Ashton Kutcher has signed on to replace Charlie Sheen on the CBS hit ‘Two and a Half Men. But according to sources, there’s a chance his stay won’t be long.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Kutcher’s contract with Warner Brothers Television — the company that produces “Men” for CBS — is only for one year. It’s a lucrative year, paying him about $20 million, but with the show only licensed by the network for one more season, Kutcher didn’t commit beyond that.

It’s a smart play; no one knows how the show will do without Sheen, and if it is a critical and ratings dud, Kutcher isn’t committed to staying on to a sinking ship if it is still renewed. And if it does well, as he and CBS are hoping and expecting, he can then negotiate for a higher salary. After all, Sheen was making about $2 million per episode before getting fired.

Still, with tough negotiations on the horizon, Kutcher and CBS are playing very, very nice in the press.

“In my 13 years in show business, I’ve never received more emails and phone calls from people congratulating me for this job. You almost think I’ve won the lotto … which I kind of did,” Kutcher said at last week’s CBS upfront presentation. “I got the best job in show business and I’m exited about that.”

Ashton Kutcher made his first appearance with his future Two and a Half Men co-stars at CBS’s presentation to advertisers today and said he “honestly couldn’t be more excited.” (Programming chief Nina Tassler said it’s been “an educational few months,” but the Sheen word was never uttered).

“I’ve never, probably in my 13 years of show business, received more emails or calls congratulating me about getting a new job,” he said. “I almost think I won the lottery. Which I kind of did.”

But Jon Cryer had one complaint: “Did you have to get such a tall guy?” he asked Tassler, before urging the network to retitle it One and Two Half Men.

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Ashton Kutcher knows he’s scored big since agreeing to replace Charlie Sheen on ‘Two and a Half Men’.

Kutcher was at center stage at CBS’ upfront presentation today of their fall lineup. This was his first chance to comment on being cast on the CBS hit, and he was thankful – and thrilled at the same time.

“In my 13 years in show business, I’ve never received more emails and phone calls from people congratulating me for this job. You almost think I’ve won the lotto … which I kind of did,” he said (via EW). “I got the best job in show business and I’m exited about that.”

The lottery reference could have been about his big salary, rumored to be a bit less than $900,000 per episode. In comparison, Sheen made nearly $2 million per taping.

Last Friday, Kutcher released a statement through CBS, saying, “I can’t wait to get to work with this ridiculously talented 2.5 team and I believe we can fill the stage with laughter that will echo in viewers’ homes. I can’t replace Charlie Sheen but I’m going to work my ass off to entertain the hell out of people!”

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Even though Charlie Sheen doesn’t have anything nice to say about Ashton Kutcher replacing him on ‘Two and a Half Men’, Ashton is being as humble as possible.

Ashton Kutcher paid a little homage to Charlie Sheen in the official, just-released “Two and a Half Men” press release, saying, “I can’t replace Charlie Sheen but I’m going to work my ass off to entertain the hell out of people.”

TMZ has now further narrowed the range of Kutcher’s salary. We’ve learned it’s between $800,000 and $900,000 an episode — less than the $1.25 million base salary Charlie was raking in.

The press release has lots of platitudes from all the honchos.

$800,000 – $900,000 an episode!? That’s nothing to sneeze at!

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Charlie Sheen has something to say about Ashton Kutcher taking his seat over at ‘Two and a Half Men’, and it’s quite to the point!

Charlie tells TMZ, “Kutcher is a sweetheart and a brilliant comedic performer … Oh wait, so am I!!”

Charlie continues, taking a shot at the show, saying, “Enjoy the show America. Enjoy seeing a 2.0 in the demo every Monday, WB.” Essentially, Charlie is saying the age group that supported him is going to tune out.

Charlie adds, “Enjoy planet Chuck, Ashton. There is no air, laughter, loyalty, or love there.” Of course, Charlie is referring to his nemesis, “Men” creator and Executive Producer Chuck Lorre.

Been reading a lot of articles this morning on what people think of Ashton Kutcher taking over for Charlie Sheen, and the feelings are mixed.  Will Ashton be able to do it? Can he pull it off? Will the show last?

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Ashton Kutcher has officially signed on to “Two and a Half Men” , and according to TMZ, he’ll be making … and TMZ has learned he’ll be making more than half of Charlie Sheen‘s base salary.

Apparently Charlie Sheen’s base pay on the show was $1.25 million per episode. Ashton will earn somewhere between $625,000 and $900,000 per episode.

PAUSE: Can you believe Charlie was making $1.25 million PER episode? Rumor has it – he was making nearly $2 million per episode after his profit participation. Can you believe Charlie left all that?!

TMZ has learned, CBS honcho Les Moonves has already signed off and he will announce the show is coming back for Season 9.

And sources say the remaining cast — including Jon Cryer and Angus T. Jones — will be coming back.

We’re told Ashton spent time with creator and Executive Producer Chuck Lorre and the two got along great — something that was essential for Lorre, who was at war with Charlie.

Ashton will NOT be playing the Charlie Harper character. He’ll be playing someone new, who comes into “Men” Malibu house.

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Wow! I think this is great news! The best work Ashton Kutcher ever did was on TV, so I think it’s awesome he’s returning to the small screen! I have to admit, I’ll definitely tune in!

This just in from The Hollywood Reporter:

Ashton Kutcher appears to have won the Two and a Half Men sweepstakes.

Two sources close to the deal-making tell The Hollywood Reporter that the actor is putting the final touches on a deal to replace Charlie Sheen as the star of TV’s No. 1 comedy. CBS, studio Warner Bros. and Kutcher’s reps at CAA declined to comment on the situation but a deal is said to be all but signed. The exact dollar figure he will be paid is not known but a source says Kutcher is getting a “huge payday” to join the hit sitcom.

The deal came together quickly in the wake of Hugh Grant passing on the opportunity to join the show. Now sources say Men creator Chuck Lorre has crafted a storyline to introduce Kutcher in a way that satisfies the network and studio. “It’s really funny,” says one source. “People are going to love it.”

Broadcasting & Cable reported Thursday that Kutcher’s name was surfacing as a possible Sheen replacement. The actor, who starred in the winter hit No Strings Attached, would be taking first regular series gig since catapulting to stardom on Fox’s That 70’s Show. He also executive produced the hit MTV hidden-camera series Punk’d, among others.

Kutcher brings a youthful fan base to the CBS show, as well as a big online profile with 6.7 Twitter followers, which could help CBS promote the show.

“Chuck’s really happy,” another source says.

For his part, Kutcher is remaining silent except for a cryptic message he wrote on Twitter: “I’m starting to become convinced that people put my name in articles just to improve their SEO or hoping I’ll tweet it.”

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