Sheen's scandal doesn't have CBS too worried yet

PASADENA, Calif. — The folks at CBS are a little bit worried about how Charlie Sheen's latest scandal will affect their top-rated sitcom, "Two and a Half Men."

But only a little.

Even though Sheen faces possible criminal charges of domestic violence against his third wife, Brooke Mueller.

"Well, right now we're being very sensitive to the fact that this is a very personal and very private matter for Charlie," said CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler. "There's been no impact on the network right now. The show is proceeding along its regular project schedule. … Right now it is business as usual for us."

If Sheen ends up behind bars — and, at this point, he hasn't even been charged with anything — that would be a problem for the show. It's hard to rehearse and shoot a sitcom when the star is in jail.

But the fact is that none of Sheen's other scandals have affected the success of "Men." After all, he was a Hollywood bad boy with a remarkably, um, colorful life long before he was cast as — well, as basically himself — in "Two and a Half Men."

Out-of-wedlock father. Accidentally shot his then-fiancee, Kelly Preston. Brief, bad marriage. Relationships with porn stars. Drug abuse. Drug charges. Drug convictions. Parole violations. Heidi Fleiss' hookers. Loud, bad marriage to Denise Richards. And those are just the, um, highlights.

Nobody's saying that Sheen's ability to survive — no, thrive — despite his travails is a good thing. But it is definitely a thing.

None of that has in any way affected the ratings of "Men," which remains TV's most popular comedy.

It's not like when CBS canceled "Pee-wee's Playhouse" — a Saturday morning show aimed mostly at kids — after Pee-wee (Paul Reubens) got caught, um, exposing himself in a porn theater. It's not like when CBS canceled "The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour" after America's sweethearts announced they were divorcing.

It's not like Tiger Woods' scandalous behavior, which is so at odds with what was his squeaky clean image.

Sheen's TV character, Charlie Harper, drinks too much and sleeps around. His real life isn't exactly at odds with his TV image.

And Sheen's personal problems have not, to date, hurt the production schedule of "Two and a Half Men." The day after taping the first post-Christmas episode of the sitcom, creator/executive producer Chuck Lorre said the evening "went extremely well."

"We had a great week," Lorre said. "And the audience was wonderful last night. So we're just going about our business.

"Charlie is a consummate pro. He shows up and he delivers. And last night was one of our strongest episodes. It was just terrific."