Ashton Kutcher May Mean Billions

When Two and a Half Men returns for a ninth season with a new star, Ashton Kutcher, he'll play Walden Schmidt, "an Internet billionaire with a broken heart."

That's according to CBS Entertainment chief Nina Tassler.  The Sept. 19 opener will be the first in a two-part premiere.

Tassler says "I am not going to confirm or deny" reports that Sheen would be killed off and his funeral depicted in the season opener. But she suggested that rumors that Schmidt would buy Charlie Harper's house might prove accurate.

Asked what she learned through the past year, when Sheen infamously imploded with personal issues, lashed out at producers and was fired, she dodged the question, saying, "What we learned is that we have an extraordinary cast ... and there is great value in hiring an actor like Ashton Kutcher," whom she calls a "funny, gifted actor who comes with a tremendous amount of enthusiasm.

We have an opportunity moving forward to create an exciting character and make a new show. The show will be as irreverent as it has always been."

But critics complained that Kutcher is a no-show at the semi-annual press tour, blamed on the show's production schedule; the premiere episode is being taped Friday night.

"I'd be lying if I said you could cut the (tension) with a knife," Tassler says of a Monday rehearsal. "They're very focused ... there's a tremendous amount of weight and effort being put into this episode."

Kutcher signed a one-year deal to appear in the show.