in The Mandalorian, but lost the gig in February 2021. Following a series of controversial social media moves, Lucasfilm announced she would no longer be involved in the show. Cara Dune was not recast, and has not returned to the franchise since the Season 2 finale.

Valerie Harper (Valerie)

The Hogan Family began its existence as Valerie, starring the Emmy-winning Valerie Harper as its lead matriarch for two seasons. She was later fired after salary disputes and sued NBC and production company Lorimar. While her initial claims were dismissed, a judge ruled Harper was indeed wrongfully terminated, netting her a financial win. Her character suffered an offscreen death, leading to the series' name changes.

Robert Downey Jr. (Ally McBeal)

Following a string of 1990s scandals, Robert Downey Jr. landed the role of love interest Larry Paul in Season 4 of Fox’s hit dramedy Ally McBeal, which earned him a Golden Globe. But additional arrests in late 2000 and 2001 led creator David E. Kelley to cut ties with RDJ completely. The fifth season, which would have chronicled Ally and Larry’s post-wedding bliss, had to be completely rewritten.

Shannen Doherty (Charmed)

Though Charmed’s eldest sister Prue Halliwell was the trio's most powerful, the third season finale left Shannen Doherty’s character facing possible death. Though presumptions held that she’d return for Season 4, tensions and more issues surrounding Doherty and Alyssa Milano led to Doherty’s firing via phone call. As such, Prue’s wounds turned out to be fatal, but Doherty did not return for the funeral episode.

Clayne Crawford (Lethal Weapon)

Fox’s iteration of Lethal Weapon paired Rectify vet Clayne Crawford with Damon Wayans. But instead of buddy cop love, reports indicated strife and hostility building between the co-stars, along with complaints about Crawford's directorial work. His exit was reported on the day of the Season 2 finale, which ended on a cliffhanger for his character Riggs, who was unsurprisingly revealed to have succumbed to his wounds. Seann William Scott joined Season 3 as a replacement.

Grace Park (Hawaii Five-0)

After seven seasons portraying Kono Kalakaua for CBS’ Hawaii Five-0 reboot, Grace Park opted to vacate her role alongside Daniel Dae Kim after their attempts to secure pay equality with co-stars Alex O’Loughlin and Scott Caan were turned down by CBS Television Studios. Kono was revealed to have relocated to Carson City, Nevada, as part of a trafficking task force, with Danny sharing their break-up update in Season 9.

Thomas Gibson (Criminal Minds)

Various Criminal Minds stars exited the drama for different reasons, but Thomas Gibson’s case. stands out. Despite the show still being early into filming Season 12, ABC Studios and CBS Studios revealed the actor’s termination via a joint statement in August 2016, less than a week after Gibson was suspended over an on-set altercation with a writer-producer. A later episode revealed his character Aaron “Hotch” Hotchner entered Witness Protection after discovering serial killer Peter Lewis stalking his son Jack.

Roseanne Barr (Roseanne)

One of the '90s' biggest sitcoms returned to ABC in 2018, with Roseanne bringing comedian Roseanne Barr back as its matriarch. But that return only lasted for a single season, as Barr tweeted a message about former White House Advisor Valerie Jarrett that was considered racist, and two months after its Season 11 renewal, Roseanne was effectively canceled. The network relaunched without Barr as The Conners, which kicked off its run by killing off Roseanne Conner via drug overdose.

Charlie Sheen (Two And A Half Men)

Two and a Half Men thrived on the chemistry between Charlie Sheen and Jon Cryer, but the show went into hiatus in 2011 due to Sheen’s then-latest rehab stint, at which point the actor began slamming CBS and Chuck Lorre in a variety of high-profile interviews. Season 8 was then shut down mid-production, with Sheen’s firing later capping things off. His public meltdowns continued capturing headlines as Ashton Kutcher helped fill the Charlie void, and unfortunately didn't make good on rumors of his series finale return.

Lisa Edelstein (House)

Across her years as Dr. Lisa Cuddy, House star Lisa Edelstein went from playing contentious boss to adoring lover. Upon Season 7’s end, she and two co-stars were asked to take salary cuts during contract negotiations, with Edelstein being the lone holdout. She announced her exit ahead of Season 8, and Cuddy was later revealed to have quit as Dean of Medicine, with Omar Epps’ Eric Foreman taking on the duties for the final season.

James Garner (Maverick)

For three seasons, James Garner portrayed Maverick's title character Bret Maverick, but the 1960 writers' strike helped bring that run to a sudden close. When Warner Bros. attempted to lay Garner off due to a lack of scripts, he fought back and successfully sued the studio for breach of contract. According to the actor, he personally turned down an offer to return with a raise, saying, “I want out,” and though Bret appeared in an airing-delayed Season 4 ep which was filmed far earlier, Garner did not return, with fill-in stars Roger Moore and Robert Colbert added later.

Katherine Heigl (Grey's Anatomy)

Katherine Heigl took a temporary leave from Grey’s Anatomy in Season 6 to shoot a movie and spend time with her adopted daughter, which sparked her to request to be released from her contract 18 months early. Disputes have raged on over how her sudden exit was handled, considering Izzy never experienced an official “farewell” scene. Alex Karev’s final ep specifically noted that he and Izzy were back together and raising twins in Kansas. While Heigl notably reunited with former co-stars at the Emmys, giving fans hope that Izzy could return, she has yet to justify those hopes.

Jeff Garlin (The Goldbergs)

Nine months after The Goldbergs co-star George Segal died at 87, lead actor Jeff Garlin vacated the show following multiple HR investigations into allegations of misconduct. The departure was said to be a mutual agreement between the actor and the producers and network, and because it happened in the middle of filming Season 9, the producers used CGI, physical stand-ins, and archival audio to make it appear as if Murray was still around. The writers ditched that idea going into Season 10, though, and revealed Murray's off-camera death.

Freema Agyeman (New Amsterdam)

Freema Agyeman portrayed New Amsterdam's oncology chief Dr. Helen Sharpe for four seasons, and while many expected her back for the fifth and final season, the actress shockingly announced her exit amid the summer hiatus, cheekily pleading for fans to continue Sharpe’s story via fan-fiction. She went on to co-star in the series Dreamland, cementing Sharpe and Dr. Goodwin’s break-up, and though the character did appear on TV in a later Season 5 episode, it was without any overarching updates.

Hartley Sawyer (The Flash)

In 2017, actor Hartley Sawyer landed his stretchiest role yet as The Flash’s Ralph Dibny, a.k.a. Elongated Man. Three years later, in response to his comments about Black Lives Matter, social media users pulled up multiple derogatory and offensive tweets the actor posted between the years of 2009-2014. He publicly apologized for the posts, but a week after waves were made, Warner Bros. TV and The CW fired Sawyer from The Flash, which used an uncredited body double for Season 7’s “Mother” to write Ralph out alongside Sue Dearbon.

Jill Marie Jones (Girlfriends)

Jill Marie Jones crushed it as Girlfriends’ ego-driven Toni Childs for six seasons but was the only main cast holdout who exited the dramedy ahead of Season 7 over her contract expiring. Jones' exit was explained through Toni moving to New York City at the end of Season 6, but Jones spoke openly in 2007 about feeling that Toni’s story wasn’t over and that she'd be willing to return if the writers put something together. Alas, the show was canceled in 2008 before that could happen.

Lori Loughlin (Fuller House)

Lori Loughlin returned to her Full House role of Rebecca for the Netflix continuation series Fuller House, but her appearances ceased in Season 4 after she was fired by Netflix over her and her husband Mossimo Giannulli’s actions regarding the 2019 college admissions bribery scandal. Though the actress was later able to reprise her When Calls the Heart character, Aunt Becky didn't return at all for Season 5.

Kevin Spacey (House Of Cards)

Alongside Robin Wright, Kevin Spacey made streaming TV normal with Netflix’s House of Cards. In the weeks ahead of Season 6's production, Spacey faced widely publicized accusations from actor Anthony Rapp, was subsequently fired by Netflix and was removed from executive producer duties. His character Frank Underwood was revealed to have been poisoned and died ahead of the Season 6 premiere.

Leanna Creel (Saved By The Bell)

Leanna Creel’s Tori Scott remains one of pop culture's biggest curiosities, having slid into NBC’s Saved by the Bell for its final season during a run of episodes lacking Tiffani Thiessen’s Kelly and Elizabeth Berkley’s Jessie. The leather-clad character shook things up for Zack & Co. for just ten episodes, and was never heard from again.

Wayne Rogers (MASH)

Three years after joining CBS' MASH, actor Wayne Rogers grew discouraged by his character Trapper John not reaching his expectations, and unexpectedly opted to quit the hit series ahead of its fourth season. But while fellow exiting co-star McLean Stevenson was able to be written out of the Season 3 finale, Trapper John's absence had to be explained away in the Season 4 premiere without Rogers around.

Ruby Rose (Batwoman)

Batwoman’s first foray into live-action saw Ruby Rose wearing Kate Kane's cape and cowl, but she left the Arrowverse series shortly after the first season ended. Reports noted she was fired over on-set behavior, with Rose claiming the show’s taxing nature led her to suffer back surgery following an alleged on-set accident. Replaced as a lead by Javicia Leslie's Ryan Wilder, Kate later returned in a different physical form without Rose’s involvement.

Kate Jackson (Charlie's Angels)

O.G. Charlie’s Angels star Kate Jackson won viewers’ hearts for three years as Sabrina Duncan, which is when she followed former co-star Farrah Fawcett out the door. Jackson spoke warily of the writers’ scripts, and after being denied the opportunity to join Kramer vs. Kramer due to scheduling, she intentionally caused an on-set mess that led to her dismissal ahead of Season 4. Replaced by Shelley Hack’s Tiffany Wells, Sabrina was revealed to have left the agency to become a mother.

Jon Seda (Chicago P.D.)

Jon Seda’s Antonio Dawson jumped from Chicago Fire to P.D. to Justice and back again for seven years. Surprisingly, NBC and Wolf Entertainment chose not to renew Seda’s contract ahead of Chicago P.D.'s seventh season, and he was let go. Later episodes revealed the character fell back into pill addiction following the prior finale's cliffhanger, and he was checked into rehab, eventually moving to Puerto Rico after resigning from the force.

Selma Blair (Anger Management)

Charlie Sheen followed Two and a Half Men with the comedy Anger Management, co-starring Selma Blair for part of its run as his colleague and fling interest Dr. Kate Wales. Conflict between Blair and Sheen bled into the tabloids, and a reported ultimatum from Sheen led producers to fire Blair, with her character suddenly being explained away as having moved to India.

Though it’s been a while since they last worked together, Jon Cryer and Charlie Sheen remain synonymous for their work on Two and a Half Men. Sheen and Cryer – who played siblings Charlie and Alan Harper, respectively – had great chemistry. And, for eight years, that helped propel their sitcom to success. That changed, however, when she experienced a string of personal issues and was ultimately fired from the show. Cryer has more recently shared his recollections of working with his former co-star. On that note, he recalled how he and Sheen got along during their time on the comedy and explained how their work dynamics changed when he faced his addiction struggles.

Jon Cryer discussed his over five-decade career when he appeared as a guest on the WTF with Marc Maron podcast. While strolling down memory lane, Cryer eventually talked to the eponymous host about his time on the hit CBS series (which is streamable with a Peacock subscription). The 58-year-old actor recalled just how “badly” CBS wanted Charlie Sheen for the show due to his work on the later seasons of Spin City. It sounds like the two co-stars got along relatively well. To that point, Cryer, who (like his character) was going through a divorce when the show started, recalled an on-brand request Sheen made him at the time:

That’s definitely an ironic offer if there ever was one. However, it’s hard to argue that it was generous given the position the actor was in at the time. The Pretty in Pink actor went on to explain that he and Charlie Sheen weren’t massively close off camera but did hang out here and there. They even bonded over a specific real-life experience at one point. However, it would seem that the relationship eventually changed once drugs came into the picture:

It was during Season 8 that Charlie Sheen began to make headlines, as he was reportedly partying with porn stars and prostitutes and using cocaine. Jon Cryer can still remember the changes in his co-star’s behavior at the time. And, during his chat with Marc Maron, he provided some additional details regarding the events surrounding Sheen’s exit:

It was at that time that Charlie Sheen made disparaging remarks about TAAHM co-creator Chuck Lorre as well as Jon Cryer, who he referred to as a “traitor” and a troll. (Though he retracted his comments about Cryer shortly after making them.) More recently, Sheen has been candid about that period in his life, noting that “everything turned to shit.” However, he and Lorre ended their feud and have since reunited for the single-camera comedy Bookie (which can be streamed with a Max subscription). 

As for the Superman IV alum, he’s not quite sure about reuniting with Charlie Sheen but wouldn’t “close anything off.” While appearing on The View (as shared on YouTube), he said that while he’s hesitant to be in long-term “business” with Sheen again, a “one-off” collaboration could happen. We’ll have to wait and see if that actually happens, but I’m sure fans would love for the two actors to work together again and re-establish their relationship. 

You can currently catch Jon Cryer on his latest sitcom, Extended Family, which airs Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBC as part of the 2024 TV schedule.

Charlie Sheen is now over a decade removed from his infamous meltdown, during which he made declarations about “winning” and having “tiger blood.” (All of that coincided with his exit from Two and a Half Men.) These days, he’s been maintaining a sober lifestyle and is gradually getting back to work, however. Additionally, he’s been living the life of a single parent to his twin sons, as their mother is allegedly contending with issues related to addiction. Sheen, who has been candid about different aspects of his life over the years, provided some insight into the situation. More specifically, he discussed how his relationship with his boys is holding up as their mother contends with her situation. 

The 58-year-old shares 14-year-old Max and Bob with ex-wife Brooke Mueller. While talking to People, the Wall Street veteran didn’t get into specifics when it came to his former spouse’s current situation, only saying that “she’s trying to figure some stuff out on her end.” What he did talk about was the bond between him and his teenage sons, which is apparently very good at this point. He stated that the kids are “proud” of him and provided an exact reasons for why he thinks that is: 

Most can probably attest to the fact that it’s not easy to be a single parent, and I can imagine that would also be difficult for someone who’s in the public eye. While a star may have money, they may not always have the time to spend with their little ones. However, it sounds like the Spin City alum seems to be making it work. Kids can sometimes be your biggest critics, for better or worse, so a ringing endorsement from them can mean the world to a parent. 

Actors Brooke Mueller and Charlie Sheen tied the knot in 2008 and welcomed their two boys in 2009. In early 2011, the children were taken by child services after Mueller obtained a restraining order against Sheen. By May of that same year, they finalized their divorce. People reports that, more recently, changes are set to be made to their custody agreement. A key amendment that’s been noted is that Sheen and Mueller will “continue to enjoy joint legal custody” on the condition that the latter doesn’t test positive for drugs and alcohol or relapse in another way. Should that happen, Sheen – who also shares two kids with former wife Denise Richards and one with ex-girlfriend Paula Speert – would get sole custody “until further court order or written agreement of the Parties.” Mueller is also reportedly required to undergo alcohol and drug testing at least on a weekly basis.

