Chuck Lorre's memoir 'Sitcom' revisits Roseanne, Charlie Sheen and his years in Scientology

Chuck Lorre, the writer and producer behind Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory, has published a memoir that looks back at some of the most public fights of his television career. The book, Sitcom, came out on October 13, 2026.

The book covers a lot of ground. Lorre writes about a decade he spent in Scientology, which he called "one of my darker secrets" in a Q&A with the Los Angeles Times published the same day. Los Angeles Times He also recounts the meltdown of Charlie Sheen during the run of Two and a Half Men, a sitcom that Sheen starred in before he left the show.

Several of Lorre's past co-workers appear in the pages too. The book discusses Brett Butler, Cybill Shepherd and Roseanne Barr, and it describes his clashes with some of them. Variety The Hollywood Reporter notes that Lorre was fired from Roseanne in 1992. The Hollywood Reporter

The sharpest exchange so far is over writing credits. In Sitcom, Lorre claims that Tom Arnold, who produced Barr's Roseanne, demanded that writers add his name to scripts. Arnold answered on X, calling Lorre "a terrible human, an angry dry drunk who lies every time he opens his mouth."

Barr has now sided with Arnold. She told The Hollywood Reporter that she agreed with his position on the credits. The Hollywood Reporter

Credits matter in this business because they name the people who wrote an episode. Who gets listed can affect a writer's standing and pay, so a claim about a name on a script is more than old gossip.

Lorre has been presenting the book as a look at how he built his sitcom hits and worked as an executive producer. Deadline The memoir is now on shelves, and the disputed accounts in it are the parts drawing the most attention. Arnold's response and Barr's comments are the latest voices added to the record, and the book's account stands as Lorre's own version of those events.