A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of video production on a television program . Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television networks , but upon acceptance they focus on business matters, such as budgets and contracts. Other producers are more involved with the day-to-day workings, participating in activities such as screenwriting , set design , casting , and directing.
47-686: Charles Michael Lorre ( / ˈ l ɔːr i / LOR -ee ; né Levine ; born October 18, 1952) is an American television producer , writer, director , and composer . Called the "King of Sitcoms", Lorre has created/co-created and produced several sitcoms including Cybill (1995–1998), Dharma & Greg (1997–2002), Two and a Half Men (2003–2015), The Big Bang Theory (2007–2019), Mom (2013–2021), Young Sheldon (2017–2024), and Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage (2024–present). He also served as an executive producer of Roseanne . Lorre won three Golden Globe Awards for his work on Roseanne , Cybill , and The Kominsky Method . Lorre
94-400: A Primetime Emmy Award in 1995 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for co-star Christine Baranski , and two Golden Globe Awards in 1996 for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy and Best Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy for Cybill Shepherd. Lorre signed a deal with Carsey-Werner Productions in 1994. He then moved to 20th Century Fox in 1995 to create
141-503: A Sprite commercial. Four years later, they were married on February 18, 1995. Bodhi is of Jewish descent, and Jenna was raised Catholic. When they met, he was a practicing Scientologist . She became a Scientologist as well after her husband introduced her to its teachings. Elfman is a member of the Church of Scientology . By 2001 she had attained the State of Clear , and by 2020 she
188-410: A "trademark" for Lorre, starting with Dharma & Greg and used for every one of his shows since. An Apple Macintosh computer was used for Lorre's production card on the earlier Grace Under Fire and Cybill . Typically, on the end of every episode of his productions, Lorre includes a different message that usually reads like an editorial, essay, or observation on life. A typical card might include
235-519: A Canadian actress and model, who appeared in 12 episodes of Two and a Half Men . In September 2018, Lorre married Arielle Mandelson, a wellness influencer. Lorre filed for divorce in 2022. The divorce was finalized in February 2024. Lorre gained custody of the couple’s dog Harvey, with Arielle being granted liberal visitation. Lorre was also ordered to pay $ 5 million in their divorce settlement. A judge ordered that one million dollars will be paid upon
282-825: A Comedy Series . After making her film debut in Grosse Pointe Blank (1997), she has appeared in Krippendorf's Tribe (1998), Dr. Dolittle (1998), EDtv (1999), Keeping the Faith (2000), Town & Country (2001), Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003), Clifford's Really Big Movie (2004), and Big Stone Gap (2014). Elfman has also played leading roles on other television comedies, including Courting Alex (2006), Accidentally on Purpose (2009–2010), 1600 Penn (2012–2013), Growing Up Fisher (2014), and Imaginary Mary (2017). She also had
329-419: A Golden Globe for Best Actress in 1999. To move on to his next project, Lorre signed a long-term deal with Warner Bros. Television in 2000, a relationship that continues to this day. Lorre created his fifth show, Two and a Half Men , with co-creator Lee Aronsohn . It focuses on the two Harper brothers, Charlie and Alan . Charlie is a hedonistic, successful commercial jingles composer and womanizer who owns
376-680: A Half Men . On March 12, 2009, Lorre received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame , located at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard. Three months later, Lorre received an honorary degree from the State University of New York at Potsdam and gave a keynote address at the graduation. In March 2012, Lorre was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame . Lorre has won Golden Globe Awards for Roseanne (1993), Cybill (1996), and The Kominsky Method (2019). Lorre
423-588: A UK Top 10 hit. In the early 1980s, he turned to writing scripts for animated shows; his first project was the DIC version of Heathcliff . He co-wrote the soundtrack to the 1987 television series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with Dennis Challen Brown . In the late 1980s, he shifted into writing for sitcoms, and joined the writing staff of Roseanne . Though he was fired over "irreconcilable creative differences", Lorre's time on Roseanne impressed producers, and led to his creating his first show, Frannie's Turn . It
