Charlie Sheen Sheen from entering its production lot. Sheen, already the highest-paid actor on television, responded by publicly demanding a 50 percent raise, claiming that in comparison to the amount that the series was making, he was "underpaid". CBS and Warner Bros. terminated Sheen's contract on March 7, 2011. He was replaced by Ashton Kutcher. In the aftermath of his dismissal, Sheen remained vocally critical of Chuck Lorre, and filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against Lorre and Warner Bros., which was settled the following September 26. That same month, Sheen, while presenting an award at the Primetime Emmy Awards, addressed "everybody here
Two and a Half Men in tow." Sheen's response to the season-nine premiere was very positive. He reportedly felt Charlie Harper's funeral was "eerie but fun". Sheen also felt that the introduction of Kutcher's character in a cloud of his own character's ashes was particularly enjoyable. The attention "Two and a Half Men" received due to the change in characters gave the series a boost. Average total viewers during the 2011–2012 season rose 13% to 15 million, and the 5.2 rating in the 18–49 demographic rose by 27%. Kutcher's debut as the character Walden Schmidt, in the episode entitled "Nice to Meet You, Walden Schmidt",