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How Chuck Lorre Fought CBS Over Melissa McCarthy’s Weight

Watch: Chuck Lorre Calls Charlie Sheen’s Final Days on ‘Two and a Half Men’ “Dark” and “Frightening”

Chuck Lorre had more than two and a half thoughts when it came to Melissa McCarthy.

While casting his hit 2010 show Mike & Molly about a couple who have their meet-cute at an Overeaters’ Anonymous meeting, the series creator revealed that CBS “hated” the comedian for the titular role of Molly Flynn.

As Lorre put it in his new memoir Sitcom, out now, “Believe it or not, they wanted a hot young woman to play a woman struggling with her weight. It was even suggested by one exec—a female exec—that I consider casting a more attractive actress and put her in a fat suit.”

However, the 73-year-old—also creator of Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory—decided to go to bat for McCarthy.

“CBS’ reluctance was quite something,” Lorre told E! News in an exclusive interview. “But by that point in my career, I’d finally grown a pair and said, ‘No, that’s my Molly, and I can live with your unhappiness. That’s Molly.’”

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As it turns out, his instinct paid off. Indeed, McCarthy won the 2011 Emmy for Lead Actress in a Comedy for the show’s premiere season and months later earned an Oscar nomination for her performance in Kristen Wiig’s 2011 comedy Bridesmaids.

“Forgive me for being a little smug,” Lorre continued in his memoir, “but when Bridesmaids came out, I felt pretty goddamn smart.”

Valerie Macon/Getty Images

And Lorre was also grateful for the timing of Mike & Molly, which ran for six seasons from 2010 to 2016, emphasizing to E!, “We were so lucky that we happened to get her at a moment in time just before she became a superstar.”

Since the end of Mike & Molly, McCarthy has been nominated for another Oscar, won a second Emmy for hosting Saturday Night Live and starred in massive blockbusters, including the 2023 live-action remake of The Little Mermaid.

“She went on to become a movie star,” Lorre shared to E!. “She’s a once in a generation actor. She’s a supremely gifted actress.”

For a look back at some of McCarthy’s best roles throughout her career, keep reading…

Chris Polk/FilmMagic

Gilmore GirlsBeginning in 2000, Melissa McCarthy earned a special place in our hearts as everyone’s favorite chef and BFF to Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham), Sookie St. James, on Gilmore Girls.

Samantha Who?After Samantha (Christina Applegate) gets into an accident and has amnesia, she tries to turn her life around and fix the friendships she ruined during her life as a selfish woman…one friend being Dena, played by McCarthy.

Warner Bros. Entertainment

Life as We Know ItMcCarthy plays DeeDee, a mother of four kids, in this Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel starrer.

Sonja Flemming/CBS

Mike & MollyThe 48-year-old actress starred alongside Billy Gardell for six seasons of Mike & Molly. Together the two actors played a couple who met at an Overeaters Anonymous meeting and later fell in love, helped each through their weight-loss journey and stuck by each other’s side through thick and thin.

Suzanne Hanover/Universal/Kobal/Shutterstock

BridesmaidsMcCarthy, who earned an Academy Award nomination for her performance, plays Megan Price, the groom’s raunchy sister in this R-rated comedy. It also stars Rose Byrne, Ellie Kemper, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Maya Rudolph and Kristen Wiig.

Universal Pictures

This Is 40After Debbie (Leslie Mann) yells at a student (Ryan Lee), who has been taunting her daughter Sadie (Maude Apatow), Catherine (McCarthy), the mother of the kid, gets involved and things get heated. She might’ve been a minor character but the parents’ meeting in the principal’s office is one of This Is 40′s funniest scenes, hands down.

Bob Mahoney/Universal Pictures

Identity ThiefWhen Sandy (Jason Bateman) buys identity theft protection from Diana (McCarthy) over the phone and reveals all of his personal information he has no clue that she is actually a con artist. In order to get his money back, Sandy tracks Diana, whose real name is Dawn, across the country and ends up in more trouble than ever imagined.