470-507: A beach house in Malibu . Alan is a neurotic chiropractor, thrown out of his own house by his divorcing wife. The premise is that Alan worms himself into Charlie's house and clashes with his lifestyle. Alan also has a son, Jake, the "half", who comes to visit him and Charlie on weekends. Two and a Half Men premiered on CBS in 2003 and became the highest-rated sitcom in America. In 2011, CBS put
517-483: A dissolute youth until 47" and also stating he was in addiction recovery at the time. Substance-related issues are also a recurring theme in his work. He changed his surname from Levine to Lorre at age 26. After leaving school, Lorre toured the United States as a guitarist and songwriter. He wrote the song " French Kissin' " , which Deborah Harry later recorded for her 1986 Rockbird album and which became
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#1732794264467564-474: A dose of absurdity from the relationship with their less educated but socially astute neighbor. The two main protagonists are named after actor and television producer Sheldon Leonard . The show was broadcast on CBS from 2007 to 2019 and was the highest rated comedy series in the United States. It spawned a prequel spinoff, Young Sheldon , which itself led to Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage . In 2018, Lorre created The Kominsky Method , which follows
611-466: A fictional aging acting coach used to success. It stars Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin and won Lorre a Golden Globe Award in 2019. Lorre was executive producer of Mike & Molly , created by Mark Roberts , which premiered on CBS in September 2010. His seventh show, created with Gemma Baker and Eddie Gorodetsky , Mom , premiered on CBS on September 23, 2013. On March 13, 2014, CBS announced
658-516: A number of movies. In 1998, she starred alongside Richard Dreyfuss in the comedy film Krippendorf's Tribe . The film received generally negative reviews from critics. In 1999, she starred opposite Matthew McConaughey in the satirical comedy film EDtv . The film received mixed-to-positive reviews, with some criticizing its similarity to The Truman Show (1998), but was a box office flop, grossing only $ 35.2 million compared to its $ 80 million production budget. The following year, she starred in
705-593: A pay scale. Jenna Elfman Jenna Elfman (born September 30, 1971) is an American actress. She is best known for her leading role as Dharma on the ABC sitcom Dharma & Greg (1997–2002), for which she received the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy in 1999, and three nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in
752-529: A range of topics as diverse as what the Bee Gees never learned, the cancellation of Dharma & Greg , his support of Barack Obama , the competence of AOL Time Warner management, and the genesis of Two and a Half Men . The card is shown for only a few seconds at most, so longer messages require the viewer to pause at the right spot or visit Lorre's website where he posts the cards. CBS has censored Lorre's vanity cards on several occasions; Lorre posts both
799-637: A recurring role on the FX legal drama Damages in 2012, and has been a series regular on the AMC horror drama series Fear the Walking Dead since 2018. Elfman's paternal uncle is Tony Butala , lead singer of the American vocal trio The Lettermen since 1958. She is of Croatian ancestry on her father's side and was raised Roman Catholic . Elfman attended high school at St. Genevieve High School in
846-510: A variety of different producers on a television show, including showrunners , executive producers , supervising producers, coordinating producers, field producers, line producers , among other roles on a television crew . Because of the restrictions the Writers Guild of America screenwriting credit system places on writing credits, many script writers in television are credited as "producers" instead, even though they may not engage in
893-727: The 2009–10 season. In 2012, she took a recurring role in the FX legal thriller series, Damages . In 2013, Elfman starred in the NBC comedy series, 1600 Penn and later in Growing Up Fisher , which were each cancelled after a single season. She starred in the romantic comedy film, Big Stone Gap (2014) opposite Ashley Judd , and appeared in the drama film Barry about Barack Obama 's life at Columbia University in 1981. In 2017, she starred in another one-season sitcom, Imaginary Mary on ABC . Like 1600 Penn and Growing Up Fisher ,
940-607: The CCHR website as members of the board of advisers. On May 24, 2006, she was the keynote speaker at the Human Rights Hero Award event in participation with the Scientology-affiliated groups Youth for Human Rights International and Artists for Human Rights (AFHR), an organization formed with the purpose of bringing artists together with the common cause of raising awareness of human rights around