Charlie Sheen probably isn’t looking to cast any kind of blame on his ex because of his own experiences. He himself has held back from discussing the details, saying that it was a “very dark and difficult” period of time. Some of the people who were in his orbit around that time have also discussed the drama. Denise Richards discussed the parenting struggles she experienced around that time. She said that what she found particularly challenging, at the time, was finding the words to explain to their children why Sheen was absent at times.

By the sounds of it, the Ferris Bueller's Day Off alum has become a more consistent presence in the lives of his youngest kids. All the while, he’s also mended fences with at least one of his former collaborators. He and Chuck Lorre ended their feud following the former’s tumultuous dismissal from Two and a Half Men. And, in 2023, they reunited to work on Lorre’s new show, Bookie, which is streamable for Max subscribers. It was reported just this month that the comedy has been renewed for a second season.

Time will tell how Charlie Sheen manages to further pursue acting opportunities whether they be on the big or small screens. In the midst of all that though, he seems very content being a dad to his boys, and it’s honestly great to hear that he’s there for them during this time.

You know what all of the best sports movies have in common? Well, besides featuring stories centered around football, baseball, and even roller derby? They all include tremendous performances by actors that are believable and help the audience suspend disbelief, if only for a couple of hours. However, there are also movies where the actors, despite trying their best, are a little bit outside. 

Here are 32 times actors played professional athletes and whether or not they were believable.

Burt Reynolds (The Longest Yard)

Considered to be one of the best football movies of all time, The Longest Yard (the 1974 version) features a tremendous performance by the late Burt Reynolds as Paul Crewe, a former pro quarterback who ends up in prison and leads a group of prisoners against the guards in the annual football game. At the top of his game, Reynolds is a lights-out QB and play-caller in this iconic comedy.

Margot Robbie (I, Tonya)

Margot Robbie is to die for in the 2017 sports biopic, I, Tonya, which sees her take on the role of Tonya Harding, the talented and raw figure skater who made a mark on the sport before being tied up in its most notorious controversy. While Robbie’s off-the-ice scenes are superb, her figure skating was just as impressive, which should come as no surprise.

Jamie Foxx (Any Given Sunday)

Oliver Stone’s 1999 satirical sports dramedy, Any Given Sunday, sees Jamie Foxx portray Willie "Steamin" Beamen, the third-string quarterback for the fictional Miami Sharks football team. Foxx is outstanding in his take on the young QB and does a wonderful job of showcasing the character’s on-field talents and off-the-field escapades.

Hilary Swank (Million Dollar Baby)

Hilary Swank won an Oscar for her portrayal of Margaret "Maggie" Fitzgerald in Best Picture winner, Million Dollar Baby, and rightfully so. The talented actress told CBS News she spent three months training at a Brooklyn boxing gym before filming Clint Eastwood’s 2004 sports drama, and it shows.

Sylvester Stallone (Rocky)

Rocky is without a doubt the most well-known boxing movie of all time, and that’s mostly due to Sylvester Stallone’s commitment to the role of Rocky Balboa. Though not as bulked up as he was in later films in the franchise, Stallone has a great physical presence and ring awareness in his breakout role.

Kevin Costner (Tin Cup)

If Kevin Costner isn’t believable as a down-on-his-luck and washed-up golf pro looking for a shot at redemption and to settle an old score in Tin Cup, then I don’t know what will sell it to you. Sure, Costner seems more comfortable in baseball movies like Bull Durham and For Love of the Game, but his take on Roy McAvoy is top-notch. 

Emma Stone (Battle Of The Sexes) 

Emma Stone played tennis trailblazer Bille Jean King in the 2017 sports biopic, Battle of the Sexes, which saw her take on Steve Carell’s Bobby Riggs in the famous 1973 match of the same name. The Oscar winner does a great job when it comes to every aspect of the role, including those tense tennis scenes.

Geena Davis (A League Of Their Own)

Geena Davis looks, feels, and acts like a professional baseball player in A League of Their Own. There’s no need to suspend your disbelief when watching Davis’ Dottie Hinson lead the Rockford Peaches to one victory after another. The physicality, the presence, the believability are all there.

Chadwick Boseman (42)

Chadwick Boseman became a massive star in 2013 thanks to his celebrated portrayal of Jackie Robinson, the Professional Baseball Hall of Famer who broke the color barrier more than a half-century earlier. Boseman, who died in August 2020, was phenomenal in his performance and made the film’s various baseball sequences incredibly realistic.

Cuba Gooding Jr. (Jerry Maguire)

Okay, Cuba Gooding Jr.’s take on Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Rod Tidwell in Jerry Maguire is killer, even when you take out the classic “Show me the money” scene. He’s cocky, brash, and hard to deal with, but he can back it up and makes the big catch to earn his team a playoff berth. We’ll let the off-field antics slide…

Tim Robbins (Bull Durham)

Bull Durham, one of the best baseball movies of all time, sees Tim Robbins play Ebby “Nuke” LaLoosh, a hot-shot young pitcher with a “million-dollar arm, but a five-cent head.” And the six-foot-five-inch Robbins very much looked and acted like a talented yet undisciplined ball player. 

Wesley Snipes (Major League)

Wesley Snipes’ Wille Mays Hayes, who could run like Hayes but not hit like Mays in Major League, was a convincing ball player in the 1989 sports classic. Yeah, he had trouble hitting the ball (part of his character), but he had unmatched speed. The scene where he runs in his pajamas in spring training is still the stuff of legend.

Charlie Sheen (Major League)

If you were to build the ultimate baseball movie team, Charlie Sheen’s Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn from Major League would have a permanent spot as the closer. To pull off the dominant pitcher’s fastball, Sheen took it to the extreme and tried out steroids, as he later told Sports Illustrated. 

Damon Wayans (The Last Boy Scout)

Tony Scott’s The Last Boy Scout is an all-time great buddy action movie, one that also features a former professional football player, or at least an actor playing one. Though we don’t see his character in action on the field, Damon Wayans just gives off the energy of a pro quarterback who lost it all. 

Carl Weathers (Rocky)

Carl Weathers’ Apollo Creed was one of the linchpins of the Rocky franchise and served as one of Sylvester Stallone’s best on-screen opponents. Weathers not only looked like a boxer with that ridiculous physique of his (especially in the later movies), but he also had that “it” factor needed to play such a flashy character.

Tom Berenger (Major League)

It’s hard to imagine anyone besides Tom Berenger playing Jake Taylor, the veteran catcher with bad knees and just enough gas left in the tank, in Major League. Throughout the movie, it feels like the Cleveland Indians’ senior slugger has been through the wringer multiple times, and that’s thanks to the incredible work of Berenger.

Chris Hemsworth (Rush)

Ron Howard’s 2013 sports biopic, Rush, features top-notch performances by Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl as James Hunt and Niki Lauda, respectively. While Brühl is great with his cool and collected demeanor, it’s Hemsworth who steals the show with his take on the self-confident and talented Formula One driver, thanks in part to the actor’s electric personality and physicality.

Paul Newman (Slap Shot)

There was no way we weren’t going to talk about Paul Newman in Slap Shot. Seriously, try to think about this beloved hockey movie with anyone else taking on Charlestown Chiefs player/coach Reggie Dunlop. Is he the most talented skater on the ice? No. But is believable in his portrayal of good, old-fashioned hockey? You bet! 

James Caan (Brian's Song)

Though James Caan was mostly recognized for his work in the latter half of Brian’s Song, this shouldn’t discount his portrayal of Brian Piccolo before he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. His take on the Chicago Bears halfback, along with Billie Dee Williams’ Gale Sayers, is phenomenal, to say the least.

Denzel Washington (The Hurricane)

Denzel Washington gave a commanding performance in the 1999 sports biopic, The Hurricane, which saw him take on the role of middleweight boxer Rubin “The Hurricane” Carter, who spent nearly 20 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted of murder. Washington, once again proving he’s one of the greatest to do it, excels in the ring.

Keanu Reeves (The Replacements)

Audiences never got to see Keanu Reeves’ Johnny Utah throw a pass in Point Break, but we did get to watch the actor play another left-handed quarterback from Ohio State with his portrayal of Shane Falco in The Replacements. This is a "whatever" movie if there’s ever been one, but Reeves looks at home leading the Washington Sentinels after the regular players go on strike.

John Goodman (The Babe)

John Goodman looks like Babe Ruth in the 1992 sports biopic, The Babe, but he doesn’t really play like the Great Bambino. This isn’t a knock on Goodman’s talents as an actor, it’s just that it’s impossible to accurately imitate the unmatched talents of one of the greatest baseball players of all time.

Adam Sandler (Happy Gilmore)

Adam Sandler’s Happy Gilmore will probably always be considered one of the best sports comedies of all time. The movie is heavy on both humor and sports (especially if you include the hockey scenes), and Sandler pulls off both things really well. 

Raquel Welch (Kansas City Bomber)

In the 1972 sports drama, Kansas City Bomber, the late Raquel Welch played K.C. Carr, a recently retired roller games star who returns to sport to settle an old score. No surprise, Welch was great in the movie and was a dominant physical force on skates.

Robert De Niro (Raging Bull)

One of Robert De Niro’s best movies, Raging Bull, sees the Oscar winner take on the role of middleweight boxing champion Jake LaMotta at various stages in his life and career. De Niro, who went through a physical transformation for the part, could hold his own in the movie’s various boxing sequences and never looked out of place.

Robert Redford (The Natural)

Would saying Robert Redford looked natural in his take on Roy Hobbs in The Natural be too on the nose? Who cares! Redford’s boyish charm and remarkable swing of his trusty bat, “Wonderboy,” helped make Barry Levinson’s 1972 sports drama an all-time classic. 

Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)

Not only was Mickey Rourke outstanding in Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler, but the actor’s portrayal of a washed-up Randy Robinson was also incredibly realistic. Whether he was in the ring or trying to fix the broken pieces of his life in the real world, Rourke bled, cried, and sweated like someone who had been in the squared circle for decades, not months.  

Tom Selleck (Mr. Baseball)

Mr. Baseball is one of those movies that feels like it should have been a much bigger deal, but here we are 30-plus years later with a baseball comedy that never really gets talked about anywhere besides the MLB Network. Despite this, Tom Selleck’s take on Jack Elliot, a New York Yankee who joins the Nagoya Chunichi Dragons of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball League, is both fun and believable. Come on, the Blood Bloods star even took an at-bat in an MLB spring training game a year before the film’s release.

Dwayne Johnson (The Tooth Fairy)

Dwayne Johnson, one of the greatest WWE Champions of all time, and a former college football player for the Miami Hurricanes, played a hockey player in the 2010 Disney movie, The Tooth Fairy. The Rock is great in just about anything, but not so much on the ice.

Will Smith (Ali)

Will Smith received an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of Muhammad Ali in Michael Mann’s 2001 epic sports biopic, Ali, and he did a decent enough job. The major problem with Smith’s performance doesn’t really have much to do with the actor, but instead, the man he was playing. Smith is great in the boxing sequences, but it’s hard to believe that he’s the greatest of all time and not an actor playing the iconic sports figure.

Dennis Quaid (The Rookie)

Dennis Quaid’s portrayal of Jim Morris in The Rookie is nothing short of magical. The way Quaid plays the high school chemistry teacher who becomes a major league pitcher more than a decade after his baseball dreams died is a lot of fun and believable. He has the heart and determination of the real-life Tamp Bay Devil Rays pitcher, which really carries the film.

Steve McQueen (Le Mans)

If there was a movie where Steve McQueen drives a car at a high rate of speed, you can guarantee the legendary actor looked natural doing so. That’s the case with the 1971 film, Le Mans, in which McQueen played Michael Delaney, a racer with a guilty conscience following a tragic accident. McQueen, who had experience as a race driver, looked like a natural.

Playing a professional sport is no easy task and takes years of training and dedication, but these actors did a fine job of playing athletes on the big screen. While some were better than others, each gave all they had.

In the final weeks of 2023, Charlie Sheen might have been expecting a few headlines celebrating his amusing return to former boss Chuck Lorre’s newest comedy Bookie (available to stream with a Max subscription), but probably didn’t anticipate being embroiled in a legal situation with an allegedly abusive neighbor. But that’s what this year hath wrought, and said neighbor has now been formally charged with felony assault. 

As CinemaBlend previously reported, Charlie Sheen called 911 on Wednesday, December 20, and claimed he’d been attacked and strangled by an upstairs neighbor. Nearly a week later, TMZ confirms that the 47-year-old female apartment tenant, whose name was revealed to be Electra Schrock, is now facing charges from the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office.

Schrock was hit with one count of assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury, and is awaiting an arraignment following her booking at the L.A. County jail. She is currently being held on a $75,000 bail. 

On the day the 911 call was made, Sheen reported that Schrock was knocking at his door, and that as soon as he opened it, she burst into his home. It’s stated that she ripped the actor’s shirt and made attempts to strangle him before the violent scuffle ended and she left his apartment to apparently go back to her own home.

At this point, no clear answers have been offered for what may have sparked the alleged attack. However, Sheen reportedly told police that he believes the woman was also responsible for squirting some kind of a sticky liquid onto his car in the recent past, though that incident was supposedly squashed without further drama.

According to TMZ's initial report, the Major League vet also accused Electra Schrock of dumping trash in front of his door the day before the reported attack took place. It would appear the neighbors did not have any discussions about that one after the fact.

With hopes that everything remains as calm as can possibly be in Charlie Sheen’s apartment building for the ongoing future, fans should be sure to check out his second cameo appearance opposite Sebastian Maniscalco in Max’s Bookie. Those who have watched are aware that Sheen’s cameo in the series premiere set up the actor's lightly self-deprecating turn playing himself, which reunited him with Two and a Half Men's Chuck Lorre more than a decade after their highly publicized feud, which capped off with Sheen leaving the sitcom. Lorre has only been able to discuss that "dark and difficult" situation now that they're rekindled their friendship.

Bookie wrapped up its first season on December 21, without any clear signs for how close Max execs might be to renewing the comedy for Season 2.

Charlie Sheen is a guy who has certainly led an interesting life. There was a time a few years ago when Sheen’s name was in the headlines a lot, usually due to some outlandish thing he himself had done or said. Now he’s back in the headlines because of something that happened to him. It’s being reported his neighbor tried to strangle him. 

