The Roseanne cancellation and re-revival have inspired various reactions from celebrities and industry insiders around Hollywood, but few can react to it from the unique perspective of the Two and a Half Men cast. While Charlie Sheen used that time to seize an opportunity to petition the CBS series getting revival of its own, Jon Cryer stayed silent about the issue. Now, the actor is speaking out, not through throwing support to his fired co-star's revival efforts, but rather to empathize with most of those involved in the Roseanne situation:
I know some people involved with it. I don't know Roseanne personally. I don't know her beliefs. Obviously I've been in situations where the views and actions of a star have imperiled a lot of other people's jobs. So I have a lot of empathy for people in that situation. I get frustrated because this can be the most wonderful, happy job that you can have. You can bring so much positivity into people's lives, and it's really frustrating when people throw that away.
Jon Cryer's understanding comes from the drama he experienced when Charlie Sheen was fired from Two and a Half Men in 2011, even though he didn't mention Sheen by name. CBS didn't drop that series like ABC did with Roseanne following Roseanne Barr's behavior, but there was certainly the same question of whether Two and a Half Men had a future after one of its sorta-titular leads was suddenly fired. Cryer told Us Weekly that while he couldn't speak about Barr or her beliefs personally, he gets frustrated to see people ruining their coworkers' opportunities to bring positivity into other people's lives, not to mention also destroying one's own high-profile job offering the same positive output.
One may assume that with ABC ordering up the Roseanne-free spinoff The Conners, the worst of the cast's trials and tribulations has passed, although Jon Cryer hinted otherwise. Cryer spoke from experience and said that while the cast and crew may have saved the show in the short-term, keeping a relaunch alive takes a lot of effort.
I love the format of multi-camera sitcom. I think it can be so wonderful and they're a wonderful group of actors. So I wish them well. Obviously I've been there when a show has had to be relaunched and there's a lot of ... it ain't easy. We got lucky in our case; we ran for four more years. Godspeed, guys.
Two and a Half Men certainly did get lucky, replacing Charlie Sheen with a post-That 70s Show Ashton Kutcher and remaining on television for several more seasons before officially hanging things up. Cryer didn't go into specifics regarding what relaunch difficulties he was alluding to in his quote, although one obvious question for ABC is how The Conners will recreate the feel and atmosphere of Roseanne without the original series' title character. Additionally, there are surely some complicated feelings amongst the cast and crew in regards to Barr's firing and the franchise's future, which could create some tension on the set. That said, the cast responses so far have seemed to be universally in favor of how things have been handled.
Fans will have to wait and see if any issues arise during The Conners' filming process, and be ready to see the show on ABC on Tuesdays this fall at 8:00 p.m. ET. For a look at what's coming to television in the meantime, head on over to our summer premiere guide.
