Chuck Lorre on Squashing Feud with Charlie Sheen & Reuniting on ‘Bookie’ (Exclusive)

Comedy king Chuck Lorre has a brand-new show called “Bookie” with old friend Charlie Sheen.

“Extra’s” Megan Ryte spoke with Chuck about the new show and Sheen’s return to TV.

“Bookie,” created by Lorre and Nick Bakay, stars Sebastian Maniscalco as longtime Los Angeles bookie Danny and features his roster of clients, one of which is played by Charlie.

Lorre and Sheen are reuniting 12 years after the actor’s dramatic “Two and a Half Men” exit.

When asked how the reunion happened, Chuck answered, “When Nick and I wrote the first episode, we thought, well, these guys are working in L.A. in present time, so it’s a safe bet that there’s some celebrity clients that are sports bettors and famous, so one night — I don’t know why — but [I] just realized that the person to play that scene was Charlie and I called Nick and said, ‘I know who should play the scene as our real-life celebrity degenerate gambler,’ and I said Charlie, and he said, ‘Can you do that?’ and I went, ‘Yeah, it’s history, ancient history. I’m over it.’”

Reflecting on the past, Chuck noted, “At the time, it was terribly hurtful and humiliating and embarrassing. It was all kinds of stuff, and I couldn’t watch ‘Two and a Half Men’ reruns for years because I just couldn’t enjoy it. I can now. I mean, I love what we did. I love that we made a fun show for eight years before it all went to hell.”

While Lorre was “good” with everything, he admitted, “The question was, how does Charlie feel? And I managed to get him on the phone and he was fantastic. He was grateful for the offer. He was gracious, he was funny, and he was in the same place: ‘Let’s move on. Let’s close the door on this darkness that happened and do something fun.’ I sent him the script because I wanted him to sign off… He had a great deal of fun making fun of himself.”

Does time heal all wounds? Chuck answered, “It does in this case. It is exactly a weight that comes off your heart. You really can feel it, like [breathe]. It’s over. We learned something. We were friends for many years, and now that friendship is rekindled… I hope if the show goes on, he will do more… He nailed it. Just his comic chops are impeccable and undiminished… It was a joy to watch him work.”

The new series sees Maniscalco’s character create a bookie partnership with the normally serious actor Omar Dorsey.

Chuck explained, “The show’s about a couple of small-time bookies in Los Angeles trying to scratch out a living and so legalized gambling encroaches every day all over the country... You can’t legally make a bet on the Internet in California, which allows these guys to still operate and it’s an all-cash world they live in. They extend credit to their customers, so in a way, they’re a bank and it’s all a gentleman’s agreement that if you lose, you pay, and when you win, they pay, and you can’t go to the police if there’s a problem. It’s off the radar. It’s illegal, but the police don’t particularly care about it.”

It is something that has been around for ages, and Chuck said, “It’s off the grid. They’re operating in a subculture with their own language and it’s been going on for thousands and thousands of years. You could’ve made a bet on a chariot race in ancient Rome with I don’t know what the Latin word for bookie is… but there was one there.”

“Bookie” premieres Nov. 30 with two episodes on MAX.