TMZ reports that on Wednesday evening Charlie Sheen answered his door to find his neighbor, a 47-year-old woman, who allegedly forced her way into his home. She reportedly tore his shirt and attempted to strangle him, before returning to her own home. Sheen then called 911. The woman has been arrested, and charged with assault with a deadly weapon and burglary. Paramedics were called, but Sheen reportedly did not go to the hospital.

The report claims Sheen doesn’t know why the woman did this, but it seems she has had a problem with the Two and a Half Men actor for some time. He claims she covered his car in some sort of “sticky liquid” and had dumped trash in front of his house the day before the alleged choking incident. He had spoken to her after one of the other incidents and thought he had de-escalated the situation. But that was before things got physical.

Needless to say, this whole story is about as wild as something we might have expected from Charlie Sheen once upon a time, though according to him he has no idea what’s going on here. Assuming all these accusations are on the level we have somebody who clearly has a problem with Sheen, but for reasons that are unclear even to the actor himself.

Charlie Sheen hasn’t been in the headlines these days nearly as often as he once was. His “tiger blood” days appear to be well behind him. Sheen is now sober and has recently spoken about how his life “turned to shit” when drugs and alcohol got the better of him during his time on the hit sitcom. 

The actor showed how far he has come when he recently appeared in a guest spot on the show Bookie, produced by Two and a Half Men creator Chuck Lorre. The pair, who had once been friends, fell out in a big way during the production of the show, which is why Charlie Sheen left Two and a Half Men before the show ended its run. The fact that the feud with Lorre is over and he was able to appear on his old friend’s show indicates that things are maybe on an upswing for Sheen.

Hopefully, these two can figure out their problems. They are neighbors, after all, so this could certainly become a long-term problem unless one of them decides to move. 

Few shows come close to matching the success of CBS’ Two and a Half Men. Chuck Lorre and Lee Aronsohn’s raunchy and hilarious multi-cam romp (which is streamable for Peacock subscribers) brought in strong ratings during its 12-season run. Those first eight years, however, were particularly fruitful due to the comedic prowess of co-leads Jon Cryer and Charlie Sheen. That working relationship dissipated in dramatic fashion in 2011, when Sheen fired and around the time made disparaging remarks about Lorre and Cryer. Sheen and Lorre have since made amends and are now working on the new comedy Bookie. Now, the question is whether Cryer would be willing to reunite with them on the show and, when asked about that, he shared thoughts. 

Few would probably deny that the aforementioned trio made some serious strides together within the world of TV. Still, it goes without saying that there’s a lot of baggage there, given the drama that transpired. Jon Cryer is currently promoting his new sitcom, Extended Family, which is set to debut on NBC. While chatting with TVLine, the veteran actor was asked how open he’d be to collaborating with his fellow Men alums on a future season of Bookie. While the notion does sound somewhat appealing to him, Cryer seems to have a concern: 

The chain of events surrounding Charlie Sheen’s exit from Men coincided with the show’s eighth season, which aired during the 2010 to 2011 broadcast season. In the fall of ‘10, Sheen made headlines for partying with porn stars and prostitutes and eventually entered rehab in ‘11, prompting the producers to put the show on hiatus. At that time, the actor began criticizing Chuck Lorre during interviews and shared sentiments that were largely deemed antisemitic. CBS and Warner Bros. Television eventually ousted Sheen for his conduct. Shortly after, he took a shot at Jon Cryer, calling him a “turncoat, a traitor, a troll.”

With all of that in mind, one can honestly understand why the Pretty in Pink alum would express some hesitation over possibly working with his former co-star again. But it also appears he’s not shutting the door on the idea entirely: 

Based on what’s been reported as of late, Charlie Sheen is in a good place and enjoyed working with Chuck Lorre again. Lorre spoke about the end of their feud, which happened after he reached out to the actor about playing a fictional version of himself on Bookie. Sheen accepted but had one request, which was that his TV counterpart was doing drugs. Lorre agreed and, as a whole, he has referred to the process of working with Sheen again and making amends as “healing.” What’s even sweeter is that Lorre orchestrated a Two and a Half Men reunion on the new show by tapping Angus T. Jones for a cameo.

Considering just how well Charlie Sheen and Jon Cryer played off each other, it would be great to see that happen again in some form or fashion. Cryer’s new show, on which he plays a divorced dad dealing with his ex’s new romance, is likely to keep him busy for the immediate future. Hopefully, though, should he feel comfortable enough, he’ll make some more comedy magic with Sheen and Chuck Lorrre. 

New episodes of Bookie drop for Max subscribers on Thursdays. Meanwhile, Extended Family makes its NBC debut on Saturday, December 23 at 8 p.m. ET as part of the 2023 TV schedule.

After making headlines years ago with his Two and a Half Men exit, Charlie Sheen has been repairing his public image and career. Of course, his post-Two and a Half Men life was filled with difficulties that Sheen has put behind him in recent years. Now, with those events in the past, the actor got real about his sitcom star life and what changed for him during his time on the hit CBS sitcom.

The Two and a Half Men alum spoke with People about his new TV role after laying low for a few years. Viewers last saw Sheen on their screens via the Comedy Central sitcom Typical Rick, and he revealed that he stepped away to focus on his sobriety and raising his twin boys away from Hollywood. His TV return sees him reuniting with Chuck Lorre, which led him to recall the early years of the Emmy-nominated comedy. The Hollywood star said:

Charlie Sheen was the highest-paid TV actor during his TAAHM tenure. He notched multiple award nominations and wins, including two Golden Globes. However, things changed after the sitcom star started displaying erratic behavior on the set. Eventually, things came to a head when creator Chuck Lorre fired him, and replaced the Golden Globe-winning star with Ashton Kutcher for the final two seasons.

Sheen admitted his drug and alcohol addiction played a role in his changed behavior on the CBS comedy’s set. He referred to that time as a “possession.” Of course, the actor revealed “he still feels shame for his past behavior.” He delved into how his addiction changed his relationship with the sitcom’s cast and crew, saying:

Wow! Viewers may or may not be surprised by that development after seeing Charlie Sheen’s campaign against Lorre and the show pre- and post-firing. No one wanted to see someone they respected and adored become a person they didn’t recognize. 

His behavior didn’t just impact the show but his personal life as well. Sheen's ex-wife Denise Richards recalled the sitcom’s immense success affecting his sobriety, leading to their marriage ending. Former co-star Jon Cryer revealed that his co-star's addiction and firing almost led to the series being canceled before Kutcher was tapped to replace him.

Besides losing his weekly paycheck, Charlie Sheen’s relationship with Chuck Lorre imploded as the two men began a decade-long feud. Lorre remembered them being close friends during the CBS comedy’s early seasons. The sitcom impresario recalled things going down in a very dark and difficult path as they began feuding on set and in the press. Sheen called him a “clown” and “turd” at the height of their war of words. 

However, after not speaking to each other for years, the Mom creator reached out to the Spin City star to “bury the hatchet” and guest-star on the former’s new show Bookie (currently available through a Max subscription).  The 58-year-old actor admitted the two former adversaries were “beaming” during their on-set reunion. Maybe their reunion will lead the TV and film star and Lorre to reteam for another sitcom.

As Charlie Sheen patiently waits to see TV viewers’ reactions to his guest role, they can revisit his time as Charlie Harper by binging Two and a Half Men through a Peacock subscription. In the meantime, check out our 2024 TV schedule to see what returning and upcoming comedies are airing this winter.

Spoilers below for anyone who hasn't yet watched Chuck Lorre's new Max comedy Bookie, so be warned!

Though Big Bang Theory creator Chuck Lorre's broadcast reign looks to be coming to a close, with recent cancellation news for Bob (Hearts) Abishola somewhat coinciding with Young Sheldon's final season announcement. Thankfully for fans, his newest streaming comedy Bookie has arrived on Max, and I think many will agree the episode gets a 2 1/2 out of 2 1/2 star rating for delivering a totally surprising Two and a Half Men reunion for Charlie Sheen and Angus T. Jones that hearkened back to the very first episode of the hit sitcom. Not to mention a completely separate appearance from one of Charlie's romantic foils on the show. 

Recreating Two And A Half Men's Pilot Poker Game

Bookie stars stand-up comedian Sebastian Maniscalco as a bookie named Danny who's struggling to keep his not-exactly-trustworthy clientele current with their financial responsibilities. One of his tasks in the first episode involves tracking down Charlie Sheen to a luxurious rehab facility, and Danny finds him in the midst of a poker showdown that was no doubt wildly familiar to Two and a Half Men fans, since it involved not just Sheen and former co-star Angus T. Jones, but also the same poker buddies that were settled around the table in that episode. 

It was quite a shock for any TV viewers to see Angus T. Jones on the small screen again, since he more or less bowed out of Hollywood following his controversial exit from the show at the end of Season 10 (which came after Sheen's high-profile exit). Speaking to the challenging way the show's final seasons went, and bringing Jones back into the Hollywood fold, Chuck Lorre told this to TVLine:

Even though Jones didn't get tons of screentime, it was still quite the bonkers treat to see him share the screen with Charlie Sheen again, and as a full-blown adult no less. 

And since a poker game between just two people isn't much fun, that table had to be filled up by others, and Lorre explained how he and Sheen rather quickly arrived at the idea of mirroring the Two and a Half Men pilot episode within the world of Bookie, saying:

The icing on the cake was arguably the moment when Maniscalco's Danny tells Charlie Sheen that Jon Cryer was the true Two and a Half Men MVP. To be sure, Lorre said he respectfully sent Sheen each iteration of the episode's script, and alerted him of line changes, as not to offend the actor with the ribbing. 

That Other Two And A Half Men Callback

Before either Charlie Sheen or Angus T. Jones popped up on the screen, however, another familiar face from Chuck Lorre's CBS sitcom arrived. As Danny and Omar Dorsey's Ray were walking through the rehab facility, they came upon a sobbing woman clearly out of sorts. How out of sorts? She didn't even recognize Sheen's name!

Which might have been a more random exchange if the character wasn't played by Jennifer Taylor, who appeared in Two and a Half Men as three different characters before landing the recurring role of Chelsea Melini, who became Charlie's fiancée for  a spell. Though Chelsea's arc wrapped with the end of Season 7, Taylor reprised the role in Season 9 and again for the series finale, which Sheen famously did not appear in.

With at least one more appearance from Sheen and potentially other Chuck Lorre familiars in the future, stream the first episodes from Bookie with a Max subscription, with new installments releasing on Thursdays.

Two and a Half Men was one of the most successful shows on TV during its 12-season run, but it did experience a few behind-the-scenes hiccups. The biggest of them was the highly publicized exit of its lead star, Charlie Sheen, who was fired by Warner Bros. TV and CBS in 2011 after making disparaging remarks about series co-creator Chuck Lorre. Thankfully, Sheen and Lorre resolved their feud just recently and are reuniting for his new show (which will be available to Max subscribers). Ahead of its release, Lorre has been discussing his relationship with Sheen, and he recently recalled their “dark and difficult” falling-out. 

Before the two were on the outs, they’d worked well together, which should be evident due to the fact that their show had been a hit for a little over eight years up to that point. As he conveyed during his interview with ET, Chuck Lorre wants people to be aware that he and his colleague and their share of good times while working on Men. He fondly shared some sweet thoughts when speaking about that early period in his and the Charlie Harper actor’s partnership: 

They did indeed push the envelope, as the sitcom (which is streamable with a Paramount+ subscription) was one of the edgier sitcoms of the 2000s. And at the time, viewers flocked to it. It goes without saying that Charlie Sheen’s exit from Two and a Half Men was far from beneficial for the creative team. Sheen, who’d just finished up a voluntary stay in rehab at the time, made disparaging remarks against Chuck Lorre, with some of those comments being deemed antisemitic. Later in his recent interview, the Bob Hearts Abishola EP reflected on the emotions he felt at the time: 

The Big Bang Theory producer previously spoke about not being able to watch Men reruns for years, and that’s honestly understandable given the magnitude of the drama at the time. It seemed, at one point, that the show might be done. However, former CBS chairwoman Nina Tassler helped Two and A Half Men turn things around by orchestrating the hiring of Ashton Kutcher as the new co-lead. The show ended up running four more years before ending in 2015, but there was still the matter of the unresolved issues between the co-creator and his star.

Apparently, Chuck Lorre was the one to extend the olive branch, as he wanted Charlie Sheen to play a fictionalized version of himself on his new comedy, Bookie. The actor was receptive to the idea, though Sheen did have just one request. The Anger Management veteran’s fictional counterpart was originally written as being a patient in the rehab he was renting out for gambling events. However, Sheen asked if they could move away from the “drug-addled Charlie” and instead not make him a resident at the facility. Lorre stated that he and his team easily obliged when it came to that change.

Their collaboration on the new show has reportedly been rock solid since they decided to join forces again. While it sounds like there was a lot of pain to get past, I’m happy the two were able to work out their differences. And of course, I also hope their latest comedy yields humorous results. 

Bookie is set to hit Max on November 30 as part of the 2023 TV schedule.

Considering all the celebrities who had memoirs released in 2023, from John Stamos to Britney Spears to Jada Pinkett Smith, one might think that either Denise Richards or Charlie Sheen penned something autobiographical as of late, considering the resurfaced attention given to their relationship and co-parenting struggles regarding their daughters, the opinion-sparking OnlyFans content creator Sami Sheen and Lola Rose. The former RHOBH star’s latest reflection on her past came during a podcast convo with fellow Real Housewives alum Bethenny Frankel, where she revealed herself as the reason Sheen joined Two and a Half Men, which ended up having a negative effect on both his sobriety and their marriage.

During the first half of a two-part installment of Just B with Bethenney Frankel, the host and Richards essentially talked through a timeline of the Wild Things star’s courtship with Charlie Sheen, with the early years before and during their marriage being far calmer for the couple, with the actor then years into a period of sobriety. While discussing her infamous December 2004 Playboy shoot, Richards revealed that Sheen was offered to join in as the photographer, but noted that he didn’t end up going forward with it because the timing coincided with his work on the CBS sitcom. Which is when she dropped the reveal that she was the big reason why he ended up taking that project over another one. In her words: 

I can easily understand why Sheen was reportedly nervous at the time, since he'd pulled off the extremely rare Hollywood move of successfully replacing a major star deep into a TV project's run, and as great as Spin City was with Michael J. Fox at the helm, it was just as fun with the Major League star bringing different comedic vibes. And considering he landed Two and a Half Men relatively soon after the D.C. sitcom ended, it's easy to forget that his career could have gone in a vastly different direction had he turned down the Chuck Lorre series in favor of another show. He presumably wouldn't have sparked a decade-long feud with Lorre, and likely wouldn't have turned Tiger Blood into a household name, among other things.

