Now that Charlie Sheen has officially been fired from Two and a Half Men, will the show go on? INSIDE EDITION has the story.
Can Two and a Half Men survive without its star, Charlie Sheen?
TV Guide Business Editor Stephen Battaglio tells INSIDE EDITION, "If you can still have a show on called Two and a Half Men, even with a new star, people are more likely to sample that and give it a chance."
This wouldn't be the first time a hit TV show has replaced its star.
When Wayne Rogers left MASH in 1975, Mike Farrell stepped in, and the show still became an all-time classic.
Farrah Fawcett became a worldwide phenomenon during her one full season on Charlie's Angels, but her replacement Cheryl Ladd also went on to became a big star.
Shelley Long left Cheers after five seasons but the show didn't skip a beat when she was replaced with Kirstie Alley.
Viewers will now be equally curious about whoever replaces Sheen.
"I think they'll tune in at least once out of curiosity to see who replaces Charlie Sheen, but it will have to continue to be a really funny show," says Battaglio.
A new star doesn't always click. Suzanne Somers is forever identified with Three's Company, but her replacement Priscilla Barnes is largely forgotten.
And when Michael J. Fox left Spin City to battle Parkinson's disease he was replaced by Charlie Sheen. The show was cancelled two seasons later.
Now the focus is shifting to who might replace Sheen on Two and a Half Men. Names being discussed include John Stamos, Rob Lowe, and Jeremy Piven.
"They're going to have to create a new character. The person is not going to come in and play Charlie Sheen's role," Battaglio says.
INSIDE EDITION caught up with Melissa Joan Hart, who starred in Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, at Kellogg's "Share Your Breakfast" for children in New York. She said she thinks Two and a Half Men can succeed without Charlie Sheen.
"When stars of shows have left or have gotten a little too big for their britches, other people come in and replace them and those shows do just fine," Hart said.