987-758: The San Fernando Valley for a year, before eventually graduating at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts ; she then attended college at California State University, Northridge (CSUN). She studied at the Westside School of Ballet, receiving a full scholarship. Elfman began her professional career as a dancer, appearing in music videos for Depeche Mode ("Halo", 1990), Anthrax ("Black Lodge", 1993), and Chris Isaak (" Somebody's Crying ", 1995), and touring with
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#17327942644671034-415: The cards. Card #493 on March 5, 2015, was a tribute to the late Leonard Nimoy , who had guest-starred on the show as the voice of Sheldon's conscience three years earlier. When Channing Dungey , chairwoman and CEO of Warner Bros. Television Studios discussed the reemergence of the sitcom in a February 2023 Deadline article, Deadline opined "There are fewer and fewer younger writers that are attracted to
1081-545: The censored and uncensored versions of the cards. During Charlie Sheen 's controversial departure from Two and a Half Men in 2011, Lorre referenced Sheen in several cards. Lorre used the vanity card for the series finale, " Of Course He's Dead ", to address the circumstances of Sheen's absence from the episode. Lorre published a compilation of his vanity cards in a coffee table book titled What Doesn't Kill Us Makes Us Bitter , released on October 16, 2012. The book takes its title from Vanity Card #1, which first aired following
1128-425: The end credits of a TV show, it will say Staff Writer, Story Editor, Executive Story Editor, Co-Producer, Producer, Supervising Producer, Co-Executive Producer, Executive Producer. (While) (s)omeone else will (also) be Executive Producer because they help to run the room, every other title is just ... writer who's been here one year, writer who's been here two years, writer who's been here three years, ... and it's just
1175-572: The execution of the ruling and the remaining four million will be paid within 30 days after Arielle vacates Lorre's properties. He has publicly discussed his decades of struggle with the autoimmune disease ulcerative colitis , along with depression , anxiety , and bouts of anger or rage , saying, "Put me in paradise and I will focus on the one thing that will make me angry." In an interview with Entertainment Weekly , he said, "I am wired on some deep level to seek out something to be worried and obsess about." Television producer There are
1222-421: The first episode of Dharma & Greg on September 24, 1997. During The Big Bang Theory episode titled "The Hook-Up Reverberation", Vanity Card #463 was displayed. It discussed Lorre's lost or matured angst along with the news that he would stop writing the vanity cards. Vanity card #464 was shown after the next episode, stating it was his last and that he felt like they would not be missed. However, he resumed
1269-401: The form, however, making finding the next Chuck Lorre trickier," with Dungey commenting "I worry that it’s becoming a bit of a lost art". When Lorre read this, he used Vanity Card #723 to ask "The next Chuck Lorre?! What the &$ @? is wrong with the one you have now?!". Lorre created a special, unnumbered vanity card for Bookie , his first show released exclusively to streaming television. In
1316-448: The live-action/animated comedy film, Looney Tunes: Back in Action . The film received mixed to positive reviews from critics and was a box-office bomb, grossing $ 68.5 million worldwide on an $ 80 million budget. In 2005, she starred and produced the romantic drama film, Touched . In 2006, Elfman returned to television with the leading role in the CBS sitcom, Courting Alex . The series
1363-681: The next project., creating Dharma & Greg in partnership with Dottie Zicklin (credited as Dottie Dartland), which premiered one year before the end of Cybill in 1997. It starred Jenna Elfman and Thomas Gibson as the title characters, whose personalities were complete opposites—Dharma's world view being more spiritual and 'free spirit'-style, instilled by "hippie" parents, contrasted with Greg's world view of structure, social status requirements, and "white collar duty" instilled by his generations of affluent parents/ancestors. The show received eight Golden Globe nominations, six Emmy Award nominations, and six Satellite Awards nominations, and Elfman won
1410-573: The responsibilities generally associated with that title. On-screen, a "producer" credit for a TV series will generally be given to each member of the writing staff who made a demonstrable contribution to the final script. The actual producer of the show (in the traditional sense) is listed under the credit "produced by". Bill Lawrence , a television screenwriter , producer, director and series creator ( Scrubs , Cougar Town and Spin City ) explained during an interview on Off Camera that: ...
