Details on Ashton Kutcher's Character and What's Next for 'Two and a Half Men' & 'CSI'

CBS president Nina Tassler addressed the two big casting changes that have kept 'Two and a Half Men' and 'CSI' in the headlines at a media event on Wednesday.

She revealed the name of Ashton Kutcher's 'Two and a Half Men' character: He's playing an Internet billionaire named Walden Schmidt, and when he arrives on the show, he'll have a "broken heart," Tassler said.

Will the new season of 'Two and a Half Men' begin with a funeral for Charlie Sheen's character, Charlie Harper?

Tassler wouldn't confirm or deny that but said that the season premiere, which will be split into two consecutive episodes, will be "a big event."

She added that the network wanted to keep additional details about the character under wraps, given that "the chatter" about the cast change and Kutcher's character were a big part of the show's marketing campaign. It's unclear whether Walden will be related to the show's other 'Men.'

So what did Tassler and the network learn from the Charlie Sheen situation?

"Oh, where do I begin?" Tassler replied.

Network executives like to use their sessions at the Television Critics Association press tour to say positive things about their casts and writers -- the ones that aren't throwing bombs in the network's direction, that is.

So Tassler lavished praise on 'Men's' "extraordinary" cast and writers and used that adjective freely any time she talked about the show. She praised Kutcher for being "extraordinarily professional" and highlighting his "tremendous commitment" to the show. She didn't say that Sheen lacked those qualities, but then, she didn't have to.

"We're worlds apart" from where things were six months ago, Tassler said.

Asked more than once what she would have done differently regarding the months of whole Sheenanigans, Tassler generally deflected those questions and said "our whole focus now is on moving forward" with "someone who is committed to doing their job."

However, she did acknowledges that the atmosphere was tense when the CBS comedy resumed production on Monday.

"I would be lying if I didn't say that when everyone walked on set Monday, you could cut the air with a knife," said Tassler, who added that the need for "focus" was the reason that Kutcher and the show's executive producer, Chuck Lorre, did not come to the TCA press tour to talk to the media themselves.

So will CBS change its policies when it comes to hiring actors who've been known for erratic behavior in the past?

Tassler laughed. "That would probably be every actor in the business," she replied. And no, the network has no plans to change how it hires actors, and noted that the show is "as irreverent as it has always been."

The network's Standards and Practices watchdogs "are already on high alert," Tassler said.

There's been less controversy on the set of 'CSI,' but that show is undergoing its second big casting change in a few years. Tassler was asked if 'CSI' fans had trouble accepting Laurence Fishburne as the lead the crime procedural.

"That does explain some of it," Tassler said. "Having an actor like Laurence Fishburne for the number of years we had him is extraordinary. Langston had very big shoes to fill," and the departure of William Petersen was "impactful" on the show.

"Ironically, if you look at how the team was when Langston came in, he sort of churned things up a bit and set the stage, if you will," for Ted Danson's new character, whose named D.B. Russell, Tassler said. "When he comes in, he has to really reconnect the team ... and still assert his authority, which he does."

So will does she expect these high-profile casting changes to increase 'CSI' and 'Two and a Half Men's' ratings?

She didn't want to predict whether the show's ratings would be "where they once were" going forward, but she also said that the changes allowed the shows to re-engage fans who had "drifted" from both shows.

"For us, [the changes] are a positive and not a negative," she said.