Two and a Half Men Still 100 Percent Sheen-Free—but Is Charlie Crazy Like a Fox?

Sources close to production dismiss reports that Sheen could be rehired

By Josh Grossberg Mar 22, 2011 2:15 PMTags
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Charlie Sheen may be on a "winning" streak with his sold-out Violent Torpedo of Truth Tour. But as far as his old bosses are concerned, the idea of a Two and a Half Men reunion is still a losing proposition.

Reports started popping up Monday suggesting that CBS boss man Les Moonves is working the backchannels with producer Warner Bros. Television to find a way to bring the self-proclaimed Vatican Warlock Assassin back to his stomping grounds. But a source close to the production tell E! News...

Don't hold your breath. It's not going to happen.

The reports were kickstarted with anonymously sourced items Monday on gossip sites Radar and Hollywood Life. It picked up steam later in the day when NBC News' Jeff Rosen, who has interviewed Sheen and has more credibility, tweeted: "Sources close to Charlie Sheen tell NBC News, CBS has offered him his job back. Discussions ongoing. Not a done deal."

As all have been Sheen sounding boards in recent weeks, it seems that the CBS-wants-Charlie-back storyline is being perpetrated by Team Sheen. Officially, reps for CBS and Warners are no-commenting. But per the Radar and Hollywood Life stories, Moonves supposedly approached Warners execs and show producer Chuck Lorre to find some kind of scenario to end their public bickering and bring the bankable star back to TV's No. 1 comedy.

Aside from the bad feelings Sheen caused the crew after his antics led Warners to pull the plug on the season with eight episodes to go, there's the lingering high-stakes litigation.

Just last week, an industry body struck a blow to Sheen's $100 million lawsuit by ruling that the matter should go before a third-party arbitrator—as opposed to the courthouse. That was a big win for Warners.

So why would the people Sheen blasted as "trolls" now want to woo him back?

Moonves, the reports say, was spurred to action after Sheen met with Fox execs last week to brainstorm possible show ideas.

A Fox rep confirms to E! News that Sheen powwowed with Peter Rice (head of Fox's entertainment programming), Mike Darnell (who handles Fox's reality shows) and David Hill (president of Fox's sports division). But it was just a touch-base meeting.

Even if it's not with CBS or Fox, Sheen seems determined to be back on TV. We'll just have to wait to see which of the gnarly gnarlingtons want to work with him.