We don't often cover sitcom casting news 'round these parts, but this is a special case: he may not have tiger blood pulsing through his veins, but Ashton Kutcher appears to be winning more than Charlie Sheen. Because while the deal hasn’t been finally locked in, the actor is getting set to join the cast of sitcom Two and a Half Men.
The show, which has been hugely lucrative for US network CBS and the Warner Brothers TV factory that produces it, hit a serious snag early this year when Sheen was fired/quit/whatever as the actor decided to strike out on his own with a website and a tour of the US that has played to seriously mixed crowds.
But while Sheen has occasionally said that he’d want to come back to his old job – you know, the one where he delivers one-liners alongside Jon Cryer and gets paid millions to do so – his bosses have had other ideas, and began looking for someone to replace him. Rumours had Hugh Grant in talks to do just that, but now it looks like Kutcher is the man the studio thinks can make it work.
Kutcher got his start on TV, rising from guest shots to sitcom stardom with That ’70s Show. Since then, he’s largely stuck with movies, but still produced several series, including the massively successful Punk'd. But after a hit-and-miss last few years at the box office (some films, such as What Happens in Vegas were hits, but he’s also had duds like Killers), it seems he’s ready to embrace the goggle box again.
The Hollywood Reporter has heard that show creator Chuck Lorre has hit upon a storyline that would naturally introduce Kutcher’s new character to Cryer’s Alan Harper and son Jake (Angus T Jones). But what do you lot think? Any big fans of Men out there want to offer an opinion as to how you think Kutcher will fit in?