To that end, somewhat, Denise Richards believes that Two and a Half Men was indirectly responsible for her ex-hubby’s renewed affinity for intoxication. Here’s how she put it:

Bethenny Frankel asked if Charlie Sheen was at an emotional low point just ahead of Two and a Half Men, wondering if that added to his addictive habits that followed. But Richards said he was in a really good place at that time, having been sober during his time on Spin City, but that the CBS sitcom’s mass popularity seemed to play a big part in his behavior and lifestyle going forward, including the timeline of eventual exit. She continued:

By and large, Denise Richards spoke of Charlie Sheen respectfully, and made sure to present things as her opinions, while saying she couldn't speak to his thoughts on certain matters. She also recently opened up about her parenting struggles during the years when his addictions were most troublesome.

Sheen is set to make his big TV return for Chuck Lorre's new Max series Bookie, though we probably shouldn't expect to see Richards making any appearances as she did on Two and a Half Men. But I'm still hoping, because why not?

Though they divorced all the way back in 2006, celebrity ex-spouses Denise Richards and Charlie Sheen have been connected more in headlines of late, largely surrounding their daughter Sami Sheen joining OnlyFans. The 19 year old continues to succeed on the subscription platform, as does Richards, who also joined OnlyFans solidarity-style in the aftermath of her former hubby’s initially judgmental reaction. Now, Richards has opened up about past years of navigating parenting struggles with her daughters while the Two and a Half Men vet dealt with personal issues.

In a Bustle feature putting her in the spotlight, Sami Sheen discussed some of the specific ups and downs of having her famous parents, who both also spoke about their parent-child relationships. While Richards and Sheen kept things cordial enough in the early years following their divorce — which was initially filed while the former was still pregnant with Sami — the situation apparently became far more stressful surrounding Sheen’s exit from Two and a Half Men and his unpredictable public behavior. The Real Housewives vet stated: 

Presumably zero parents’ ideal interactions with their children involve dodging admissions involving prostitutes, and Richards doesn’t seem like she would recommend the experience. It's probably not an easy conversation to have regardless of how old one's children are, especially if some of the information came from tabloids. 

In another example, Denise Richards addressed an unfortunate holiday-related memory in which Charlie Sheen’s purported unreliability led to further disappointment. Having attempted to help the girls understand their father by reading a book about addiction with them, Richards said that still only would have addressed part of the problem. As she put it:

Despite the years of stumbles and bumbles, Sami Sheen and her father have seemingly maintained a healthy relationship. In fact, he credits her moving in with him in 2021 as being a cathartic part of staving off alcohol, since it meant she witnessed him both at his darkest and brightest. 

The Major League vet is reteaming with Chuck Lorre for a new streaming comedy, Max's How to be a Bookie, many years after their sitcom-related feud. Considering Sheen specifically requested a character change that removed drug use from the equation, he appears to be fully embracing the sober life still, and likely doesn't want a repeat of all things Tiger Blood and #winning. Could we expect to see Sami Sheen joining her pops on-screen at any point? Place your bets. 

The entertainment industry has seen some major reunions as of late, but there’s one I’m not sure many had on their 2023 bingo cards. Charlie Sheen joined forces with mega producer Chuck Lorre for a new comedy years after his highly publicized firing from CBS’ Two and a Half Men. While the development was certainly surprising, it was likely a welcome turn of events for those who are fans of the two collaborators’ work. Lorre recently took some time to shed light on how he finally squashed his beef with Sheen. And while doing so, the writer/EP also explained one request the actor had after he signed on for his latest show. 

Chuck Lorre and Charlie Sheen are teaming up for the single-camera comedy How to Be a Bookie. The 2023 TV schedule entry, which will be available to Max subscription holders, will star Sebastian Maniscalco as a bookmaker named Danny, who attempts to adapt to changes within the world of sports gambling. Sheen is set to play a fictionalized version of himself who has dealings with Maniscalco’s character. Part of Sheen’s on-screen arc involves him holding a poker game in a rehab facility on the down low. The original idea for the show was that the Anger Management veteran was also staying there as well. However, Lorre – who wanted to cast Sheen due to his knowledge of the gambling world – revealed that the actor asked if an alteration could be made: 

That’s a very considerate narrative change, and you can imagine that the veteran actor really appreciated it. Aside from being a key change for the show, it also signifies that the star is seemingly looking to move past the personal struggles he dealt with long ago. At this point, it’s been several years since the Spin City alum has acted. However, it seems like there he didn’t need to shake off any rust when he started work on How to Be a Bookie. Chuck Lorre went on to tell Variety that the star “proceeded to kill it at the table read” and that “his chops were just so finely tuned.” Series co-writer and EP Nick Bakay agreed with Lorre’s assessment while discussing that particular day of work: 

I don’t know about any of you, but I never would’ve thought the two comedy vets would reach such another period of creative bliss, considering the timeline of Charlie Sheen’s exit from Men. Sheen entered rehab amid production on the hit CBS sitcom’s eighth season, which coincided with the 2010-2011 TV season. In the spring of the latter year, the star made disparaging remarks about Chuck Lorre (the co-creator, co-writer and EP), including some comments deemed antisemitic. It was in March 2011 that Sheen was fired by Warner Bros. TV and the Eye Network. Thanks to a turnaround by a CBS exec, the show was able to tap Ashton Kutcher as his replacement and air for four more seasons. 

There was actually a time after the drama that Chuck Lorre couldn’t even watch Two and a Half Men reruns due to what went down. However, that changed shortly before he mended fences with his former lead actor. It’s simply wonderful that Lorre and Charlie Sheen were able to move past their differences and get on good terms again. With the creatives working in harmony, their latest collaboration will hopefully become one of the best original Max shows to stream. I’m curious to see what Sheen manages to bring to the proceedings as, thanks to that request, portrays a clean and sober (yet likely still-eccentric) version of himself.

How to Be a Bookie is set to hit Max on November 30. In the meantime, those who are feeling nostalgic for Two and a Half Men can stream the entire series using a Peacock subscription.

Charlie Sheen’s exit from Two and a Half Men put a sour taste in many people's mouths. After he entered a rehab program in 2011 for substance abuse, he made some crude remarks about creator Chuck Lorre and co-star Jon Cryer. Soon after, Warner Bros. fired him, and former CBS head honcho Nina Tassler turned things around when Ashton Kutcher joined the show. Sheen and Lorre had a major falling out. Earlier this year, however, the two were announced to be working on a new show together, and now it seems their feud has finally come to an end. 

Sheen and Lorre are reuniting for the new Max comedy series Bookie. While Sebastian Maniscalco is portraying the Los Angeles sports betting bookie, he does come across some pretty big stars, including Sheen. Now, Lorre has told Variety that when it came to casting the show, he only had one person in mind. However, it seemed like it was going to be tricky, considering he and Sheen hadn’t talked in over a decade:

Even though Chuck Lorre says “it was too painful” to watch reruns of Two and a Half Men following Charlie Sheen’s departure, a lot has changed over the last 10 years. He looks back at his time working with the actor on the CBS sitcom as nothing but good memories. Lorre noted he loved working with Sheen on Two and a Half Men, and he had a good time for the most part. Now, with all of the time that has passed, both of them were evidently ready to move past their squabble:

A lot can change in a decade. Even though the fallout between Chuck Lorre and Charlie Sheen was pretty big, it sounds like the two have gotten over it and are better for it. It was a pretty big surprise when their partnership was announced for Bookie, and of course, it wasn’t as easy as one would hope. However, the fact that both of them were ready to move on proves they have learned a lot.

Since the feud is over, could fans look forward to a potential Two and a Half Men reunion? Melanie Lynskey shared her thoughts on a possible reunion, noting that she has been in touch with Sheen over the years. She mentioned how much fun she had on Two and a Half Men, and she said she would be down to do a guest spot on Bookie if given the chance. Maybe there could be a full-blown reunion, a la Friends or Fresh Prince, in the future. 

For now, there will still be one Two and a Half Men reunion that will happen, and that’s through Chuck Lorre and Charlie Sheen's collaboration on this new Max comedy. Bookie is set to premiere on the 2023 TV schedule on November 30, and it will be available through a Max subscription. So fans will want to sign up to see this long-awaited reunion happen.

Time tends to heal most wounds, and it can also help to settle initially foul feelings, which has certainly been the case with Charlie Sheen, an actor and entertainer whose career was forever changed by a selection of rash and judgmental comments made during his hectic Two and a Half Men exit. Let’s flashback to June 2022, when the Wall Street vet shared a mostly negative reaction to daughter Sami Sheen joining the online platform OnlyFans, putting some of the onus on his ex-wife Denise Richards. He had a change of heart soon after, and has now reflected on that turn of events 18 months after it all went down.

Sami Sheen opened up about her life as an OnlyFans model, and her acceptance of being a sex worker, for a Bustle profile in which she admitted to not knowing very much about her father’s publicized flings with sex workers. (In her words: “My mom kept me very shielded my whole life.”) But despite his own personal interests, her famous father’s first instinct wasn’t “heavy support” upon hearing the news, and he puts some of that on parental instincts. Here’s how he explained it: 

Many fathers would have the same knee-jerk reaction to hearing about their daughter making such a career choice, but without the worry that those thoughts will make news headlines the way that Charlie Sheen's did. His concern was seemingly as much about OnlyFans as a source of employment as it was about how she would be seen as an employee. The possibility of her charging fans for pictures and videos of her scantily clad body was presumably also a factor, but he was hopefully able to change his purview after seeing that Sami herself was comfortable with and confident in the platform.

As Sheen put it, it came down to the trust and confidence in her ability to make good decisions for herself, as opposed to taking issues with what she specifically set out to do. If she wanted to sell furniture for a living, and wanted to work with the shadiest furniture retailer on the planet, her pops might have had a similarly anxious response. Or maybe not.

Sheen only mentioned Denise Richards in the context of her also being supportive of their daughter, and not so much about the actress following suit and starting up her own OnlyFans profile. That situation seems to still be going smoothly, so here's hoping things are all positive in that respect as well.

As for his where his own career is going next, Charlie Sheen is reteaming with Chuck Lorre, his Two and a Half Men creator, for the upcoming Max comedy How to Be a Bookie. No word on when that project might arrive, given all the strike delays, but 2024 seems like a great time to have Sheen back on the small screen. And if he wants to start up an OnlyFans profile to boost awareness, he has my support. 

It’s rare for a TV show to celebrate its 20th anniversary and still be on the air, but NCIS is one of those lucky few. Two decades ago, just a few months after being established in a two-part backdoor pilot on JAG, Mark Harmon’s Leroy Jethro Gibbs and his team started leading their own stories on CBS. But before Harmon was selected for the role, it turns out Harrison Ford and some other A-listers were tossed out as options for bringing the special agent to life.

This was revealed in an oral history published by THR commemorating NCIS’ 20th anniversary, with Charles Floyd Johnson, executive producer on JAG and NCIS, recalling the process of how Gibbs was cast. After Amy Reisenbach, CBS Entertainment president, commended the JAG writers for writing “real people,” Johnson said:

You have to remember that the TV landscape looked a lot different in the early 2000s compared to now, in that it was rare for a thriving movie star to agree to star in a TV show. At this point in time, along with retaining his well-deserved popularity as Han Solo and Indiana Jones, Harrison Ford was also appearing in movies like What Lies Beneath and K-19: The Widowmaker. Peter Golden, the former head of CBS casting, acknowledged this in the article, noting how even if the chances weren’t good for looping in someone of Ford’s caliber, that didn’t stop the people behind a show like JAG from putting him on “the list.”

But it didn’t just end with the man who’s now playing Thaddeus Ross in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While Susan Bluestein, the NCIS casting director, didn’t recall Harrison Ford being thrown into consideration, she did remember plenty of other noteworthy names, saying:

All these men would have been major scores for NCIS, and to be fair, some of these actors did go on to lead/play important roles in TV shows, including Baldwin in 30 Rock, Bacon in The Following and City on a Hill, and Swayze in The Beast right before he died. Charles Floyd Johnson also mentioned that Silence of the Lambs and Daredevil’s Scott Glenn was considered “very strongly” for Gibbs, and Susan Bluestein added that he was being considered for Donald “Ducky” Mallard too. Ultimately Glenn, as well as  passed on participating in JAG and NCIS, and while Andrew McCarthy of St. Elmo’s Fire fame also talked with co-creator Donald Bellisario about playing Gibbs, nothing ever came of that.

As far as Mark Harmon goes, he was already a well-established TV presence from shows like St. Elsewhere, Reasonable Doubts and Chicago Hope, so leading a procedural was well within his wheelhouse. Bluestein also had history with Harmon, having cast him to play John Dillinger in a TV movie about the outlaw, and Golden recalled, once the actor met with Bellisario, they “hit it off.” Harmon would go on to play Gibbs for 19 seasons of NCIS, exiting in the episode “Great Wide Open,” and he also made four guest appearances in the spinoff NCIS: New Orleans.

It remains to be seen if Mark Harmon will ever reprise Leroy Jethro Gibbs, especially considering that as of this past July, there’s allegedly some behind-the-scenes drama around his potential NCIS return. Still, if you’d like to view any of the hundreds of episodes he did appear in, those can be streamed with a Paramount+ subscription. NCIS itself has been renewed for Season 21, and while we wait for concrete details about what it holds in store, look through our 2023 TV schedule to see what’s currently airing or will be soon.

I have always appreciated when people follow in the footsteps of their famous parents. In fact, I think it is fun to see actors collaborate with their own children on-screen, of which there are more than enough examples. The following are 30 of our favorite movies and TV shows that proved to be a family affair for the stars involved.

Adam, Jackie, Sadie, And Sunny Sandler (You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah)

Not only did producer Adam Sandler star as the father of two girls played by his real daughters, Sadie and Sunny, in the You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah cast in 2023. The Netflix original coming-of-age dramedy also stars the comedian’s wife, Jackie, while Idina Menzel handled the role of Adam’s onscreen spouse.

Andie MacDowell And Margaret Qualley (MAID)

According to MAID developer Molly Smith Metzler, it was actually star Margaret Qualley who brought up the idea of casting her own mother, Andie MacDowell, as her character’s mother. The Golden Globe-nominated Four Weddings and Funeral star plays Paula (a woman with severe bipolar disorder) opposite the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood cast member in the Netflix original miniseries based on Stephanie Land’s memoir.

Angelina Jolie And Vivienne Jolie-Pitt (Maleficent)

Vivienne Jolie-Pitt gave her debut (and, so far, sole) onscreen acting performance opposite her mother, Angelina Jolie, in 2014’s Maleficent — a live-action reimagining of Sleeping Beauty from the villain’s perspective. According to Vanity Fair, the then-5-year-old got the part of a younger version of Elle Fanning’s character, Aurora, because other children were too afraid of the Academy Award winner in full makeup and costume in the title role.

