James Burrows saved a key Two and a Half Men casting, Chuck Lorre says
Chuck Lorre is looking back at the crucial part James Burrows played in Two and a Half Men — and why that contribution mattered more than you think.
On the podcast Dinner’s On Me with Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Chuck Lorre said the late James Burrows didn’t just direct pilots — he changed the trajectory of shows before they even aired. Lorre recalled that when he was putting together Two and a Half Men, Burrows personally vouched for key casting choices with then–CBS chief Les Moonves, clearing the way for Jon Cryer and a young Angus T. Jones.
“He also intervened on the casting of Two and a Half Men, reassuring Mr. (Les) Moonves that it would be okay,” Lorre said. “I couldn't reassure. Jimmy could. They would listen to Jimmy. Jimmy had such gravitas.”
Lorre said Burrows’ word carried the kind of weight that could settle nerves at the highest levels, which made all the difference during the show’s fragile early days.
That quiet power was built over decades. Burrows’ fingerprints are on a generation of sitcoms, from Taxi to Friends to Will & Grace, and his pilots and early episodes became the foundation for long-running hits.
The Vegas prediction
Lisa Kudrow has her own “Jim Burrows moment.” On Fresh Air, she remembered that, before Friends premiered, Burrows flew the six leads to Las Vegas on a Warner Bros. private jet and took them to Spago — with a prediction they’d never forget.
“And he took us to Spago and said, ‘Pay attention. This is the last time the six of you can be out in public like this and not be recognized.’”
Kudrow said they watched the first episode on the plane. Burrows handed each cast member $200 to gamble and sent them off to enjoy the night — a celebratory calm before the storm of fame that followed exactly as he said it would.
James Burrows died on June 19, 2026 .