ON THE TV PRESS TOUR ‘MEN’ TALK,
Kutcher came to rescue, but will he return next year?
PASADENA, Calif. — Here’s something you wouldn’t have heard last year from the man in the middle of the Two and a Half Men firestorm: He’s enjoying himself.
“It’s been fun,” says executive producer Chuck Lorre. “It’s been terrifying, but we’ve laughed a lot, and in the end, it’s been fun. And we’re grateful this guy came along and kept the lights on.”
“This guy,” of course, is new recruit Ashton Kutcher. Lorre says that when star Charlie Sheen left amid a vitriolic personal split with the producer, Lorre assumed the show would have to end. And it would have, he says, if Kutcher hadn’t come along to step into the lead role.
Retooling and resurrection “just seemed like an impossible and slightly ridiculous thing to do,” Lorre says. “But at some point, we just went, ‘Why not try? What’s the point in not trying?’ If we failed, no one would be physically harmed. (And) it seemed like just a terrible way to end.”
Thanks to Kutcher, it continues, with still-strong ratings. But the actor is committed for only one year. Will he be back?
His deal, Kutcher says, was “kind of a test deal,” and so far, it’s passing the test. “I think that people are responding to it. For me, having a show that people like and people want more of, that will dictate my decision. I have a couple of features that I’m going to do during my hiatus, and right now, I’m thinking of it as a hiatus.”
There’s no deal yet, but Kutcher says he’s interested in coming back “if we can work that out.”
Many were surprised when Kutcher took the role, on the assumption he’d rather be doing movies. But Kutcher says he wanted to come back to televi- sion because he enjoys the kind of work it provides.
“I’ve had a blast. Since I stopped doing That ’70s Show, I always wanted to go back,” he says. “The best thing for me, other than the amazing job and the great company of these people, is being able to act a lot. (We) rehearse every day, we get to be onstage every day and exercise our craft.”
As for Sheen, Lorre says, “I
wish him well. I really do. I’m glad he’s sober, and I hope he’s happy.”
And in news that may make Kutcher fans happy: He was sporting shorter, less shaggy hair at Wednesday’s press panel. Why did he cut it? Kutcher says it’s show-related, and you’ll have to wait till the episode airs for the answer: “Tune in Monday.”
Melissa & ‘Molly’
On another of Lorre’s successful CBS sitcoms, this has been quite a year for
Mike & Molly’s Melissa Mccarthy, with an Emmy win, talk of an Oscar for the film Bridesmaids, and a well-received stint as Saturday Night Live host.
Naturally, she was asked about it at the M&M press conference. But before she could answer, creator Mike Roberts jokingly broke in, “Oh, God, I’m so sick of Melissa. I told you this was the way it was going to go. Melissa, Melissa, Melissa.”
What does Mccarthy have to say? She can’t believe so many wonderful things have happened; in fact, all that good karma means something horrible has to be coming her way to balance it out. “It’s like I’m going to be hit by a bus. It’s all great stuff. This will be great when I actually am hit by a bus,” she said. “I went to Catholic school, so it all makes sense.”
Mccarthy and co-star Billy Gardell are overweight rarities in a TV world populated, said Gardell, by 78-pounders. Their weight is less of an issue than it was at the start of the show, but even then, Mccarthy never thought of M&M as a show about fat people. “I never went into it thinking that’s what it was about. It’s just an element of it.” Still, Gardell said, it’s a pretty obvious element, one that will always be a fair topic for jokes. It’s the kind of thing, he said, friends would notice and kid about. Co-star Reno Wilson “has a big head, and I’m fat. . . . The truth without love is just abuse, but there’s a lot of love in there.”
And with three hits now on the air — including The Big Bang Theory — is Lorre busy cooking up a fourth? “I’m working on a tumor at the moment,” he joked. “No, not at all. This is enough. This is wonderful.”