Ben And Jerry Stiller And Anne Meara (Various)

Ben Stiller shared the screen with both of his late parents, legendary comedy duo Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, multiple times — the first being the 1989 mockumentary, That’s Adequate, followed by 1991 horror-comedy, Highway to Hell. Ben later played a sadistic fitness guru who purchases a youth weight loss camp from his parents’ characters in Disney’s 1995 summer comedy movie, Heavyweights, before casting them 2001’s Zoolander, with Jerry as Maury Ballstein and Meara cameoing as an egg-throwing protester.

Billy Ray, Miley, And Noah Cyrus (Doc, Hannah Montana)

Both Miley Cyrus and her sister, Noah, made their acting debuts on the medical drama, Doc, which was led by their musician father, Billy Ray Cyrus. Years later, the “Achy Breaky Heart” singer took a supporting role on Miley’s smash hit Disney Channel show, Hannah Montana, which Noah would also appear on in various unnamed roles.

Brendan, Domhnall, And Brian Gleeson (Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, Part 1, Frank Of Ireland)

Brendan Gleeson reprised Mad-Eye Moody in the penultimate installment of the Harry Potter movies, which also starred his son, Domhnall, as Ron Weasley’s older brother, Bill, in 2010. More than a decade later, the Academy Award nominee starred opposite the Star Wars movies actor and his younger son, Brian, in an episode of their Amazon Prime comedy series, Frank of Ireland, as a new boyfriend of the title character’s mother.

Blythe Danner And Gwyneth Paltrow (Sylvia)

In 2003, Academy Award winner Gwyneth Paltrow played the title role of a biopic about Sylvia Plath. To play the renowned writer and poet’s mother, Aurelia, Paltrow’s real-life mother, Tony and Emmy Award winner Blythe Danner was cast.

Chris, Tristan, And India Hemsworth (Thor: Love And Thunder)

After his older brother, Luke, portrayed his comic book character in a play in Thor: Ragnarok, Chris Hemsworth made 2022’s Thor: Love and Thunder a real family affair. Not only would Luke return, but Chris’s son, Tristan, appeared as the title character’s younger self in a flashback and his daughter, India, played Gorr the God Butcher’s daughter, Love.

Clint And Scott Eastwood (Gran Torino, Trouble With The Curve)

The first time Clint Eastwood acted alongside his son, Scott, was in 2007’s Gran Torino for a scene in which — as the Suicide Squad star claimed to Conan O’Brien — his father threw a few unscripted insults toward his character. Five years later, Scott starred in the baseball movie Trouble with the Curve as a minor leaguer discovered by his father’s character.

Damon Wayans And Damon Wayans Jr. (Blankman, My Wife And Kids, Happy Together)

Daman Wayans Jr. debuted as the younger version of his father’s character — aspiring superhero, Kevin — in the funny ‘90s movie Blankman, before landing a recurring role on his sitcom, My Wife and Kids, and later inviting him to play his dad on his own sitcom, Happy Together. In early 2023, Deadline reported that the Wayans are developing a new sitcom that will pair them up as an on-screen father-son duo once again.

Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, And Rumer Willis (Various)

Rumer Willis’ first two acting gigs were alongside her mother, Demi Moore, as Angela Albertson in the underrated ‘90s movie, Now and Then, and as the daughter of Moore’s character in the classic stripper movie, Striptease. The actor and singer’s next two roles would be alongside her father, Bruce Willis, with an uncredited cameo in the 2000 comedy, The Whole Nine Yards, and as the daughter of Willis’ character in the 2005 thriller, Hostage.  

Donald And Kiefer Sutherland (A Time To Kill, Forsaken)

The first time Donald and Kiefer Sutherland appeared in a movie together — namely 1996’s A Time to Kill — Donald played a civil rights lawyer and Kiefer played a vicious white supremacist. Nearly two decades later, the father and son played a father and son in a western called Forsaken.

Eugene, Dan, And Sarah Levy (Schitt's Creek)

The Schitt’s Creek cast has more than two related actors in it. Eugene Levy and his son, Dan (who also created the hit sitcom together), play Johnny Rose and his son, David, and Dan’s sister, Sarah, also stars as Café Tropical owner, Twyla Sands.

George And Mayan Lopez (Lopez Vs. Lopez)

Comedian George Lopez teamed up with his daughter, Mayan, and Debby Wolfe to create the NBC sitcom, Lopez vs. Lopez. The series — which  was renewed for a second season, according to Variety — also stars George and Mayan as a father and daughter forced to reconnect after year when they have no choice but to move in together.

Henry And Jane Fonda (On Golden Pond)

The 1981 film adaptation of the acclaimed play On Golden Pond was a very special moment in Henry Fonda’s career. In addition to being his final performance, which earned him a Best Actor Oscar, it saw him share the screen with his real-life daughter, Jane, who played his estranged daughter.

Johnny And Lily-Rose Depp (Tusk, Yoga Hosers)

A nearly unrecognizable Johnny Depp plays Guy LaPointe in Kevin Smith’s bizarre A24 horror movie, 2014’s Tusk, which also stars his daughter, Lily-Rose, as a convenience store employee. When Smith made a spin-off in 2016 focusing on Lily-Rose and Harley Quinn Smith’s characters called Yoga Hosers, Depp reprised the French-Canadian P.I. as well.

Judy Garland And Liza Minnelli (In The Good Old Summertime, The Judy Garland Show)

As The Guardian recalls, the multi-talented Liza Minnelli was just three years old  when she made her acting debut with a brief cameo at the end of 1949’s In the Good Old Summertime, alongside her mother — the iconic Judy Garland. The Wizard of Oz star later invited her daughter to perform with her on her variety program, The Judy Garland Show, in the early 1960s.

Kirk, Diana, Michael, And Cameron Douglas (It Runs In The Family)

It Runs in the Family, marks a rare instance of a movie starring three generations of an actor family. It stars Kirk Douglas and his former wife, Diana, as the father and mother of a man played by their real son, Academy Award winner Michael Douglas, whose own actual son, Cameron, also stars as his eldest son in the 2003 dramedy.

Leslie Mann And Iris and Maude Apatow (Knocked Up, This Is 40)

Leslie Mann’s character in 2007’s Knocked Up and its 2012 quasi-sequel, This is 40, is married to writer/director Judd Apatow in real life. Their children, Iris and Maude — the latter of which went on to star in the Euphoria cast as Lex Howard -- appear in both This is 40 and Knocked Up with Leslie Mann.

Martin And Charlie Sheen And Emilio Estevez (Various)

Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez are celebrity siblings who have acted together multiple times, including once with their father, Martin Sheen, with small roles in Badlands. However, every other time the actors appeared alongside Martin was individually — with Charlie in Wall Street, Cadence, and Hot Shots, most notably, and with Estevez in In the Custody of Strangers and The Way.

Meryl Streep And Mamie Gummer (Heartburn, Evening, Ricki And The Flash)

When speaking to Jimmy Fallon, Mamie Gummer looked back on her acting debut as a toddler in the 1986 dramedy Heartburn, which was led by her mother, Academy Award winner Meryl Streep. More than twenty years later, Gummer played her mother’s younger self in the 2007 romantic drama, Evening, before playing her estranged daughter in 2015’s Ricki and the Flash.

Ralph And Julia Macchio (Cobra Kai)

Ralph Macchio’s daughter, Julia, has made a name for herself as an actor in movies like Girl Most Likely and shows like Showtime’s City on a Hill. She would share the screen with her father on a couple episodes of Netflix’s Karate Kid sequel series, Cobra Kai, as Daniel LaRusso’s cousin, Vanessa — a young, but highly skilled, child psychology grad student.

Ryan And Tatum O’Neal (Paper Moon)

According to Collider, the record for youngest Oscar winner is still held by Tatum O’Neal for her performance in 1973’s Paper Moon. Her character in the crime dramedy directed by the late Peter Bogdanovich is a precocious, Depression-era orphan who teams up with a con artist who could be her father, played the actor’s actual father, Ryan O’Neal.

Robin And Zelda Williams (In Search Of Dr. Seuss, Nine Months, House Of D)

Zelda Williams had her first taste of show business with her father -- Academy Award winner Robin Williams -- right beside her in the 1994 TV movie In Search of Dr. Seuss and the following year with her small role in the Hugh Grant-led rom-com, Nine Months. Her first starring role in a theatrically released film was in 2004’s House of D, which also marked the third and final time she acted alongside her late father.

Sean And Dylan Penn (Flag Day)

Sean Penn and Robin Wright’s daughter, Dylan Penn, got her start as a model before she took up acting. Her biggest role to date was as the unwitting daughter of a criminal played by Sean in 2021’s Flag Day, which the two-time Academy Award winner also directed.

Sylvester And Sage Stallone (Rocky V, Daylight)

In the Rocky movies’ fifth installment, Rocky Jr. was the debut role of star and director Sylvester Stallone’s real-life son, Sage, who would later appear with his dad in the ‘90s action movie,  Daylight. Sage went on to become the founder of Grindhouse Releasing — which prevented him from reprising his Rocky V role in Rocky Balboa — and, according to CNN, sadly passed away at 36 in 2012.

Thandiwe Newton And Nico Parker (Reminiscence)

Nico Parker — known for Disney’s live-action Dumbo remake and HBO’s The Last of Us cast — is the youngest daughter of actor Thandiwe Newton and filmmaker Ol Parker. However, in the 2021 futuristic noir, Reminiscence, she appeared alongside the Westworld star as a grandmother and granddaughter. 

Tom, Colin, Elizabeth, Chet, And Truman Hanks (Various)

Tom Hanks has shared the screen with all four of his children. He cast Colin Hanks in a small role in That Thing You Do! before appearing alongside him again in 2008’s The Great Buck Howard. Elizabeth Hanks was also in That Thing You Do!, but debuted in Forrest Gump. Chet Hanks has been in Larry Crowne and Greyhound and Truman Hanks normally does technical film work, but has appeared in three of his dad’s movies — News of the World, A Man Called Otto, and Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City.

Will, Jaden, And Willow Smith (The Pursuit Of Happyness, After Earth, I Am Legend)

Jaden Smith has played his father's onscreen son in two of Will Smith's movies — the first being his debut role in 2006’s The Pursuit of Happyness and the second in the M. Night Shyamalan movie, After Earth. Willow Smith also made her acting debut as her father’s daughter in a heartbreaking flashback sequence from 2007’s I Am Legend.

If you're familiar with some or all of these films, you may agree that much of these parent-child pairings demonstrate the magic that can come from family members working together on screen. 

It’s fair to say Two and a Half Men is one of the most successful TV shows to ever hit the airwaves. Chuck Lorre and Lee Aronsohn’s raunchy comedy notched strong ratings and landed a few Primetime Emmys during its 12-season run. However, while there were certainly peaks along the way, there were also valleys. The biggest hurdle the sitcom faced was the disastrous exit of lead actor Charlie Sheen in 2011. Ultimately though, the series rebounded and ran for another several years. Some may think they know the entire story of how production bounced back, but they may not be aware of the instrumental role former CBS Entertainment chairwoman Nina Tassler played in the show ultimately turning around.

The hit series’ outlook appeared quite grim following the actor’s firing, which came after he’d been on the show for eight seasons. Most probably know by now that he was ultimately replaced by Ashton Kutcher, who joined Jon Cryer, Angus T. Jones and the rest of the cast as a new character. Of course, that switch-up didn’t happen overnight, as a number of moving pieces had to come together. And in the grand scheme of things, it’s great that Nina Tassler was around during that time.

What Happened When Charlie Sheen Exited Two And A Half Men

To better understand the seriousness of the situation, we first need to discuss the reasons why Charlie Sheen left Two and a Half Men. Sheen was actually intent on living in the spring of 2010 but changed his tune after agreeing to a hefty new contract. Months after finalizing his deal, which stipulated that he receive $2 million per episode, he began making headlines for wild partying and reported cocaine use. By early 2011, Sheen entered rehab and the show went on hiatus in the interim. It seemed the Major League star was nearly ready to return to work but, eventually, he began making inflammatory comments about Chuck Lorre. At least one of those was deemed antisemitic as well. 

There was subsequently much speculation regarding the star’s future on the show and, ultimately, he was officially fired by CBS and Warner Bros. Television in March 2011. The actor eventually filed a $100 million lawsuit against WBTV and Chuck Lorre and claimed he was filing on behalf of TAAHM’s cast and crew, though he was listed as the only plaintiff. The Charlie Harper actor made the legal move in the hopes of gaining some of the cash he’d lost from the Season 8 episodes that were left unproduced since the series shut down production due to his departure. 

Needless to say, the situation wasn’t looking all that pretty, and some even theorized that Two and a Half Men might just end following that ordeal. But there was a light at the end of the tunnel, and Nina Tassler was instrumental in guiding that train.

How Nina Tassler Ultimately Saved The Day At CBS

The veteran exec apparently didn’t back down when it came to the situation that befell Two and a Half Men. She, Chuck Lorre and co. eventually went to work trying to find another suitable co-lead for the show. They ultimately landed on That ‘70s Show alum Ashton Kutcher, and it turns out Tassler had a key professional connection that helped make it happen. Apparently, she had long been friendly with Kutcher’s lawyer, Robert Offer, and that relationship helped get the wheels moving, according to The Hollywood Reporter. 

In that same piece, the exec was praised for the way in which she handled the situation. Ex-CBS Corporation CEO Les Moonves praised her at the time, saying that the company “turned disaster into success, and she had a lot to do with it.” During the fall of 2011, Men scored high ratings and continued to perform well throughout its ninth season. The network head would ultimately step down from her post in 2015, which is ironically the same year the sitcom concluded.

It takes a village to make a high-profile TV show work but, in this case, a considerable amount of credit should go to Nina Tassler, who seemingly kept the situation moving when a path forward seemed uncertain. So anyone who’s glad the comedy didn’t bow out in 2011 due to Charlie Sheen’s exit might want to tip their hat to Tassler. 

All 12 seasons of Two and a Half Men are streamable with a Peacock subscription.

Charlie Sheen has starred in a number of notable movies and TV shows over the course of his lengthy (and somewhat unpredictable) career. Platoon, Wall Street, Major League and The Three Musketeers are just a few of the credits under his belt. Of course, one of the productions that he’ll arguably remain synonymous with for years to come is Two and a Half Men. Sheen’s tenure on the Chuck Lorre-produced CBS sitcom was eventful and ultimately ended with him exiting after eight seasons. There was a lot of drama surrounding the situation at that time and, in case you’re unaware of the timeline of events, we’re going to fill you in on why he left.

