Two and a Half Men: One Criminally Underrated Character Was a Much Better Charlie Sheen Replacement Than Ashton Kutcher

SUMMARY

• Chuck Lorre's move to bring in Ashton Kutcher as Sheen's replacement proved to be divisive.
• This could've been avoided had they given the spotlight to Ryan Stiles' Herb Melnick.
• Given his comedic chops and bond with Alan, Herb could've carried the torch forward.

In the aftermath of the Charlie Sheen debacle, many, including the cast members, were uncertain about Two and a Half Men‘s future, which was reasonable as Sheen served as its lead for eight seasons. To everyone’s surprise, Lorre opted to continue the show without its most prolific figure and brought in Ashton Kutcher to fill Sheen’s shoes.

Two and a Half Men | Credit: CBS

While the sitcom continued to run for several more seasons, Kutcher’s Walden Schmidt proved to be a divisive addition to the show, which could’ve been avoided by giving the spotlight to another character.

Ryan Stiles’ Herb Melnick would’ve been a great successor to Charlie Sheen

Given Charlie Sheen‘s eight-season-long legacy, filling his shoes was always going to be an uphill task for Ashton Kutcher, and unfortunately, he didn’t quite manage to hit it out of the park for most viewers. Even though the show had its issues when Sheen was around, especially in regard to its problematic undertones, the humor stemmed from Sheen’s involvement felt natural, at least for the most part.

As for Walden, the show didn’t exactly need a billionaire with relationship issues at the time, so it’s not hard to see why his storylines failed to make a major splash. Things could’ve been better had they relied on another talent instead, Ryan Stiles’ Herb Melnick.

Two and a Half Men | Credit: CBS

While not without his flaws, he was one of the most endearing and hilarious figures on the show. Moreover, given the Whose Line Is It Anyway star’s comedic chops, he could’ve easily passed as the perfect successor to Harper, and could’ve been the perfect successor to Sheen as Jon Cryer‘s companion.

Chuck Lorre found Ashton Kutcher perfect from the get-go

Two and a Half Men | Credit: CBS

For better or worse, bringing in Kutcher as Sheen’s replacement was undoubtedly bold on Chuck Lorre‘s part. Although he initially intended to bring in an older actor for the part, which seemed right, it didn’t take Kutcher long to leave a lasting impression on The Big Bang Theory showrunner after their first meeting (via THR).

I was completely convinced that we needed a fourtysomething costar who would be a peer to Jon, It was obvious my assumption was wrong. Here was a guy with great comedy instincts, tons of experience and who is totally fearless. Taking the job proves that.

Although the decision startled co-creator Nick Bakay, he didn’t lose faith in Lorre, and despite the reception to Walden, the show did continue for four more seasons.

Two and a Half Men is available to stream on Max.

Written by Santanu Roy

Articles Published: 2010

Santanu Roy is a film enthusiast with a deep love for the medium of animation while also being obsessed with The Everly Brothers, Billy Joel, and The Platters. Having expertise in everything related to Batman, Santanu spends most of his time watching and learning films, with Martin Scorsese and Park Chan-wook being his personal favorites. Apart from pursuing a degree in animation, he also possesses a deep fondness for narrative-driven games and is currently a writer at Fandomwire with over 1500 articles.