Warner Bros. Pictures

The Hangover Part IIIMcCarthy plays a pawnshop owner named Cassie, who first meets the guys when she explains that Chow (Ken Jeong) traded a gold brick for a measly $18,000. Cassie eventually agrees to go on a date with Alan (Zach Galifianakis), and six months later, they decide to get married.

20th Century Fox

The HeatWhen by-the-book FBI agent Sarah Ashburn (Sandra Bullock) is assigned to a case in Boston, she reluctantly teams up with Shannon Mullins (McCarthy), a foul-mouthed detective who makes her own rules. The buddy comedy also stars Demián Bichir, Jane Curtin, Michael Rapaport and Marlon Wayans.

Michael Tackett/Warner Bros/Line Line/Kobal/Shutterstock

McCarthy served as the film’s screenwriter and executive producer in Tammy. She also plays the titular character, who, after being fired from her job, comes home early to find out her husband is having an affair. This inspires Tammy to go on a road trip—and stage a heist along the way—with her grandmother, Pearl (Susan Sarandon).

Atsushi Nishijima/The Weinstein Company

St. VincentMaggie Bronstein (McCarthy) is a single mother fighting for custody of her son after her husband’s multiple affairs. Her neighbor, Vincent (Bill Murray), agrees to watch her son while she tries to make ends meet.

Twentieth Century Fox

SpyMcCarthy stars as Susan Cooper, a desk-bound CIA analyst who becomes a field agent after her colleagues’ identities are compromised. The movie also stars Rose Byrne, Bobby Cannavale, Allison Janney, Jude Law and Jason Statham.

Universal Pictures

The BossIn The Boss, the Illinois native plays a ruthless mogul who, after being arrested for insider training, emerges from prison determined to become America’s sweetheart. McCarthy stars alongside Kristen Bell, Peter Dinklage and Kathy Bates.

Patriot Pics/FAMEFLYNET PICTURES

GhostbustersMcCarthy plays Abby Yates, a woman who authors a book on paranormal activity in this rebooted comedy. Fellow Ghosbusters include Patty Tolan (Leslie Jones), Jillian Holtzmann (Kate McKinnon) and Erin Gilbert (Wiig).

Saturday Night LiveIn 2017, the comedian hosted Saturday Night Live for the fifth time, earning her a “Five-Timers” jacket from Steve Martin. Over the years, she’s had some memorable skits on the show, but her impersonation of Sean Spicer, the White House Press Secretary for 2017, was definitely one of her most-loved and laughed at (in a good way) characters ever.

TV Land

NobodiesThe actress is an executive producer on Nobodies and has appeared on a slew of episodes as an exaggerated version of herself. The show is about three friends working together on a TV show and although McCarthy isn’t a main character every time we see her on screen we can’t help but laugh.

Life of the PartyLife of the Party is a comedy about going back to college with McCarthy playing Deanna, the titular character. After Deanna’s husband asks for a divorce, she decides to go back to school to get her degree and in the process she joins in on all of her daughter’s sorority fun and really lives it up.

Courtesy of STX Entertainment

The Happytime MurderersDetective Connie Edwards (McCarthy) attempts to solve the case of what went wrong when a whole puppet cast from a ’90s TV show is murdered. Elizabeth Banks and Maya Rudolph are some of the other big names in the flick.

Mary Cybulski/Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Can You Ever Forgive Me?In Can You Ever Forgive Me?, which is based on a true story, the accomplished actress takes on the role of Lee Israel, the best-selling celebrity biographer of the ’70s and ’80s. When her character’s career dies down, she outsmarts the world for a period of time by selling embellished, fake pieces of work from famous writers.

Warner Bros.

The KitchenMcCarthy stars alongside Tiffany Haddish and Elisabeth Moss in this mob drama based on DC’s Vertigo comic book series of the same name. The trio of actresses play the wives of New York gangsters in Hell’s Kitchen in the 1970s who continue to operate their husbands’ rackets after they’re locked up in prison.

Disney

The Little MermaidMcCarthy was not a poor unfortunate soul as she starred in Disney’s live-action remake of The Little Mermaid alongside Halle Bailey and Javier Bardem, with familiar names like Daveed Diggs, Jacob Tremblay and Awkwafina voicing some of the most beloved characters under the sea.

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