Two and a Half Men (season 12)

Production

Two and a Half Men was renewed for a twelfth season on March 13, 2014. It was announced on May 14, 2014 that it would be the final season of the show, making it one of the longest running live-action sitcoms on American television.

At the executive session panel at the Television Critics Association press tour in Beverly Hills on June 19, 2014, CBS President Nina Tassler announced the story arc for the season. During this season, which has been described by CBS President Nina Tassler as a season-long event to conclude the show by Chuck Lorre, Walden (Ashton Kutcher) will experience a health scare in the opening episode and, "he wants to find a way to add more meaning to his life, so he decides he wants to adopt a child and in doing so, he starts the process and realizes that it's very difficult to adopt a child as a single, straight man," Tassler said. "So once and for all he decides, 'I'm going to propose to Alan (Jon Cryer) and we're going to get married and adopt a child as a gay couple."

Show producer Chuck Lorre explains the future gay wedding as bringing the show to a full circle. Lorre says that the marriage is about raising a child with 'a great deal of love' and not their sexuality. "You're going to see two men who are not gay but are going to raise a child with a great deal of love and attention. Their sexuality is irrelevant to loving and caring for a child, which maybe that's the big story that we wind up telling: taking a kid out of the system and giving him a home. What's better than that?" he added. He promised that there will be a wedding and hoped no offense will be taken. Lorre said that "this seems like the next logical step. Not romance, not sex, raising a child." Jon Cryer was skeptical about the story line when he first heard it but was won over by the story line when it was explained to him and insisted the show is not cheapening same sex marriage instead they will do it 'tastefully'. He also said, "Obviously we've cheapened plenty of things over the decade that we've been on the air. But that is something we're not intending to do." Cryer had nothing but praise for the storyline and the season, saying "it will be a heartfelt journey...there might be more of a heart to this season than ever before."

This season, along with other sitcoms, is airing in late October instead of the traditional September season starting month. This is because of Thursday Night Football. To avoid competition with the sporting event, some shows have been held back until after its conclusion so the ratings will not be hurt.

Charlie Sheen who was a previous cast member on the show, expressed his interest to reprise his role of the deceased character Charlie Harper in the series finale, saying "'I just want to do it classy. I want to do it in a way that still services what the show is today, and also honors what it was when I was there." He even stated that producers were interested in the idea, "I've reached out to them and they've reached back," and added that he was "just a meeting away," from making it happen. However producers denied the statements, saying that no discussions had been made. Nina Tassler has said that there were no plans to have him back. In December, Sheen launched another attack on Lorre, nearly four years after the first time saying, "Here's what sucks. I got clearance from the whole cast. Les Moonves. All the suits. There's one guy who's blocking it, guess who that is?" He even told Lorre to "get out of his own way." During an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on December 12, 2014, Ashton Kutcher remained coy about whether Sheen would return for the finale, but gave provocative hints on the matter. But Sheen again posted another bizarre, derogatory remark about the show on Twitter in January 2015. Despite this, at the Television Critics Association's winter press tour on January 15, 2015, Chuck Lorre spoke about the show and had nothing but praise for Sheen, "It would be inappropriate to not acknowledge the extraordinary success we had with Charlie and how grateful I am, we all are, to his contributions. And there's nothing but great feelings for the eight-and-a-half years we worked together." He said he wanted the finale to honour both eras of the show, and that there were "no wounds," following what happened with Sheen, saying "What happened, happened. And I'm grateful for the time we enjoyed working together and I'm very grateful Ashton came along and kept the lights on. What do I got to complain about? I'm so blessed."

On December 5, 2014, it was announced that the series' finale would be February 19, 2015, and it would be an hour long episode to conclude the series. CBS announced that the new incarnation of The Odd Couple, the premise of which Two and a Half Men was based on, would take its place for the remainder of the television season.

Critical reception

Two and a Half Men, a show that has always generated controversy continued to do so in its final season. Producers were aware that the story line for the season may cause controversy (despite saying it wasn't their intention), which it did. Nina Tassler defended the show however, saying, "I think it's a very positive statement," "[Walden believes he is] going to adopt a child as a gay couple, and the reality is he can do that. In a universe where at one point you couldn't do that, and now you can, I think that's a much more positive statement that he's making."

Ciara Doll of "The IDS Newspaper" criticized the beginning of the season, saying that it "felt flat". Jillian Page of Montreal Gazette praised the overall story arc for the season, believing the story was "redefining marriage" in the real world. He believed Chuck Lorre to be a "genius", for "turning convention upside down". He believed the story line to be a "warm", and "noble" one. Jim Slotek of Niagara Falls Review was positive that the show was trying to "make sense again in its final season" in terms of bringing the show back to where it started, two men trying to raise a young child.