The show enjoyed a fruitful run ahead of the highly publicized controversy. Premiering in 2003, Men served as a prime TV vehicle for the comedic actor following his stint on Spin City. He and Chuck Lorre, who had more than a few hits under his belt at the point, seemingly worked well together. That’s probably part of the reason why Lorre reunited with the actor for Max’s How to Be a Bookie. Fans are likely pleased that the two teamed up again, and it’s honestly amazing they did, considering everything that went down over a decade ago. So, on that note, let’s take a stroll down memory lane and detail what led to the polarizing performer’s departure. 

After Entering Rehab, Charlie Sheen Quits Two And A Half Men In 2010 Amid Contract Negotiations

Even those who are generally well-versed in this matter may not even remember that Charlie Sheen actually left the series a year before he filmed his true final episode. His contract was up for renegotiation at the end of the seventh season in the spring of 2010 and, at the time, it was said that the network was confident he’d re-sign. However, sources claimed Sheen was intent on leaving, as he was ready to move on from the series. Other insiders also suggested that the star was unhappy with a $1 million per episode offer he received. All of this news came only months after it was confirmed that he was entering rehab as a “preventative measure.” 

The situation looked dire for a little while but, in May 2010, the actor inked a new contract that would keep him on the show for two additional seasons. He made out with quite a bit of cash, too, as the contract reportedly stipulated that he’d earn nearly $2 million an episode. And that’s saying a lot, considering the fact that several years earlier, he’d already become the highest paid comic actor on the small screen. After agreeing to the terms, the Emmy nominee released a statement, saying that he was “looking forward to returning” to work. In time, of course, his tone would change dramatically.

The CBS Veteran Makes Headlines In The Fall Of 2010 Due To Reports Of Wild Parties

Chuck Lorre’s half-hour comedy returned for its eighth season in September 2010 and earned strong ratings early on. By November of that year though, less-than-glowing reports began to swirl around the co-lead. Sources claimed that in his spare time, Sheen had been engaging in excessive partying and drug use. Around this time, he’d been hospitalized in New York after hanging out with porn star Capri Anderson. It was said that while living it up with Anderson, Sheen allegedly drank heavily and used cocaine. 

That was only the first half of the phase of the controversy, as the actor allegedly went on a bender in Los Angeles only days after leaving the Big Apple. Insiders alleged that the Ferris Bueller’s Day Off alum resumed his cocaine use and welcomed prostitutes to his abode several nights in a row. At that time, concerns for the actor’s well-being grew significantly, and he’d eventually take a positive step forward in the new year.

Charlie Sheen Returns To Rehab In Early 2011 Amid Production On Two And A Half Men Season 8

In January 2011, the sitcom star elected to enter a rehabilitation center again, marking his third stay in a facility in 12 months. CBS released a statement that confirmed his decision and also revealed that the show would go on hiatus while he was in rehab. The company stated that it was “profoundly concerned for his health and well-being, and support his decision.” 

The then-45-year-old leading man appeared on The Dan Patrick Show in February, where he said that he was ready to get back to work. However, he also asserted that the network itself wasn’t prepared restart production, saying that “nobody is there.” Later in the conversation, the actor also told Patrick that he fulfilled his obligation, which was to get help, and revealed that even he was surprised at how fast he’d gotten clean. While the Money Talks alum seemed gun-ho at this point, that quickly changed. 

As Spring 2011 Approaches, Charlie Sheen Makes Inflammatory Statements About Chuck Lorre During Interviews

Sheen turned heads in late February 2011 when he did interviews with media personality Alex Jones, along with news outlets, during which he shared blunt thoughts on Lorre and more.

TMZ

While talking to TMZ, he referred to Lorre as a “pussy punk” and “piece of shit.” Sheen also challenged the super producer to a fight and said that if he himself were to emerge victorious, Lorre would have to “leave my show!” He also referred to Lorre as Chaim Levine, which is a combination of the Hebrew version of the EP’s first name and his birth surname:

He later appeared on NBC’s The Today Show and ABC’s Good Morning America, where he shared more thoughts. These chats earned him a considerable amount of attention. 

Good Morning America

While speaking to GMA (for a segment jointly produced for 20/20), he pondered how the public could interpret his comment about his boss as being antisemitic. He posed the question that “anytime someone calls me Carlos Estevez, I can claim they are anti-Latino?” The star also said: 

He also didn’t hesitate to discuss his drug use and lifestyle, even going as far as to say that he’s different due to having “tiger blood.” Around this time, production on his sitcom halted production for the remainder of the season. Faced with the myriad of brutally honest sentiments, the Eye Network and Warner Bros. TV eventually took action. 

Charlie Sheen’s Contract With CBS And Warner Bros. Television Is Terminated In March 2011 And He Later Tries To Sue

Following much speculation, Charlie Sheen was officially fired by both CBS and Warner Bros. Television in early March. The joint statement released by the entertainment entities clarified that he had been ousted “effective immediately” on the grounds of “moral turpitude.” This turn of events prompted Sheen to take legal action against his former employers. 

Just a few days after being sacked, he filed a $100 million lawsuit against WBTV and Chuck Lorre in an attempt to recoup the money he didn’t earn for the eight unproduced TAAHM Season 8 episodes. What was most interesting is that the Golden Globe winner claimed to be filing on behalf of the show’s cast and crew, but he was the sole plaintiff named in the suit. Ultimately, his efforts proved to be unsuccessful. 

Charlie Sheen Calls Out Former Co-Star Jon Cryer During Interview

That same week, a number of Sheen’s former co-stars, Holland Taylor and Marin Hinkle, shared thoughts on his abrupt exit from the high-rated comedy and reached out to him. They expressed sadness over the state of the actor’s health while also addressing the prospect of the show ending. However, one person who notably remained silent was his on-screen brother, Jon Cryer. For that reason, he called out Cryer amid an interview and referred to him with several unflattering descriptors: 

It should be noted that the Alan Harper actor actually hadn’t commented at that point. His co-star also later apologized and retracted his “troll” statement.

Two And A Half Men Opts To Move On With A New Lead In May 2011

After the high-profile firing, future plans for Two and a Half Men weren’t immediately announced. Soon enough, though, it was confirmed that the show would go on and pair Cryer with a new actor in the lead. It was reported in May 2011 that Ashton Kutcher had been cast and, later that fall, he was revealed to be playing Walden Schmidt, a brokenhearted billionaire who befriends Alan. Charlie Harper, on the other hand, was killed off, and Walden purchased his home, with Alan and son Jake continuing to live there. 

The sitcom ran for another four seasons and seemingly maintained a solid fanbase. After Season 8 ended in 2012, Cryer notably won his second Emmy but in the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series category as opposed to Supporting Actor as he did the first time around. The show would ultimately wrap after 12 seasons in 2015, with a two-part finale that revived Charlie Harper, without Sheen actually appearing in the role.

Charlie Sheen Lands New Sitcom In July 2011

Only a few months would pass before Charlie Sheen would land a new full-time TV gig. In July 2011, it was announced that he’d star in FX’s sitcom, Anger Management, which was loosely based on the 2003 comedy film of the same name. On the show, Sheen played the role of Charlie Goodson, a former baseball player now practicing as an anger management therapist.

After an initial 10-episode run, FX picked up the show for an additional 90 episodes, and it concluded in 2014. One could argue that the show was a modest success, but it didn’t leave a cultural dent nearly as significant as Men’s.

It would be an understatement to say that this was a long and winding road. Despite all the drama though, Sheen and Lorre seem to have buried the hatchet, based on the fact that they’ve reunited for How to Be a Bookie. 

Two and a Half Men is currently available to stream in its entirety with a Paramount+ subscription.

The past couple of years have been pretty huge for Charlie Sheen, his ex-wife Denise Richards, and their daughter Sami, albeit not always in instances where everyone is in full agreement with each other. One reportedly ongoing source of contention amidst the former family unit is teen Sami making a living for herself on the subscription service OnlyFans. She started the account back in June 2022 to varying reactions from her famous folks, with Richards joining the site herself as a sign of support. The Two and a Half Men vet has reportedly changed his tune on that front a time or two, and there are indeed differing reports on his response to Sami referring to herself as a sex worker on TikTok.

What Sami Sheen Said About Being A Sex Worker

Sami Sheen has been fairly open about not going nearly as extreme with her OnlyFans content as many others on the platform, with posts that are reportedly about as explicit as Instagram pics. But that hasn’t stopped followers from shelling out all kinds of money to see those posts, and making solid bank from the gig has inspired her to flaunt that success accordingly. In a social media video from mid-June, she referred to herself as a sex worker, which caused a flurry of reactions both on- and offline.

It got to the point where Sheen shared a follow-up TikTok video that explained her reasoning for and defense of calling herself a sex worker, despite not actually partaking in the act of sexual intercourse, and how she doesn't get others' judgment. In her words:

For what it's worth, her use of "P-star" instead of "porn star," and "S-worker" instead of "sex worker," seemed to be a way to avoid any potential feedback from the social media site, as she also whispered the word "sex" elsewhere. 

The Conflicting Reports About Charlie Sheen's Feelings

It wouldn't be too difficult to hypothesize that Sami Sheen may have been talking about those close to her, as much as strangers online, by way of facing judgment about the way she makes her money. But let's leave that hypothesizing for another time. Because according to a statement that Sheen's representative shared with US Magazine, Denise Richards served as an inspirational for him to offer only a supportive voice from now on. According to the statement:

If that's indeed the way things will go from now on, it's obviously a best case scenario for all involved. Charlie Sheen has obviously gone through some thangs in his own life, from battles with substance abuse to his highly contentious relationship with Chuck Lorre to run-ins with the law. He presumably wants his daughter to avoid any potential downfalls of any kind, and that kind of fatherly instinct doesn't go away easily. But if he can keep that going while also having faith that she's making the right decisions for her own life, then happiness for all.

But then according to RadarOnline's sources, Charlie Sheen has different thoughts about it all that he hasn't made public. According to their sources, the actor has been "ballistic" about it, and also alleged:

Anonymous sources earn a completely different level of trust than a celebrity's representative, which can go in either direction. Public statements aren't always indicative of one's deepest thoughts, while citing anonymity offers little to put faith into. And chances are, his feelings are probably somewhere in between, and may change more over time, as it goes.

Hopefully Charlie Sheen finds more reasons to stay happy and celebrate himself as well as his family, with his long-awaited reteaming with Chuck Lorre coming in the form of the Max comedy How to Be a Bookie, in which he'll star opposite comedian Sebastian Maniscalo. Maybe the actor himself will complete the trifecta by setting up his own OnlyFans profile in order to promote the show. 

Charlie Sheen’s daughter Sami Sheen has spent the last year growing her brand on the social platform OnlyFans. She also has a popular TikTok account, and she recently responded to a commenter who had typed out, “The ones who choose ‘content’ are the ones who have nothing else to off the world and/or [are] lazy." 

The 19-year-old content worker opened up about the ‘s’ work she will and won’t do, noting that she’s not making sexually explicit films on camera, though she doesn’t “judge” those who do so. Instead, her account is geared toward work that she is comfortable with and that makes her “happy.” So, when people were giving her flack for her choice of profession, she felt the need to take to TikTok and explain her point of view. 

After Sami Sheen opened up about her gig, a slew of fans on TikTok also commented, most of whom offered support. The comments have been edited for punctuation and capitalization. 

• hellotefi: “U don’t owe anyone an explanation.”
• Holly Jee: “Getting paid to do what you love and capitalizing on your youth and beauty is incredibly smart. Keep on keeping on.”
• Kelsi: “There are many kinds of s-work. Been there, [done] that. You do you. Continue being awesome.”
• Tuckersmom2: “There is absolutely nothing wrong with any of the different roles within this business… girl rock it. Do it well and collect the coins.” 

Despite these comments on her latest post, Sami has taken some flack for her work in the past. The comment she called out in her TikTok video is one example, but her dad Charlie Sheen also famously said he did "not condone" Sami joining OnlyFans about a year ago. The Two and a Half Men star has since changed his tune at least somewhat and said it was important to have a "united parental front" when it came to Sheen's choice of career.  

Her mother has always been supportive. In fact, Denise Richards has since joined OF herself. 

Though fans proclaimed Sami didn’t have to explain herself, Ms. Sheen explained some of the benefits of working on the social platform and why she’s not looking around for any other sort of job at this point. 

Her words echo some of the points other celebrities have made in the past about OF work. Carmen Electra has said she loves being her "own visionary"  and making her own creative choices on the site. And Tyler Posey has said the platform has given him freedom to be honest about who he is. 

Plus, one would have to expect making money never hurts.  

There are times when life can surprise you and, just a few weeks ago, TV aficionados caught wind of a pretty unexpected, yet exciting, development. It was reported that after 12 years, Charlie Sheen is set to reunite with Two and a Half Men co-creator Chuck Lorre for a brand new comedy. This is honestly kind of shocking due to the public fallout the two had during the CBS sitcom’s run back in 2011, which led to Sheen being fired. It seems like they've patched things up, though and, on the heels of that news, fellow series alum Melanie Lynskey shared her thoughts on the possibility of a reunion for the long-running sitcom.

The Yellowjackets star, who portrayed the kooky Rose throughout the show's 12-season run, admitted to Variety that she was unaware of the latest collaboration between Charlie Sheen and Chuck Lorre. She didn’t say how long it’s been since she last spoke to her former Two and a Half Men co-star, but the actress did confirm that she was in touch with him at some point:

So it sounds like Melanie Lynskey is still on good terms with Charlie Sheen and, quite frankly, that's wonderful to hear. So with that and the renewed working relationship between her two former collaborators, you can't help but wonder if this would be the perfect time for a reunion. When asked whether she'd be game for such a thing, Lynskey provided thoughts that could make fans very happy:

Fans did indeed enjoy the show, and it's because of that devotion that TAAHM was one of the most popular programs on network TV for a large part of its run. I'm sure viewers would love to see characters like Rose and Charlie cross paths again somehow -- even if the 2015 series finale showed the latter getting crushed by a piano.

At this point, it’s unknown if a reunion will actually happen but, at the very least, fans will definitely be able to look forward to How to Be a Bookie, which has already been ordered to series. The single-camera comedy centers on an aging bookie who attempts to balance his responsibilities at home with his work and wild clients. Charlie Sheen is set to recur on the show, and details on his role are currently being kept under wraps. As of this writing, HBO Max (which is soon to be Max) has yet to announce a premiere date for the eight-episode season.

Even though the notion of a Two and a Half Men reunion special of sorts is exciting, the chances of it happening are pretty slim. Chuck Lorre, after all, is a busy man who tends to charge through with new projects. There's also the fact that Melanie Lynskey's star is steadily growing, thanks to her stunning work in the likes of Yellowjackets and The Last of Us. Still, I'll hold out hope that we get to see her and Charlie Sheen on screen together as their dysfunctional characters once more.

