After months of speculation, rumors and uncertainty, it looks like the producers of "Two and a Half Men" have their other man. In the wake of theepic battle with ex-castmember Charlie Sheen, the runners of the #1 sitcom on TV have reportedly tapped former "That '70s Show" star Ashton Kutcher to take on Sheen's bad-boy role.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, two unnamed sources close to the negotiations say that Kutcher is putting the "final touches" on a deal to replace Sheen. While reps for the show and Kutcher declined to comment, the Reporter said the deal is "all but signed," and Kutcher himself seemed to indicate that an announcement was imminent in a Twitter message.
"What's the square root of 6.25?" he tweeted followers on Thursday night. The answer, of course, is two and a half, a clever hint that the actor could be making his return to scripted TV for the first time since ending his run as dimwitted Michael Kelso on "That '70s Show" in 2006. Though an exact salary was not known at press time, a source told the Reporter that it would be a "huge payday" for Kutcher.
Sheen was already the highest paid sitcom actor on TV when he wasbooted from "Two and a Half Men" in March for his off-screen antics and rants against the show's producers, earning nearly $2 million per episode.
The deal to sign Kutcher, 33, reportedly came together quickly after British actor Hugh Grant passed on an offer to join the program. A source said series creator Chuck Lorre has cooked up a storyline that will introduce Kutcher in a way that is "really funny ... people are going to love it."
Kutcher's name surfaced on Thursday in connection with "Two and a Half Men" after a long line of other leading men had been rumored as possible Sheen replacements, including Woody Harrelson, John Stamos, Jeremy Piven and Rob Lowe.
