Chuck Lorre Q&A on Caring for and Feeding Sitcom Stars, and Why the WGA Strike Was a Blow to Democracy

Chuck Lorre is making the rounds to promote his sitcom memoir, about hatching and producing some of the biggest hits in TV comedy. The unconventional Long Island-born comedy veteran got into the game and went on to create The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, Young Sheldon, Bookie, Dharma & Greg, Mike & Molly and […]

EXCLUSIVE: To promote the sitcom, Chuck Lorre recounts his memories of hatching and making EPs of some of the sitcom's biggest hits. The eccentric Long Island-born musician broke into the comedy game, contributing to The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, Young Sheldon, Bookie, Dharma & Greg, Mike & Molly, Mom and others. Lore's book includes those post-credits conceit cards, plus marked test scripts from Two and a Half Men, The Kominsky Method, and The Big Bang Theory.

Chuck Lorre Says CBS Hated Melissa McCarthy, 'Mike and Molly' Cast: 'They Wanted a Hot Young Woman'

"Stewart Saves the Universe" creators are meta on returning to the "Big Bang" scene, a multi-camera run in the season 1 finale, and plans for season 2.

While it helped create stars like Jim Parsons, Melissa McCarthy, Allison Janney, and others who made good on sudden fame and fortune, much of the narrative driving this memoir focuses on troubled stars who used their sudden fame for narcissism and made life unnecessarily difficult for those around them.

Deadline: I've covered most of the film business, where writers are often treated as disposable and directors rule. I always thought writer/creator producers like you ruled the TV business until I read your description of the horrible treatment you had to endure at the hands of Roseanne, Tom Arnold, Sybil Shepherd, Brett Butler, Charlie Sheen and a few others. Clearly, they were in power.

CHUCKLORRE: You're absolutely right that it's an author-driven medium. Back in the day, you were doing 24, 25 shows in nine months. And especially a four-camera comedy, the cinematography is minimal. You have four cameras aimed at two people. There's not a lot of directing going on other than performing, performing, performing. I think the nature of the massive amount of drama you're defining in such a short amount of time should be writer-driven. It could not be done any other way. But of course, as I've proven, author-centric can be an absolute apocalyptic situation.

DEADLINE: Why does your book seem like these troubled souls flock to you like butterflies?

Deadline: This is a recurring theme in your career, was there any sense of "why me?"

Lore: Bad luck? I've been thinking about this lately because I'm doing this book tour and I get asked a lot of questions about that stuff. And one thing that seems clear in retrospect is the American dream of success, especially in show business. I think there is an implicit promise, or maybe a very overt promise that completes you, that fills your heart and soul. And you will be happy and satisfied. If someone is miserable and angry and scared and paranoid and usually successful, rich beyond their wildest dreams, world famous...they will be world famous, very successful, miserable, angry, terrified. It does not solve the basic discomfort of being human

Deadline: You kind of answered my next question. I came feeling that these were unhappy people who had seeds of narcissism, and then those seeds were watered and fertilized with thousands of dollars. Is that too simplistic a way of explaining how these people got into behavior and power that probably now makes them look back and go, "Should I have been harder on the people working around me?"

Lore: I think you're right. But the other side of the story is that I have worked with people who are down to earth. Loving, caring, good, decent people, family people who have enjoyed incredible success and remain good, honest, professional, talented and loving families. So I think the magic trick is success. I have seen this over and over again. It is a cultural thing. I hate to be flippant about it, but I think we've been taught this in Western culture - that if you succeed, you'll be happy. You will experience happiness. There is no question about it. I find it ridiculous to despise success. It's not about that, it's about whether it solves the insecurity and the fear and all the things that keep you up at night. does not have It's just not like that. I wish it would It would be great, but it isn't.

Deadline: The benefit of writing a memoir is that you look back at how you got to where you are. After coming out on the other side, what might you have done to arrest or at least delay the birth of these talents. People who become powerful monsters?

Lore: I don't think I have anything to do with creating monsters.

DEADLINE: I mean, could you have done more to arrest or delay that drive in these people?

Lore: I did the best I could with who I was at the time. I wrote page 1 of this book and it actually encouraged me to keep going and keep writing. Page 1 of the book basically makes it clear that I did the best I could at the time, and that was all I could do. So, what I could change is not what I could change at that time. If I were a more evolved and mature human being, wouldn't it swell? Of course, but this is ridiculous. What happened happened and I did my best. It's important to always mention, I don't carry a lot of regrets. Some things with my dad, but as far as this career goes, every misstep, every stupid decision I made, every bad choice, led me to this place.

And if I'm not grateful for what happened to me, [I] have a problem. I'm incredibly grateful for the way my life has turned out, and that includes being okay with mistakes, missteps, poor choices, whatever.

Deadline: Two and a Half Men is kind of like my night light when I wind down and go to sleep. I have seen every episode several times. I thought it was very well made and written, and the cast was fantastic. I had breakfast with Charlie Sheen before he released it all. He reminded me of the werewolf the morning after a rampage, with blood on his face, wondering how this could have happened. He seemed to want nothing more than another chance to prove that the explosion shouldn't be his epitaph. He knows that he took the world by storm and was very good at it before he ended it with the drugs he was taking. Now, one of the original cast members, Conchata Ferrell, has passed away, but let's say the network comes to you with a sequel. Charlie has escaped from Rose's Silence of the Lambs dungeon, which was mentioned in the last episodes. He returns home and has to share the place with Alan and Walden. Bring back Jon Cryer, Angus T. Jones, Holland Taylor, and whoever else, and you might get a few more seasons. What would it take to tempt you back for another trip?