Those who'd like to check out Two and a Half Men can stream all 12 seasons using a Peacock subscription. You'll also want to keep an eye on the 2023 TV schedule in the event that How to Be a Bookie finds a place on it. And of course, grab an HBO Max subscription so that you can tune in whenever it arrives.

Twitter has been going through some significant changes as of late, thanks to some polarizing decisions made by CEO Elon Musk. The most heavily discussed initiative as of late has been Twitter Blue, which requires users to pay $8 per month for the highly coveted blue check. A number of public figures, including major celebrities, were vocal about not planning to pay the fee but, in a surprise move, some of their checks returned. This is because Musk is personally footing the bill for a select number of stars. While some have criticized the tech magnate for this move and the service overall, Charlie Sheen is singing a different tune. 

One of the most high-profile stars to take issue with the subscription-based service and his restored check is Stephen King, whose viral brouhaha with Elon Musk made headlines. King has since said that Musk should give his blue check to a charity. Aside from this situation, even Universal Studios poked fun at Musk when he announced plans to charge for verification. All the while, Charlie Sheen has gotten in on the discussion as well. The typically outspoken actor didn’t really chastise Musk when learning that his check would be taken away, though. Instead, he actually tried to implore him to let him keep his social media distinction. You can check out his appeal in the following Twitter post:

While it’s sometimes hard to gather tone from a social media post, that message actually seemed pretty sincere. And not only that, but it seems to have worked, as you can see. The Two and a Half Men alum now has his check back and, once it was returned, he went back to the platform to comment. If you look at the update below, you may get the impression that the 57-year-old actor is pleased as punch with how things worked out:

Well, I suppose the Tesla exec can chalk up that little piece of praise as a slight victory. Though some have critiqued him, it makes sense that someone like the Anger Management star would be happy with his aim to cover the costs of some checks. A check, after all, does help to verify a person’s identity on social media and can also help establish organizations as legitimate sources of information. As the star praises Twitter’s leader, there’s still an interesting pattern to make note of in this situation. 

Charlie Sheen, Stephen King, LeBron James and William Shatner spoke out on Elon Musk’s decision to take away checks for those who didn’t subscribe. And interestingly enough, they’re among the stars to have received theirs. It can’t be said with certainty that Musk chose to cover these individuals based on their comments, yet it’s an interesting coincidence nonetheless.

Elsewhere on the platform, other stars seem content without their badges, with celebrated Olympian Simone Biles joking about starting a new trend. Meanwhile, Wonder Woman icon Lynda Carter shared a funny joke about the controversy. Others, however, have opted to get rid of their accounts in the time since the new CEO stepped in. One such person to hit “delete” is Amber Heard, who used to date the billionaire.

This latest message from Charlie Sheen, who’s preparing to return to TV, has me thinking that he won’t be leaving the platform anytime soon. I’m interested in seeing whether he’ll continue to be one of those people singing Elon Musk’s praises, as he continues to make changes to Twitter.

Chuck Lorre is easily one of the biggest names in TV and, in recent years, he’s been aiming to make his mark in the streaming world with comedies like The Kominsky Method and Disjointed. Back in October, Lorre also landed his first HBO Max show – a comedy called How to Be a Bookie. The super producer has assembled a cast that’s led by Sebastian Maniscalco and, now, he’s added another familiar face. In a very surprising turn of events, Lorre is reteaming with Charlie Sheen for the sitcom, and it marks a major return to TV for the actor. Said development also comes 12 years after that widely publicized Two and a Half Men hullabaloo. 

The Wall Street star, who is set to serve as a recurring character on this latest offering from HBO Max, which is officially being rebranded as Max this coming May. Variety didn’t reveal any specifics in regard to the actor’s role but, based on the series creator’s knack for creating funny and flawed characters, I’d bet that he has something truly comical in mind.

If I’m being completely honest, I certainly wouldn’t have seen this coming, especially considering what happened over a decade ago. The star began playing devil-may-care jingle writer Charlie Harper on Two and a Half Men in 2003. After the show became a hit, Charlie Sheen would become the highest paid comic actor on TV. Things hit a snag in early 2011 amid the eighth season, however, when the Major League alum entered a rehabilitation program for substance abuse. During that time, Sheen proceeded to make disparaging remarks about Chuck Lorre as well as co-star Jon Cryer, and he was soon fired by Warner Bros. TV and CBS. Alleged details on Sheen’s explosive last day on set have also been leaked in the time since.

The highly paid entertainer would go on to have a public meltdown and, amid that period, he’d mention during interviews that he was “winning” and possessed “tiger blood.” All the while, Two and a Half Men moved forward without him and eventually cast Ashton Kutcher to replace him as a new character. Despite everything, Chuck Lorre and co. did approach their former leading man about returning for the final episode in 2015. However, Charlie Sheen ultimately didn’t appear in the finale because he disagreed with the direction of the story. Sheen subsequently called out the apparent diss that happened in the closing moments, which saw a piano get dropped on him along with Lorre.

Keeping all of this in mind, it seemed very unlikely that the two former collaborators would ever reunite. But as Jeff Goldblum’s Ian Malcolm once ominously said, “Life, uh… finds a way.” (Or in this case, I suppose it was cash and creativity that found a way.) Regardless of why they opted to join forces again, I’m just glad that it’s happening.

How to Be a Bookie, which received an eight-episode order from HBO Max, sees Sebastian Maniscalco play a longtime bookmaker named Danny. Viewers will catch up with him as he attempts to adapt in a world where sports gambling is becoming legal in most spaces. The Los Angeles resident will also have to contend with clients while balancing his work and home lives. Also part of the cast are Vanessa Ferlito, Jorge Garcia, Omar J. Dorsey and Andrea Anders.

Chuck Lorre has an excellent track record, so I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt when it comes to the quality of this latest show. One can’t help but wonder if his relationship with Charlie Sheen will hold steady this time around. But it may be fair to assume that the two men have learned from their past working relationship. Plus, both must’ve really felt passionate about this role and project if they were willing to work together again. Let’s hope they’re able to generate plenty of laughs.

Make sure that you have a Max, or for now, HBO Max subscription so that you can watch How to Be a Bookie when it premieres. You can also stream all 12 seasons of Two and a Half Men using a Peacock subscription.

Denise Richards has been as busy as ever with her TV career in recent years, from roles on The Bold and the Beautiful to the upcoming financial TV drama Paper Empire to no less than two Lifetime Original movies involving cheerleaders in violent situations. (To say nothing of her short-but-drama-filled Real Housewives run.) But no acting was involved when the actress attracted tons of attention earlier this year by joining the social site OnlyFans after her and Charlie Sheen’s daughter initially caused waves with her own profile on the subscription-based platform. Now, with all that back-and-forth in the past, Richards has reflected on the difficult journey through her highly public divorce from the former Two and a Half Men star.

Appearing on the podcast Divorced Not Dead, as hosted by Caroline Stanbury, Denise Richards was asked if she was comfortable talking about what unraveled her marriage with Charlie Sheen, and the actress started off by saying:

There, Denise Richards made it clear that despite all of the hardships and stress and other foul feelings involved with her split from Charlie Sheen, the fact that they created beautiful and loving children together is enough to justify the messier times. Of course, that viewpoint was probably easier to come around to through hindsight, seeing as how Richards was very much still pregnant with their second daughter Lola Rose at the point when she filed divorce paperwork. (Which was later followed by her filing a restraining order against Sheen, with his alleged death threats against her as the impetus.)

With all the additional mental struggles from pregnancy hormones and having a sick mother, Denise Richards would have already been in a rough spot without divorce issues, or even with fairly traditional divorce issues. Unfortunately, her split with Charlie Sheen was as complicated as it gets, and that was quite a few years before his controversial exit from Two and a Half Men and all the problematic behavior (and accusatory comments) that came before and after. And so with everything being so out in the open at that point, Richards talked about how her instinct at the time was to retreat inward, saying: 

As ridiculous and over-the-top as tabloid reports can be, there’s often a germ of truth to the claims, but those stories apparently didn’t hold a candle to what was actually happening between Denise Richards and Charlie Sheen. Understandably, the actress didn’t go into painful recollections in that moment, considering she’s likely spent years trying to compartmentalize those complicated emotions and memories. 

Ultimately, Denise Richards fell back on her instincts, which were to deflect all the negativity of that situation away from her children and others. She continued, reflecting on how fans can sympathize with that troublesome time in her life, even if others’ problems don’t fully compare with her rumor-sparking divorce. In her words:

While it may not have been the easiest road to travel down, Denise Richards has certainly come a long way since her divorce with Charlie Sheen was finalized back in 2006. And even if she still has some underlying feelings about it all — she previously stated that split was what sparked her to join the Real Housewives franchise — Richards and her daughters are seemingly doing as well as ever now. 

Denise Richards has quite a few projects on the horizon, with her family comedy Junkyard Dogs having debuted on August 5. She signed on for the new series Second Chance soon after joining OnlyFans, and will also be seen this year and next in the roller rink caper Saturday at the Starlight, in the dark thriller Wickensburg, the housekeeper-centric thriller Among the Ashes, and the military faith-based sequel Angels Fallen 2: Warriors of Peace. While waiting for any and all of those projects to come out, head to our 2022 TV premiere schedule to see what’s on the way soon. 

Raising kids is hard, especially when the parents disagree on certain finer points, as was the case between Kanye West and Kim Kardashian concerning their now-9-year-old daughter’s TikTok use earlier this year. Another pair of illustrious exes at odds of late were Denise Richards and Charlie Sheen, who had two totally different reactions when their newly minted 18-year-old daughter decided to join OnlyFans. (Namely, Sheen hinted that this wouldn’t have happened under his roof.) Richards later opted to join the NSFW platform too – in support of her daughter or in spite of Sheen, it is unclear – but she revealed how she’s adjusting as a content provider now that she’s on there.

The former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star, who continues to be mentioned on that reality series even as recently as Season 12, is still figuring out how to navigate OnlyFans, truth be told. However, her exclusive content already runs for $25 per month for her followers. And in an interview with People, the star shared that she’s starting to see the site as the next big evolution in fan-celeb interactions. She said:

As many will recall, Denise Richards was somewhat of a sex symbol in her own right when she came up in the industry in the late 1990s. Her roles in films like Wild Things and The World Is Not Enough (as a “Bond girl”) cemented that status. So it makes perfect sense that she would join one of the more risqué content-creating platforms on the web. She might not be dropping down to her birthday suit just yet, but there’s a distinct possibility. The 51-year-old mother of three stipulated her boundaries to the outlet, saying:

Initially, after her daughter Sami Sheen joined and her ex made his disapproval known to the world, the actress made it quite clear that she trusted Sami implicitly. As a result, the ex-Two and a Half Men star seemingly had a sudden change of heart, saying that his daughter would now have a “united parental front” on the matter. Reports also indicate that his reaction to Denise Richards joining OnlyFans is much better than what it was for Sami, apparently.

Other famous faces have found new life on the platform as well. Fellow 90s sex symbol Carmen Electra loves that the platform serves as a safe space for her to engage with fans and wear many different hats, so to speak. Likewise, Teen Wolf alum Tyler Posey has been able to open up about his sexuality for the first time using his own account.

Clearly, Denise Richards is all for her and her daughter’s OnlyFans accounts and the opportunities it presents. But the real question is, does the 18-year-old approve of her mom sharing the same space as her? According to Richards, the answer is yes. Sami Sheen doesn’t give her pointers or anything, but her mom claimed, "Just like being on Instagram or Facebook, it's the same thing for me, as far as that goes." On that note, Sheen is likely open to giving her mother pointers, as they both continue to navigate the very lucrative website.

Remember the days when Charlie Sheen news revolved around a new TV show or movie role? It’s been a bygone era for quite a few years now — though I’ll never stop hoping for a third Hot Shots movie — and Sheen seemingly keeps things pretty low-key these days where his personal life is concerned. But he certainly had something to say after his daughter Sami Sheen joined OnlyFans in mid-June, and it wasn’t long before his ex-wife Denise Richards followed in their daughter’s OnlyFootsteps. But if you thought that update would set the two and a Half Men vet on a blood-boiling frenzy, put on your surprised face.

Charlie Sheen initially sounded a little barbed upon finding out that his and Denise Richards’ 18-year-old daughter Sami joined the social platform known for its NSFW content, and even indirectly pointed a finger of blame at Richards since it happened under her roof. But that all seems to be slightly turbulent water under the bridge, as the goal appears to be to put family first. According to Us Weekly’s sources, Sheen is keen on keeping the peace.

Not long after Charlie Sheen’s initial reaction to his daughter’s social media update, he did seem to change his tune via a publicist statement. But it wouldn’t be reality-shattering to speculate that he made that statement just to counter people’s reactions to his initial response. It’s probably not easy to nail the right tone with these specific parameters involved.

After Denise Richards herself joined OnlyFans, it was only a matter of time before Sheen’s reaction was reported on in some way, and one can only hope that he’s legitimately cool with everything. For everyone’s sake, since there’s obviously a decent chance that both Richards and Sami Sheen could attain fairly massive popularity through the social platform, meaning it might be around in their lives for a while. 

I’m not sure it would be factually correct to say that OnlyFans brought these family members closer together, at least in spirit, but it also doesn’t feel so incorrect. Sami Sheen made the independent decision to presumably rake in the dough, and her father seemingly came to terms with it, even if it wasn’t in a way that was quite as supportive as her mom’s. 

What with Jon Cryer recently discussing his time co-starring opposite Sheen on Two and a Half Men — both the good times and the bad — and the sitcom’s creator Chuck Lorre talking about being able to rewatch old episodes again, it’s almost enough to make one forget that Tiger Blood ever had another meaning beyond the literal one. But not really.

For anyone who's not game to hear me wish upon high for another Major League sequel with Charlie Sheen on the mound (metaphorically?), head to our 2022 TV premiere schedule to see what new and returning shows are on the way.

As the old saying goes, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Or in the case of Denise Richards and her daughter Sami Sheen, it seems like the tree doesn’t fall far from the apple. (Is that how plants work?) The 18-year-old offspring of both Richards and Charlie Sheen caused quite a stir in early June when she started up and publicized her OnlyFans account, which initially drew some negativity from at least one of her parents. And now, Richards has offered up a unique form of support by ALSO joining the fan subscription platform known for its NSFW content. 

Taking to Instagram to spread the good word to her 1.4 million fans and famous friends, Denise Richards shared a beach-bound video alongside the announcement that she’d joined OnlyFans, with the link sitting squarely in her IG profile bio. Check it out below.  

The former star of Bold and the Beautiful and Real Housewives of Beverly Hills followed up on that post several hours later with another Instagram message pointing fans in the direction of her new OnlyFans account, which currently features four posts, including one video and two images. Peep that second post below.

