# Chuck Lorre's memoir

Pop culture · Heat 2.4 / 10 · 2 shows · 11m airtime

Chuck Lorre's memoir Sitcom, published October 13, 2026, recounts his sitcom career, including CBS's resistance to casting Jon Cryer, a proposal to put a thinner actress in a fat suit instead of Melissa McCarthy, the Big Bang Theory pilot as a writing failure, and Lorre's insistence that he did not fire Charlie Sheen. In an Entertainment Tonight interview, Lorre adds that CBS's president told him to find a Sheen replacement, and that an approach to Hugh Grant fell through before Ashton Kutcher was cast. Reporting since puts Grant's offer at $750,000 an episode and Kutcher's run at 88 episodes over four more years, and adds that Les Moonves shut down a series Lorre wanted with Allison Janney. The discussion centers…

Page: https://boilpoints.com/point/chuck_lorres_memoir_3464048416

## Segments

- [Entertainment Tonight](https://boilpoints.com/u/entertainmenttonight), 2026-10-10, 1:22 to 4:53: **Interviews Lorre ahead of his memoir**. Kevin Frazier's interview with Chuck Lorre ahead of his memoir Sitcom: CBS's resistance to Jon Cryer, the fat-suit suggestion for Melissa McCarthy, the failed Big Bang pilot, clashes with Brett Butler and Cybill Shepherd, and the Charlie Sheen fallout, including the failed Hugh Grant approach before Ashton Kutcher. New angle: Lorre says CBS's president told him to find a Sheen replacement and a Hugh Grant approach fell through before Kutcher.
- [The Town with Matthew Belloni](https://boilpoints.com/u/thetownwithmatthewbelloni), 2026-10-28, 1:40 to 3:31: **Sketches Lorre's career before the interview**. Opens the interview with a career sketch of Lorre: four shows at once, one Emmy, the difficult-talent reputation, and the memoir Sitcom, which takes shots at Moonves, Scientology and Sheen. Setup for the conversation, not new reporting.
- [The Town with Matthew Belloni](https://boilpoints.com/u/thetownwithmatthewbelloni), 2026-10-28, 16:21 to 20:29: **Recounts the Sheen replacement in Lorre's own words**. Lorre tells the replacement story in his own words: Moonves telling him there would be a Two and a Half Men on the fall schedule, the Hugh Grant approach, and 88 episodes with Kutcher. Adds the size of the Grant offer and the Moonves ultimatum. New angle: Hugh Grant passed on $750,000 per episode to replace Charlie Sheen; Kutcher did 88 episodes over four more years.
- [The Town with Matthew Belloni](https://boilpoints.com/u/thetownwithmatthewbelloni), 2026-10-28, 22:04 to 23:04: **Pulls the Moonves casting fights out of the memoir**. Pulls the Moonves casting fights out of the memoir: his people called Cryer the death of comedy, and he shut down a series with Allison Janney as lead, though he raised no objection to her on Mom. Lorre says he has not kept in touch. New angle: Les Moonves shut down a series Lorre wanted to do with Allison Janney as the lead.