Chuck Lorre

'Half Men' creator hopes to make another 'Bang'

By ANTHONY D'ALESSANDRO

Chuck Lorre
Lorre

� Judd Apatow
� Seth Rogen
� Michael Cera
� Jonah Hill

� Tim Allen
� Rowan Atkinson
� Kevin James
� Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson
� Adam Sandler
� John Travolta
� John C. Reilly

� Jason Reitman & Diablo Cody
� The Hot Fuzz Guys
� Walt Becker
� Tyler Perry

� Brad Bird
� The Simpsons troika
� Jerry Seinfeld

� Jim Gaffigan
� Demetri Martin
� Katt Williams
� Mel Brooks & Thomas Meehan

� The Lonely Island Guys
� Perez Hilton
� Funnyordie.com

� Bill Engvall
� Jenna Fischer
� Tina Fey
� Bryan Fuller
� Flight of the Conchords
� Tracy Morgan
� Steven Koonin
� Chuck Lorre
� Neil Patrick Harris
� Ricky Gervais
� Jaime Pressly
� Conan O'Brien
� Jon Stewart
� Amy Poehler
� Sarah Silverman

The creator of TV's top-rated comedy, "Two and a Half Men," is now working to establish another perennial on the CBS sked with his new sitcom, "The Big Bang Theory."

"Bang" angles on two nerdy physicists who live across the hall from a knockout blonde. Based on co-creator Bill Prady's experiences with computer programming savants in the '80s, "Bang" has averaged about 9 million viewers season to date, outperforming its lead-in. Such solid numbers were sexy enough for CBS to give it a full season pickup. Meanwhile, Lorre's "Men" remains TV's most-watched comedy with 14 million viewers despite airing in a tough time slot.

Point of view

"First and foremost, you have to care about the characters," says Lorre, a former pic composer and guitarist. "There is no joke in the world that will make the show work unless the audience cares about the characters."