At this time, Denise Richards is charging fans the fairly standard fee of $25 a month to view her posts, with a three-month bundle for $67.50. It’s probably safe to say that fans shouldn’t expect loads of nudity-focused content from Richards, all things considered, but that doesn’t mean things won’t be titillating in some ways. (Perhaps don’t hold out hopes for her to sell her jarred-up farts, though.)

Plus, the Wild Things vet made it known that her intention is to personally respond to all comments and questions from her subscribers, so anyone eagerly hoping to hear Denise Richards saying their name will potentially be on cloud nine. Here’s her account’s bio:

Depending on how many people jump to subscribe, Denise Richards may have difficulties finding the time to respond to each and every person, especially on a platform where comments aren’t so dependably classy. I can’t even imagine what would happen if it was discovered that Charlie Sheen was one of her doting subscribers. 

Following the news that Sami Sheen joined OnlyFans, Denise Richards shared a supportive response, while the former Two and a Half Men star Charlie Sheen essentially blamed his ex for allowing it to happen, and then shared his hopes that his daughter would keep things classy. In the aftermath of those opposing comments, it appears as if Sheen had a change of heart, as he later shared a far more heartfelt and family-focused message. Not that he directly stated that he was pumped about her OnlyFans success, but baby steps.

Denise Richards later shared a lengthier reaction in the wake of Sami Sheen’s news, more specifically in response to the amount of hate directed at the mother and daughter. She praised her kiddo’s confidence, wishing that she felt the same way about herself, and even teased at the time that she might start up her own OnlyFans page. One can only assume that sentiment sparked a lot of positive reactions, leading her to take charge and start one up. 

A variety of celebs end up joining OnlyFans for the financial upswing, with YouTube and Twitch star Corinna Kopf quickly pulled in literal millions of dollars days after joining, for example. (And she’s hardly the only one to rake in millions on the platform.) It’s likely that Denise Richards isn’t doing it for the money, although I’m sure the extra funds won’t hurt in the long run. 

Sami Sheen joins quite a few other offspring of major celebs on the social platform, from Dog the Bounty Hunter’s daughter Cecily Chapman to American Pickers star Danielle Colby’s daughter Memphis. We’ll just have to wait and see if Sheen posts receipts to show off how well she’s done on Only Fans so far.  

Sami Sheen, the daughter of actors Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards, recently made headlines when she joined OnlyFans. While Richards was supportive of her daughter’s new endeavor, the ever-opinionated Sheen had a disapproving reaction to the news. Now, after some time to think about it, it sounds like he had a change of heart. 

Charlie Sheen walked back his initial comments regarding Sami Sheen joining OnlyFans and explained his new stance in a statement to Entertainment Tonight. A publicist for Sheen shared new thoughts from the actor who stated his ex-wife Denise Richards made some “salient points” after chastising him and others for criticizing Sami’s decision and shared his new stance on the matter: 

The latest comments made by Charlie Sheen are much different than the initial statement he made after Sami Sheen’s announcement. Sheen originally stated that he disapproved of his daughter’s decision, but because she is eighteen and lives with Denise Richards, he couldn’t prevent it from happening. Sheen added that because he couldn’t prevent it, he asked her to “keep it classy, creative and not sacrifice her integrity.”

As for the “salient points” Denise Richards made that inspired Charlie Sheen (who is attempting to make a comeback with a new series) to change his stance, those came in a lengthy statement the actress posted to her Instagram. Richards took Sheen and others to task for criticizing Sami Sheen and applauded her daughter for her confidence:

Sami Sheen’s OnlyFans account is now active and already has some information up for anyone wanting to subscribe. Subscriptions start at $19.99 a month, and can expect three uploads a week from Sheen. Sheen also promises sales on her profile around the holidays, and that her messages are open to subscribers that wish to reach out. Sheen recently amassed 100k followers on Instagram alone, so it stands to reason she might grow her new platform rather quickly, assuming those fans are interested. 

Denise Richards and Charlie Sheen have a unified stance on their daughter’s OnlyFans, but their latest public back and forth is just one of many past encounters in their relationship post-divorce. Richards even revealed in 2019 that her divorce from the actor resulted in sizable legal fees, which ultimately drove her to do reality television. We’ll see if the two can remain cordial after this recent exchange, but only time will tell. 

A little drama between actors over their children is always a source of entertainment for some, but with new shows popping up on television every day, there’s plenty to watch and enjoy there as well! 

Two and a Half Men was a hit for CBS from the early days, with sitcom veteran Charlie Sheen headlining opposite Jon Cryer. The two anchored the series for the better part of a decade, before Sheen’s very public departure. He was fired in 2011 after eight seasons, with the eighth season cut short after Sheen entered rehab and made some controversial comments. The show ultimately continued with Ashton Kutcher joining Jon Cryer, but Cryer has now explained how close Two and a Half Men came to actually ending early. 

Speaking with ET, Jon Cryer revealed that the show was “going so smoothly” in the early years (which you can revisit streaming with a Peacock Premium subscription), and Charlie Sheen had been sober for two years before starting. Things changed over the years, however, when Sheen started going “off the rails.” Cryer – who would go on to land a memorable role on Supergirl – reflected:

Charlie Sheen went through his divorce from Denise Richards during his time on Two and a Half Men, which lasted from 2003-2011. Their split was finalized in 2006. He married Brooke Mueller in 2008, but they too divorced in 2011. According to Jon Cryer, Sheen’s personal life began to affect his work on the CBS sitcom, and the issues that ultimately led to his firing were “very subtle” to start.

The ultimate decision to cut Season 8 short and fire Sheen came after what was reportedly an erratic final day of filming. At that point, the odds seemed in favor of the show ending rather than continuing without the star. As much as Jon Cryer was a co-lead with Sheen, the premise of Two and a Half Men seemed to require both Charlie and Alan Harper. 

Now, Cryer has shared that as his co-star’s public behavior grew more and more unpredictable, he and the creator considered ending the show altogether. He said: 

A show running for eight seasons is pretty impressive as is, so Two and a Half Men wrapping at the close of even the shortened eighth season wouldn’t have been terrible. Cryer was evidently willing to let it happen if it was best for Charlie Sheen’s health, but Chuck Lorre (who recently opened up about watching the show again after the drama) came up with a different kind of fix: seemingly killing off Charlie Harper and bringing in Ashton Kutcher as the new co-lead. He and Cryer would star in the final four seasons of the show before it finally ended for good in 2015, with a finale that revealed Charlie Harper was alive after all.

In the years since the end of Two and a Half Men, Jon Cryer evidently hasn’t kept in touch with Charlie Sheen, but said that he is “glad that his health has rebounded” and hopes for “nothing but success for the guy.” Recently, he took to Twitter to pitch a reunion with Sheen for another Hot Shots! movie. The first Hot Shots! was actually the first time that the two actors appeared in the same project, more than a decade before they’d reunite for Two and a Half Men. Whether or not they truly ever reunite for another project remains to be seen, but Cryer is heading back to TV comedies following the end of Supergirl.

These days, celebrities are finding a myriad of ways to make money to supplement their usual flows of income. One of the most popular methods that many TV and film personalities have been using as of late is OnlyFans, where stars can share sensual content with their loyal devotees. It’s been interesting to watch so many make the leap to the platform, and some may be surprised by one of its more recent additions. Sam Sheen, the daughter of Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards is now on the site, and her famous parents had some varied reactions. 

Sam Sheen took to Instagram to share a pic and entice her followers to check out more on her OnlyFans account. The post caught plenty of eyes, with many in the comments showing love to the young media personality. One of those to comment was none other than her mother. The former, but still frequently mentioned, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star chimed in with a sweet message of support for her teenage child:

Whether Denise Richards ever expected her daughter to take up a gig like this one is anyone’s guess. But it’s sweet to see that she still has her back during this time. You can check out the 18-year-old’s post down below:

Charlie Sheen, on the other hand, offered up a somewhat blunter assessment of his daughter’s new side enterprise. The Two and a Half Men alum released a statement through his publicist and shared it with ET. In it, the polarzing actor made it clear that he does not “condone” his daughter’s decision, and he revealed the words of advice he bestowed upon her:

Some may be surprised to hear the actor’s thoughts given his personal history. While he hasn’t personally engaged in a platform like OnlyFans, he has enjoyed the company of those who may have. In the months leading up to his departure from Chuck Lorre’s hit CBS comedy, he was reportedly partying with porn stars and prostitutes in Las Vegas. After getting wind of the comments, Denise Richards responded with some thoughts of her own:

At the very least, one can see why Sam Sheen would view OnlyFans as a viable way to earn money. “Cash me outside” girl Bhad Bahbie claims she can retire, thanks to the money she’s made from it. 90 Day Fiancé stars have also found success, with one even making big bucks by selling farts. And if that weren’t enough, Baywatch icon Carmen Electra has even joined along with a former WWE star.

It remains to be seen just how success Sam Sheen will find on the subscription content service. But surely knowing that she has the support of at least one of her celebrity parents should provide her with some comfort as she progresses.

When it comes to sitcom controversies, it’s hard to think of a more suitable and unique example than the latter years of Two and a Half Men’s twelve-season run on CBS, largely as they relate to the ousted star Charlie Sheen, his stints in rehab, his firing, and his public responses to it all. But as hectic as it all was at the time, we’re now more than eleven years beyond Sheen’s erratic exit, which has helped to give the sitcom’s creator Chuck Lorre enough time and distance to feel comfortable watching the show again without the negative memories and emotions of that clash.

Following the glut of major cancellations and noteworthy TV finales, Chuck Lorre spoke with Variety about his lengthy and successful career on the small screen, and after he brought up rewatching older episodes of Two and a Half Men, the Big Bang Theory creator was asked if all things Charlie Sheen played into how he currently feels about the show as a whole. Admitting there was a point when it wouldn’t have been enjoyable, Lorre said:

Thankfully, Chuck Lorre has been able to get around the more uncomfortable and negative emotions in order to still view Two and a Half Men from a more objective perspective. It’ll likely be impossible to completely remove all Sheen-related memories from the creator’s brain, but so long as he feels okay about taking in reruns from the earlier seasons, good on him. I know I have a couple of far more dumpy jobs from my own early life that I don’t like to think of due to troublesome co-workers, so I can imagine it takes some mental tap-dancing to get to a more content place. 

Clearly the work stands for itself with or without Charlie Sheen’s personal life mucking things up. After all, the show’s fanbase hasn’t exactly dissipated, with reruns available to stream with a Peacock subscription, and that’s in part to how the cast works as a full ensemble, as opposed to everything relying just on Sheen’s performances. Nobody can deny Jon Cryer’s talents, nor that of the late Chonchata Ferrell and others, so someone who might not be aware of Sheen’s issues over the years wouldn’t be taken out of the narrative at all.

Given that the show debuted back in 2003, and that Chuck Lorre has created or helped develop roughly 1,000 TV series in the meantime, it tracks that he wouldn’t have every single episode’s story beats committed to memory. And he reflected on that notion by saying his and the creative team’s goal was to create a show that stood the test of time, as opposed to a flash in the pan. In his words:

For his part, Charlie Sheen hasn't exactly been quite as cool and calculated over the years when it comes to everything that went down on Two and a Half Men, and I doubt we'll be seeing him co-starring with Ashton Kutcher anytime soon. (Even though Jon Cryer has a fantastic idea for a reunion project with Sheen that seems super-timely.) In 2021, he seemed to offer up some regret over how he handled things, shedding a negative light on his "#Winning" approach. But only a few years earlier in 2017, he shared some particularly rabid thoughts about Chuck Lorre, calling him “the most talentless fucking sack of shit of fucking stupid this side of La Brea.” So it’s obviously hard to know where his head is at now.

As much as fans might want to see more from the Two and a Half Men-verse, it's safe to say we'd all be better off just watching already existing eps. But it does look like Jon Cryer has another network comedy on the horizon, as he's been tapped to star in a pilot created by Heels' Mick O'Malley. 

Saying Charlie Sheen’s firing from CBS’ Two and a Half Men was eventful would be an understatement, and there was an abundance of drama following Sheen’s exit, especially between him and Jon Cryer, as well as with his replacement Ashton Kutcher. It’s been more than a decade since Cryer and the Wall Street actor shared the screen. Things appear to have cooled down since then, though, and the Supergirl vet even suggested an idea for a reunion with his former Two and a Half Men co-star.

The last time Cryer and Sheen shared the screen ended with an explosive final day, according to the Supergirl actor. He recalled their last day on set being filled with erratic behavior on Sheen’s part, stemming from the latter's personal issues at the time. But time must’ve healed old wounds, as he hopped onto Twitter to suggest the former two co-stars revisit one of their most excellent earlier outings. To see the Pretty in Pink alum’s throwback suggestion for a possible Sheen-tastic reunion, you can check out his Twitter post below.

Cryer and Sheen doing another Hot Shots! movie together? Where’s the studio and writing team ready to get this sequel off the ground? Seriously, someone find them. Long before they starred in the CBS sitcom, the two actors co-starred together in the initial Top Gun parody, with Sheen as Lt. Sean "Topper" Harley and Cryer as the wall--eyed Lt. Jim "Wash Out" Pfaffenbach. While the latter didn’t return for the 1993 sequel Hot Shots! Part Deux, Sheen was back in action for the A+ follow-up. Doing another film may be the perfect opportunity for audiences to see Topper and Wash Out back together again, and could spark a new wave of quality spoof flicks.

As Cryer pointed out, the success of Top Gun: Maverick proved there’s a market for nostalgia done right, and that shouldn't be limited to non-parodies. Another sequel within the Hot Shots! franchise would make sense, and it could even play into the idea of legacy-quel spoofing, similar to how 2021's Scream approached its own history. And there obviously wouldn't be a better time to capitalize on Maverick’s monumental success than while that success is happening. 

Cryer’s idea seemed to signal that he and the former Anger Management actor are in a better place than they were a decade ago. After being ousted from the series, Sheen called the CBS comedy a “steaming pile of ass” when Warner Bros. sent him a cease-and-desist letter to stop using photos of himself as Charlie Harper while promoting the aforementioned FX comedy.

While the Supergirl actor and his longtime co-star essentially stopped speaking to and of one another for a spell, Sheen saved much of his vitriol for his replacement. After Kutcher stepped in for Sheen as internet billionaire Walden Schmidt for the series’ final four seasons, Sheen harassed him the entire time and was in constant attack mode when the That '70s Show vet's name came up. It even got so bad that Kutcher had to address the attacks on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Of course, Sheen ended up apologizing to him, so anything can happen. Including a new Hot Shots! movie.

If you want to see Jon Cryer and Charlie Sheen as Alan and Charlie Harper once more, you can binge seasons of Two and a Half Men with a Peacock subscription. If you want to revisit the original Hot Shots!, you can stream it by subscribing to Apple TV+.