Charlie Sheen's rehab halts show

Charlie Sheen’s recent decision to enter rehab has led to production of his hit sitcom “Two and a Half Men” to be halted.

His publicist has not given a reason for the actor’s decision to enter rehab.  However, CBS’s decision to halt production of the show comes two months after Sheen’s arrest following a fight with his wife, Brooke Mueller, at their home in Aspen, Colorado. He was subsequently charged with felony menacing and misdemeanor charges of assault. This carries a maximum prison term of three years.  Sheen has yet to enter a plea and is due back in court on March 15.

Mueller has also entered rehab for an undisclosed reason. Her attorney has stated that she is seeking a dismissal of charges against her.

Representatives for the couple stated Monday that Los Angeles child protective service workers visited Sheen and the twin sons he had with Mueller over the weekend.

“Two and a Half Men,” which was already CBS’s top-rated sitcom and television’s top-rated comedy prior to Sheen’s recent arrest, has seen its viewership increase in the past few weeks. 

No statement has been made on when the show would resume production.

It’ll be interesting to see how long the show can be on hiatus under these circumstances. Since its debut in 2003, the show has given a nice boost to Sheen’s career. As he is the lead in this series, its subsequent fate will be determined on how long he’s in rehab and how long it will take for him to contend with his current legal problems.

This is unlike the fate of other popular TV shows in which the departure of their stars led to the series’ cancellation.  Two examples of this are “8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter”  and “Bonanza,” which saw their viewership drop (and which, in turn, led to their cancellation) following the deaths of their respective stars John Ritter in 2003 and Dan Blocker in 1972. Ritter’s series even slightly changed its name to “8 Simple Rules” following his death.

There are other cases, though, in which a show can thrive even more with the departure of one of its stars. Prior to Blocker’s passing, “Bonanza”  was a TV ratings hits which became even more successful following the departure of co-star Pernell Roberts in 1965. Likewise, Valerie Harper, star of the sitcom “Valerie,” was actually fired by the producers of the show and her character subsequently killed off following a contract dispute at the end of the show’s second season in 1987. The show was eventually re-titled “The Hogan Family” (after briefly being christened “Valerie’s Family”) and continued to be a ratings success for several more seasons.

Sheen is still with us, obviously, and he reportedly has a good relationship with both his co-stars and CBS executives, so the show may have no trouble resurfacing at all.  The question is how long the show will remain dormant.  I think it’s safe to say that the show won’t resume production until at least well into the upcoming fall season. It’s possible that, during this hiatus, CBS could introduce another sitcom which could potentially become a ratings smash.  What would that mean for “Two and a Half Men” if and when production on it is set to resume?

Some of the show’s fans are already pronouncing the show a lost cause due to recent events. I, for one, am still hopeful that this good show will come back strong as ever and that Sheen will get things back on track. After all, this certainly isn’t the first time he’s faced the prospect of a prison sentence, and the fact that Mueller isn’t exactly innocent in this matter is, for all intents and purposes, another factor in his favor. Plus the fact that people are inclined to be forgiving to someone who admits that they have a problem and voluntarily seeks out help, as Sheen has.

Hopefully, CBS is hedging its bets one way or another.