1457-413: The rock band ZZ Top on their 1994 tour as a "Legs Girl". After appearing in television commercials, Elfman co-starred in the made-for-television movie Double Deception (1993) and guest-starred on Roseanne , NYPD Blue , Almost Perfect and Murder One . In 1996, she was cast as a lead character alongside Molly Ringwald and Lauren Graham in the short-lived ABC sitcom Townies . The series
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1504-434: The romantic comedy film Keeping the Faith opposite Ben Stiller and Edward Norton (who also directed). The film received generally positive reviews and grossed $ 60 million. Elfman received Satellite Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy nomination for her performance. In 2001, she appeared in the romantic comedy film Town & Country , a $ 105 million production budget box office bomb. The film
1551-486: The second season renewal of Mom . It ran for eight seasons. Controversy surrounded United States of Al , a show produced by Lorre for CBS . Released to mostly negative reviews, United States of Al and its makers were criticized for the show's humor, use of antiquated tropes, and in particular, the casting of a South-African-born Indian actor to play an Afghan lead and his use of an inauthentic accent. The unique vanity cards for Chuck Lorre Productions have become
1598-517: The series was cancelled after its first season. In 2018, Elfman was cast in the AMC horror drama series, Fear the Walking Dead playing the mysterious nurse June "Naomi / Laura" Dorie. She made her debut in the fourth season and stayed on show to the eighth and final season . In 2020, she starred in an episode of the horror anthology series, The Twilight Zone . In February 1991, she met actor Bodhi Pine Elfman (né Saboff) during an audition for
1645-468: The show on hiatus following a series of incidents of production shutdowns due to Charlie Sheen 's personal problems related to drug and alcohol abuse and greed, which culminated in the verbal attacks directed at Lorre during a radio interview. Sheen was fired from the show and filed a $ 100 million lawsuit against Lorre and Warner Bros. Television for wrongful termination. Lorre killed off Sheen's character and hired Ashton Kutcher as his replacement for
1692-465: The show's later four seasons. Lorre's next show was The Big Bang Theory with co-creator Bill Prady . It follows two genius physicists, Sheldon Cooper and Leonard Hofstadter , with few social skills who befriend their neighbor, an attractive, outgoing young woman with average intelligence and no college education. The episodes usually focus primarily on the daily lives of the men and two of their brilliant but equally socially challenged friends, with
1739-578: The show's second season, as well as three Primetime Emmy Awards nominations for the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series . Elfman also received TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Comedy nomination in 1998, as well as three Satellite Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy nominations. The show ran for five seasons until its cancellation in 2002. During her time on Dharma & Greg , Elfman starred in
1786-429: The vanity card, Lorre remarked on the irrelevancy of writing vanity cards in an age where most streaming platforms encourage credits-skipping, remarking "Why on earth am I writing vanity cards for BOOKIE?" and "If a vanity card is written on MAX , and no one reads it, was it amusing?". This vanity card on the 7th episode of Bookie , titled "The Super Bowl : God's Gift to Bookies", which aired on December 21, 2023, on MAX,
1833-727: The world. On March 27, 2008, she and actor Charlie Sheen co-hosted the Scientology-affiliated New York Rescue Workers Detoxification Project charity event at Geisha House in Hollywood. Elfman participated in fundraising activities, including donating an hour of her time for auction, donating a print of her lips, participating in a telethon fundraiser, hosting a comedy show, and asking for charity donations instead of birthday presents. Elfman participated in awareness-raising initiatives, including modeling for
