Do the Ladies Love Charlie Sheen Too Much?

Are women the secret to Two and a Half Men's TV ratings uncanny success?

By Joal Ryan Feb 15, 2011 8:46 PMTags
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Charlie Sheen has long been a hit with prostitutes and porn stars. 

The question now is: Are prostitutes and porn stars helping Sheen stay a hit in the ratings?

Unfortunately, Nielsen doesn't report such intimate demographic details. But we do know that ladies of all backgrounds are a big reason Two and a Half Men won't die even as its own creator suggests Sheen has a death wish. (To be fair, as we've previously noted, men aren't exactly innocent here, either.)

Last night's new episode—Monday's No. 1 show, natch, with about 14.5 million viewers overall—drew its strongest numbers, by far, among good-time gals over 50. 

At the other end of the scale, Two and a Half Men was the top-rated broadcast show among teen girls, beating The Bachelor, 90210 and Gossip Girl.

The Bachelor's Brad Womack was able to out-woo Sheen among women aged 18-34, but we can't be sure those numbers aren't skewed. What if Sheen was having a Valentine's bash for all his "friends," and they were too "busy" to tune in his show? 

Hey, it could've happened. Sadly enough.

Other TV ratings winners and losers:

• The Grammys: You already knew they were big, but did you know how much bigger they've gotten than American Idol? Nearly 3 million viewers bigger than Wednesday's Idol (24.1 million); nearly 5 million viewers bigger than Thursday's (21.9 million). In other words, it's kinda like back in the old days when "music's biggest night" really was music's biggest night. 

Modern Family: Received an early Valentine's Day present with a season-high-tying performance (13.2 million).

• Matthew Perry: Received an early Valentine's Day present (courtesy his Modern Family lead-in) with a strong debut for his new sitcom, Mr. Sunshine (10.5 million).

Royal Pains: In an undistinguished week for scripted shows on cable, this USA show stayed near the top of the pack, with 3.9 million viewers.

• Russell Brand: He's hip, he's now, he's funny…his Saturday Night Live came up short when compared to the previous week's edition hosted by 1990s flashback Dana Carvey.