NEWSCharlie Sheen 'Terrified' His 'Two and a Half Men' Costar Melanie Lynskey, Chuck Lorre Claims: 'I Had No Choice But to Shut Down the Show'
Chuck Lorre's new memoir is set to be released on October 13.
Oct. 9 2026, Published 5:19 p.m. ET
Melanie Lynskey was reportedly not Charlie Sheen's biggest fan.
In an excerpt from Chuck Lorre's new memoir, Sitcom, published on Friday, October 9, he recalled the moment things began to "unravel" on the set of the comedy series Two and a Half Men.
'I Had No Choice But to Shut Down the Show'
Chuck Lorre claimed that Melanie Lynskey was 'terrified.'
Lorre, the hit TV show's creator, claimed in the book, "The last scene we shot was with Charlie and Melanie Lynskey. He couldn’t remember any of his lines and had to use the furniture to keep himself upright."
"Melanie was terrified. It was clear to everyone that this man, whom we’d all grown to love, was in trouble. I had no choice but to shut down the show," he added.
Sheen played Charlie Harper on Two and a Half Men for eight seasons from 2004 to 2011, while Lynskey recurred as his neighbor Rose. For the first seven years, Lorre wrote that the show "was a blast to do." Then, Sheen "started calling in sick all the time" for several different reasons.
'Worked in a Constant State of Anxiety'
Chuck Lorre had a feeling things were 'spiraling' when Charlie Sheen was in active addiction.
"The typical excuse was food poisoning, usually bad clams. There were a lot of emergency dental appointments," Lorre spilled. "Once I was informed he would not be attending rehearsal because his BIC lighter had exploded and burned off his eyelashes."
Lorre believed things had been "spiraling out of control" due to Sheen's addiction, but didn’t know what to do.
In his book, the award-winning producer wrote that the Two and a Half Men cast and crew "worked in a constant state of anxiety" because they never knew what would happen next.
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'I Was Emotionally Exhausted'
Chuck Lorre called Charlie Sheen to inform him that the show would be shutting down.
After Sheen’s final scene with Lynskey, Lorre was forced to call the actor and share that he was shutting down the show.
"After the shutdown, I told him the plan was to shoot two more episodes, then call it a season — giving him a chance to get cleaned up. He angrily insisted we shoot four more," Lorre continued in the excerpt. "I was emotionally exhausted and held my ground. Two more episodes, then we break for a desperately needed three-month hiatus."
Lorre has since wondered if Sheen "might have needed the money" for two extra episodes. The 73-year-old wrote that Sheen "was making something like 1.25 million dollars per episode" at that point.
'It Was Just Over'
Chuck Lorre recalled Charlie Sheen being 'gracious and grateful' when they saw each other years later.
He then went on to shut down the "ridiculously untrue" rumors that he had the actor fired from the show. "Anybody who knows anything about the television business knows that writers don’t have the power to fire the star of a billion-dollar show."
Years later, after Sheen sued Lorre for $100 million, which they eventually settled, the pair reconnected. Sheen was "gracious and grateful," Lorre shared.
"We didn’t get into the weeds about the whole Two and a Half Men nightmare," he said. "It was just over."
