Chuck Lorre is the 67-year-old director, writer, and producer that is commonly referred to as the “King of Sitcoms.” With a net worth of $600 million, Lorre has been building his career since the ’80s. And while he may be known for his iconic TV sitcoms, he got his start in composing and songwriting, which he still dabbles with today.
Before becoming the multi-millionaire sitcom king that we’ve come to know today, he’s worked on various shows like Roseanne, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and My Two Dads. But today, we’re taking a look at 10 of his greatest projects and ranking them from least to greatest.
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DISJOINTED
Fans had high hopes for Netflix’s Disjointed due to having Kathy Bates as the leading character. However, it only lasted for one season. Bates plays Ruth Whitefeather Feldman, a woman who is at the forefront of legalizing weed and opens her own dispensary.
She hires her son and other young cannabis lovers to run her shop but they get into legal battles with the FDA and the like. Sadly, a little over a year after being on the popular streaming site, Netflix canceled the series.
GRACE UNDER FIRE
Chuck Lorre both created and produced Grace Under Fire back in 1993. It was one of his first sitcoms after Frannie’s Turn was canceled. The show ran for five seasons from 1993 to 1995 and starred funny-gal Brett Butler.
The show was about a single mother of three dealing with the ups and downs of raising a family by herself. The show did incredibly well for the first three seasons but slowly started dropping in ranks due to Butler’s personal issues. Off set, she was dealing with addiction issues and apparently start acting erratically to the cast, which led to a toxic set.
CYBILL
In 1995, Lorre created Cybill; a show about an actress in her 40’s who was also a twice-divorced, single mother of two. The sitcom had breakout stars and great storylines and starred Cybill Shepherd, Christina Baranski, Alicia Witt, and Dedee Pfeiffer.
The show went on to win actress Christine Baranski a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress. And although it only lasted for four seasons, it won two Golden Globe Awards!
DHARMA & GREG
Dharma & Greg was the fourth show to Lorre’s lineup. Starring Jenna Elfman and Thomas Gibson, Dharma & Greg was about two people who got married on the first date even though they were completely different.
They fell head over heels for each other and made it official despite their obvious differences. With Greg having the traditional Ivy League upbringing and Dharma being raised by hippies, you can imagine the controversial moments these two find themselves in. The show lasted for five seasons from 1997 to 2002 and landed Jenna Elfman a Golden Globe for her role as Dharma. The show itself went on to win nine awards out of the dozens it was nominated for.
YOUNG SHELDON
Young Sheldon is the newest of projects for Lorre as it’s a spinoff from his mega-hit The Big Bang Theory. Kicking off in 2017, the show focuses on the youth of a young Sheldon Cooper. With the help of the original Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons), he and Lorre worked on bringing Young Sheldon to life.
The show takes place in the ’80s and ’90s when Cooper is just a nine-year-old boy in high school. We see his life in East Texas as he tries to understand physical interactions, friendships, and fitting in with a genius IQ. The show is currently on its third season and has already won a Young Artist Award for Iain Armitage’s role as Sheldon Cooper.
THE KOMINSKY METHOD
Created by Lorre, The Kominsky Method is a comedy on Netflix revolving around a former actor who is now an acting coach. Starring as Sandy Kominsky is Hollywood legend, Michael Douglas. Alongside Douglas, we can find Alan Arkin, Nancy Travis, and Sarah Baker.
The show began in 2018 and is currently in its second season. Thus far, the show has already been a smash and has won two Golden Globes: one for Douglas’s work and one for Best Comedy. The Kominsky Method may be young but it’s a show on a rise.
MIKE & MOLLY
Lorre didn’t create Mike & Molly but he was the executive producer of the hit show. Starring Melissa McCarthy and Billy Gardell, the show is based around two people who find love in an overeaters support group. Mike is an officer who is often found with his partner Carl and Molly is a teacher and a writer.
Both McCarthy and Gardell had great chemistry and the writing was very well-done. The show went on to run for six seasons and went on to win a Primetime Emmy Award and a Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Award.
MOM
Mom is currently in its seventh season and has been on since 2013. Created by Lorre himself, Mom stars Anna Faris and Allison Janey as a distant mother/daughter duo.
With both their characters dealing with addiction issues, they’re both trying to rebuild their relationships along with their sobriety. The show has done a phenomenal job at touching base on deep subjects with a dash of humility and hope. Mom has already signed on to do an eighth season and has won two Primetime Emmy Awards.
TWO AND A HALF MEN
Two and a Half Men is one of Chuck Lorre’s most successful sitcoms. Starring Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer, and Angus T. Jones, the show was about father and son duo–Alan and Jake—moving in with their playboy brother and uncle Charlie Harper.
We saw the brothers who were polar opposites learn and grow from each other but also get on each other’s nerves. The show did remarkably well, running from 2003 to 2015. And over the course of 12 years, the show has been nominated almost 50 times for a Primetime Emmy Award. Sadly, Sheen was battling inner demons and entered rehab a few times, causing some instability in the show. He eventually left the show and Ashton Kutcher took his place, but it didn’t last. But regardless of Sheen’s dismissal, this is definitely one of Lorre’s most successful shows.
BIG BANG THEORY
The Big Bang Theory is definitely one of Lorre’s best projects to-date. Fro 12 seasons, we followed the unique lives of Sheldon Cooper, Howard Hofstadter, Raj Koothrappali, and Howard Wollowitz. Fans saw the gang of geniuses navigate through life despite their nerdy tendencies and their high IQs making them a tad socially awkward. As we know, the show did so well that Lorre went on to create Young Sheldon.
Before the show wrapping up in 2019, the main cast earned a whopping $1 million per episode! Everyone involved with The Big Bang Theory made a pretty penny and it set Lorre apart from other producers, creators, directors, and writers.