CBS has allowed two of its largest franchises try an unprecedented little trick. Writers for
CSI will write an episode of
Two and a Half Men, and writers for
Two and a Half Men will write an episode of
CSI. Both episodes are tentatively set to air in May. Earlier in the year, there were rumblings that the
CSI episode, written by
Two and Half Men show runners Chuck Lorre and Lee Aronsohn, revolved around a female sitcom star who is killed by someone fed up with her back-stabbing ways. The episode is, according to TV Guide's Michael Ausiello, entitled “Two and a Half Deaths.” Despite the silly title, there's some history here that makes this episode idea quite sinister, and that history involves Cybill Shepherd.
Lorre and Aronsohn were formerly writers and executive producers on the CBS sitcom
Cybill, which starred, of course, Cybill Shepherd. The show was something of a hit for awhile, but the rumors (which were apparently true) swirling around the show were persistent and consistent: Cybill Shepherd was a difficult (understatement) woman to work with/for. Cybill Shepherd, perhaps as a result, has faded into oblivion, while Lorre and Aronsohn currently helm the highest rated half-hour comedy in the country. And now, on their episode of
CSI, they will take the ultimate revenge by killing off Cybill Shepherd once and for all.
The Cybill cypher in the
CSI episode is named Annabelle Bundt and is the lead character in a popular sitcom. The big news today is that they've cast the part of Annabelle and given it to none other than Peg Bundy. That's right, Katey Sagal, veteran comic actress, will play the part of Cybill Shepherd in a
CSI episode written by the creators of
Two and a Half Men. That was a weird sentence to type. All in all, you have to admire the CBS brass for allowing this little experiment to go down. Should be fun.
-Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer
Source: TV Guide
(Image Courtesy of Showtime)