He’d reportedly asked for $2 million per episode, but no one is saying how close to that mark Charlie Sheen got. But it is confirmed that he is staying with CBS for another season of “Two and a Half Men.” In fact, The Los Angeles Times reports that the deal is for two years, seasons 8 and 9.
“To put a fitting end on the two-and-one-half months of whirlwind speculation, I’m looking forward to returning to my CBS home on Monday nights. I want to thank Les Moonves for his support,” Sheen said in a statement. Moonves, of course, is CEO of CBS Corporation.
Despite his legal difficulties (Sheen has pleaded not guilty to charges in Aspen, CO that he assaulted and threatened his wife, Brooke Mueller, on Christmas Day), Sheen is regarded as vital to the comedy series. Without his agreement on a new contract, it was unlikely that Two and a Half Men could have continued with a replacement in his role of sex-crazed bachelor Charlie Harper.
RBR-TVBR observation: No doubt CBS and the Warner Bros. Studios are paying Sheen more than $1 million per episode for season eight of the show. They won’t make any profit on the first run at that rate, but don’t forget that Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution is already having great success with the show in Syndication. It is consistently a top 5 performer and has been as high as #2. And that’s just the domestic syndication take. There’s also cash from the international sales – and that syndication cash will keep coming in for years to come after the series ends production.
[Editor’s note: This corrects an earlier version of the story which stated that CBS Television Distribution handled syndication. It is in fact Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution.]
