After more than 260 episodes, several epic behind-the-scenes skirmishes and handing out some of the biggest salaries in TV history, Two and a Half Men finally calls it a day on Feb. 19.
The hit Chuck Lorre comedy, once the highest-rated series on American TV, will bow with a one-hour series finale at the end of its slightly abbreviated 12th season. Its departure from the schedule coincides with several other changes to CBS' Thursday lineup. The week after the finale, Mom moves to 9:30 p.m. to give newcomer The Odd Couple the post-Big Bang Theory platform.
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Two and a Half Men's old 9 p.m. time slot will go to repeats of The Big Bang Theory, as freshman The McCarthys will finish its run in February. CBS recently commissioned an additional two episodes from the family comedy, which has pulled middling ratings on Thursday night, but it looks like that will be it. No decision has been made on the future of the show beyond its 15-episode order.
"Chuck Lorre is creating a season-long event. We did very well last year with announcing the final season of How I Met Your Mother here too. Chuck is very psyched about this; he's got some great ideas and very big surprises," CBS' Nina Tassler said at the time of her announcement that the series would be ending with season 12. "We know fans and audiences respond to that and that should really give us a nice boost when we launch our new comedy."
Moving Mom to 9:30 p.m., starting Feb. 26, is a clear effort at building that half-hour. It's been the trickiest one since CBS expanded Thursday comedy to a full two-hour block during the 2013-14 season. Mom has been hitting series highs in the 8:30 p.m. time slot after The Big Bang Theory. The network moved it from Monday to Thursday on the eve of its premiere, sticking The Millers in its planned fall slot. (That quickly resulted in the end of The Millers.)
The remake of The Odd Couple, which stars Matthew Perry and Thomas Lennon as iconic comedy duo Oscar Madison and Felix Unger, was CBS' most high-profile addition to its comedy roster for the current season. Airing after The Big Bang Theory gives it as big of a launch pad as the network can provide.
Earlier on Friday, CBS announced midseason plans for dramas Battle Creek and CSI: Cyber.
