BURBANK, Calif. — It isn't unusual for a TV series to start struggling a bit as it nears 100 episodes. Even if it's not obvious to viewers, writers and producers are having to work harder to come up with fresh scripts.
Not a problem for "Two and a Half Men," according to creator/executive Lee Aronsohn.
"Believe it or not, the last two years we found the story process actually easier than it was the first couple of years," Aronsohn said. "In the first couple of years, we were still trying to figure out who these people were and what this show was. And now it's only been I think the last two years we've really hit a stride.
His partner, creator/executive producer Chuck Lorre, concurred. He said that it's been "wonderful" since the writing staff started working on the upcoming season back in June.
"This series is alive and well and the stories are coming, and they're great stories because we have great characters," Lorre said. "And we've got a young man who's growing up, and he's going to be more challenging."
"Yeah, I am," interjected Jon Cryer, who plays Alan Harper on the hit CBS sitcom.
Lorre, of course, was referring to the "Half" in "Two and a Half Men." Angus T. Jones, who turns 14 on Oct. 8, plays Jake, who's more or less the same age.
"We're putting Jake in junior high, so that's big transition for him," Aronsohn said.
"From a writing perspective, it's better for us because the challenges are greater and there's more comedy to play," Lorre said. "He's going to start bringing home girls. His life gets more complicated. As writers, we're thrilled."
It's a bonus as far as the cast is concerned, too.
"It is amazing to have a kid growing up on a show," said Holland Taylor, who plays Jake's grandmother, Evelyn. "On some shows, kids ... don't really change. He's changed tremendously and the writing has shown that. He's growing up and it's a whole different set of problems."
And, while Jake is growing up, he's still a kid. A kid in the middle of what is, um, one of the more adult comedies on network TV, at least in terms of the plotlines and double entendres.
"If you're watching the show with your children ... you probably shouldn't be," Lorre said. "But if you are, it should sail over children's heads."
Is a lot of it still sailing over Jones' head?
"Pretty much," he said.
It's not all sailing over Jake's head anymore, however.
"The real difference in the way that we're writing now as opposed to the way we were writing in the first year is the character understands more," Lorre said. "The tone is the same, but the character of Jake, as he grows up, is a little more plugged in, a little more aware."
Not that there will be any drastic changes in "Two and a Half Men" this season. Charlie (Charlie Sheen) and Alan will still be at the center of the stories.
"We do have a character who's changing and growing and our two brothers are also evolving," Aronsohn said.
"We kind of write them as going to hell, but evolving is another word," Lorre said.
ONE OF THE REASONS "Two and a Half Men" was a hit right out of the box is that Charlie Sheen is, in a lot of ways, playing Charlie Sheen. And Jon Cryer isn't that far removed from his character.
Jones is the one who's the least like his character.
"You guys should know (that) we play him as an airhead, but he's a straight-A student, a terrific athlete, a great musician," Lorre said. "He's a remarkable young man."
JONES HAS TIME to be "doing sports ... or basketball or a scooter" on the set, according to Taylor, because he gets his work done faster than his older castmates.
"There's a lot of time that we spend the entire week trying to learn these words. Unless you're Angus," Sheen said. "You look at it once and say, 'Presto!"'
Really?
"Yeah, pretty much," Jones said. "I just remember stuff."
IT'S A MAJOR MILESTONE for a sitcom to make it to a fifth season, which takes it past the 100-episode mark and clearly into the syndication market. Lorre said he knew "Two and a Half Men" would be a success "the night we shot the pilot."
"I had no doubt about it," he said. "Watching these guys together that first episode, it was so exciting. It was one of those nights that you just go, 'My (gosh)! This is way beyond what we thought it could possibly be."
Cryer wasn't as confident, but he had hopes.
"It was my birthday, actually. I was cutting the cake and I said, 'I hope the same people are here 10 years from now,"' Cryer said. "And so I'm much more optimistic that will come to pass now."
"Ten years?" Sheen exclaimed, perhaps foreshadowing contract negotiations to come.
Passing the torch
Charlie Sheen has been a fixture in the tabloids for years, what with his sometimes messy personal life and personal problems. But he's not all that worried about it.
"Well, I mean, there's several people recently — at least in the last year — that have snatched that torch from me," he said. "I just stay at home and let it happen, basically. But I feel for them."
And he does have at least a bit of indirect advice for the Lindsay Lohans and Britney Spears of the world.
"It's not all that complicated to hire a car or just to carry some extra cab fare at some point," Sheen said.
E-mail: pierce@desnews.com