1880-523: Was awarded the Critics' Choice Award for Creative Achievement in 2019. Lorre was first married to his business partner Paula Smith in 1979. They ended both partnerships after 13 years and the births of their two children. He was married to Karen Witter , an actress, model and author. They divorced in July 2010 after a decade's marriage. From 2010 to 2011, he was in a relationship with Emmanuelle Vaugier ,
1927-693: Was born in Plainview, New York , to a Jewish family and given the Hebrew name Chaim. His father, Robert, opened a luncheonette that did poorly, which caused financial problems. After graduating from high school, Lorre attended State University of New York at Potsdam , dropping out after two years to pursue a career as a songwriter. During his two years at college he "majored in rock 'n' roll and pot and minored in LSD". In 2011, he admitted to drinking heavily in his past, telling Entertainment Weekly (EW) that he "led
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1974-439: Was cancelled after 5 weeks. Lorre's second show as creator, Grace Under Fire , starred comedian Brett Butler . It premiered on ABC in 1993, and was nominated at the 52nd Golden Globe Awards for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy . His next show was Cybill , starring Cybill Shepherd . While Lorre left after two seasons, Cybill went on to air for four seasons on CBS , receiving critical acclaim and winning
2021-588: Was cancelled after one season and 15 episodes. The following year, she made her big screen debut appearing in the black comedy film, Grosse Pointe Blank . In 1997, Elfman was cast in the ABC comedy series Dharma & Greg playing the leading role of Dharma Freedom Finkelstein Montgomery. She received positive reviews from critics for her breakthrough performance. She won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy in 1999 for
2068-597: Was cancelled after one season. She guest-starred on Two and a Half Men , My Name Is Earl and Brothers & Sisters . In 2009, she appeared in the comedy films The Six Wives of Henry Lefay and Love Hurts . In 2011, she played Justin Timberlake 's character sister in the romantic comedy film, Friends with Benefits . In 2012, Elfman and her husband Bodhi started their podcast, Kicking and Screaming by Jenna and Bodhi Elfman . Elfman starred in another short-lived CBS sitcom, Accidentally on Purpose during
2115-591: Was dedicated to Marvin Miles, who died on August 3, 2023, at the age of 72. The tombstone reads: "R.I.P. Marvin Miles (October 6, 1950–August 3, 2023)". The vanity card reads: "In Memory of "Marvelous" Marvin Miles". Lorre discusses about algorithm, or bot, or some sort of silicon-based magical genie to secure the future of Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage , because Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage premiered on October 17, 2024 on CBS . Lorre won BMI Television Music Awards in 2004, 2005, 2008 and 2009 for Two and
2162-554: Was filmed in 1998, and after 12 release date changes, the film finally made it into theaters on April 27, 2001, nearly three years after filming began. It received negative reviews from critics. Elfman has also done voice-over work in the animated films Dr. Dolittle (1998) and CyberWorld (2000). After Dharma & Greg , Elfman played against the type role as a psychotic woman in the made-for-television thriller film, Obsessed (2002). She received positive review from Chicago Tribune for her performance. In 2003, she starred in
2209-590: Was on the OT VII level . Since the early 1990s Elfman had studied acting with prominent acting teacher and long-time Scientologist Milton Katselas , but cut ties with him in 2004 when Katselas had fallen into disfavor with Scientology. In 2001, Elfman opened a Scientology mission in San Francisco. In 2005 she appeared at the grand opening of Citizens Commission on Human Rights ' museum, Psychiatry: An Industry of Death . She and husband Bodhi are listed on
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