Laure: I can't answer that question. I really can't. i don't know I mean, to follow it up, I guess, a sequel or whatever you want to call it, if there's a really powerful comedic locomotive, that's the reason to do it. To do this for financial reasons? I think that would be a terrible mistake. It should be like, "Man, this is a great opportunity to create a great comedy." That should drive the decision, not money.

Deadline: For me, watching back-to-back episodes with Charlie is like watching Three Stooges shorts with Curly Howard. But it was heartbreaking to see Charlie go from the handsome lothario to this gaunt man whose time was cut short. Those drugs took their toll, he said bitterly, and that's when he put you at the center of his media rant. You're under pressure from CBS president Les Moonves to keep it going because the ratings are still high and your star insults you at every turn. Is there a way you can describe that turbulent moment in your life?

Lore: There are two parts to it. One, when it started to descend, I was in absolute denial. I just didn't want to believe that this thing was exploding. I was so deliberately trying to believe that everything would work out - very naive of me, but I was here at the time. It was the best I could do, be in denial and keep working, keep the show going and then hope it all worked out. It was infuriating when it completely blew up and I was attacked every day. It was humiliating. It was really painful

LORRE: I never saw that coming. I did not understand what was happening. I kind of understand that people are making this story complicated, but it's just a story about addiction and alcoholism. It's not really complicated. This shit will kill you. I don't care who you are, how famous or rich you are or how talented you are. This is a death sentence. If you're lucky, you'll get away with it, but more often than not, it's a death sentence. I am so thankful that Charlie is on the other side of this. We reconciled and worked on Bookie [Shane appeared in several episodes of Sebastian Maniscalco's sitcom for HBO]. After all that darkness, it was really a great experience to do this with him.

Deadline: You are tasked with replacing Charlie. Hugh Grant brings a fascinating dynamic. How close did you become with him?

Lore: That was absolutely true. And I was serious about it because I was very worried that if I left, someone else would take over. I did not want this to happen. I wasn't willing to let someone else step in and take my job. So I was trying to make that happen with Mr. Grant, even to the extent that he said he couldn't do it in front of a live audience, I said, "Fine, no audience." This is 180 degrees from my belief that what we do is basically a bastardized version of theater. It belongs to the audience. But I was willing to do literally anything to keep it going, to please the power and not lose it. And yes, everything in the book is true, that he was turning down $750 a week. And God bless the guy - he decided it wasn't him, and walked away with an astronomical amount of money.

Deadline: Do you admire rejection?

Laure: Yes. It's an artist, no, it's not for me as an artist." Good for you, Mr. Grant.

DEADLINE: Why were you so adamant about not giving up?

Lorre: There were about 150 people working on that show, and as it went on, we kept everybody in the game for another four years. And I think I mentioned this in the book. Remember the phone call with Mr. Munoz. I told him, "We don't have Charlie. Charlie is gone. Hugh Grant is gone. I think we have to accept that we're done. The show is over." And he said, "Chuck, there's a show on CBS next fall called Two and a Half Men. Check it out." He actually offered me a date with Ashton. Ashton Kutcher adapted beautifully to this type of comedy and was great to work with. He was a true gentleman and brought a lot of life back into a show that had gone through serious gloom. He was a true healing presence as well as a truly talented actor.

Deadline: I've heard him talk about his entrepreneurial side, which has made him a ground-floor investor in things like Uber. It was understandable that he might see the show as a distressed property that he could save.

Lore: It went very smoothly. He was a wonderful partner in this entire transition. Talk about a gung-ho actor, man. He was ready for anything we asked him to do. He said: OK, let's try. He has a great sense of humor about himself. Looking back on those four years, 88 episodes with Ashton, it was a gift to everyone involved. To keep going, to keep working and having a good time. And then all the darkness was gone. There was no drama. There was no conflict. We used to perform programs hoping to make people laugh. It couldn't be simpler.

DEADLINE: You write that you saw the chemistry between Charlie and Jon Cryer. Did you see that for a second? The dynamic worked just as well and it wasn't a cheap shot at Charlie's show.

Laure: I can't tell you exactly when I knew, but here's what I knew: I had Jon Cryer, Holland Taylor, Conchata Ferrell, Angus T. Jones. I had this fantastic cast, and an incredible writing staff, a really deep, deep staff. And Ashton is a pro who totally understands the dynamic of domestic comedy, which was basically it. Performing the show did not require much anxiety. We actually had a great time for another four years and I'm very grateful for that.

Deadline: One of the best anecdotes of misbehavior comes while working on Roseanne. Her boyfriend Tom Arnold becomes a writer/producer and complains that someone there stole his love letters and sold his affair with Roseanne to the National Enquirer. Take us through the cracks of that file.

Laure: I just remember being told that he hired a detective who probably solved it in a day. As I recall, Tom was given a check for $25.

Deadline: How do you learn to deal with such strange behavior? You know how to put on a show, and you have to put up with distractions that don't make it better…

Laure: You put your head down, close your curtains and go to work every day.

DEADLINE: You barely write about Scientologists after rejecting the faith. You got to know Jenna Elfman very well when you were doing Dharma & Greg. When you approached him to do another series, he said as a Scientologist that he considers you a repressive person and will not work with you. Your answer to him was a four-letter word. How surprising was it all?

Lore: I don't think I'm doing that well.

Deadline: If you had one more shot, what would you do?

LORRE: "Well, thank you for your attention. Have a nice day." But I was very angry. I thought about expectations. A very wise lady once told me that expectations are the building blocks of resentment. And my expectations were not met there, so I got angry.

DEADLINE: You assume that the 2007-2008 WGA strike destroyed democracy in this country with reality programming and Donald Trump.