The screen demise of Sheen - whose role on the TV comedy made him the highest-paid actor in Hollywood - follows his firing from the show after a vicious public spat earlier this year with "Two and A Half Men" co-creator and producer Chuck Lorre. Now Lorre appears set to wreak revenge when the comedy returns with new star Ashton Kutcher in what Deadline Hollywood said is a secrecy-shrouded two-part season premiere that will be filmed later this week. Broadcaster CBS and program makers Warner Bros.

Television declined to comment on the report. But CBS is scheduled to answer questions from reporters at the bi-annual Television Critics Association meeting in Los Angeles on Wednesday where "Two and A Half Men" and Sheen will surely be a big topic. Sheen's womanizing bachelor character Charlie Harper - said to be a close version of himself - helped to make "Two and A Half Men" the most watched comedy on US television.