.Jon Cryer 'Jazzed' About Ashton Kutcher Joining ‘Men’

Speaking out for the first time, he also expresses “enormous gratitude to Charlie Sheen for eight great seasons.”

Speaking out for the first time about the drama surrounding CBS’ Two and a Half Men, Jon Cryer thanks Charlie Sheen for his hard work but also expresses excitement about returning to the show with new star Ashton Kutcher.

"I want to express my enormous gratitude to Charlie Sheen for eight great seasons,” he says in a statement to People. “I'm extremely proud of the work we've done together, and I will miss him. But I'm also looking forward to this new beginning."

The Hollywood Reporter first reported Thursday that Kutcher has been tapped to replace Sheen; CBS, Warner Bros and Kutcher confirmed the news Friday.

"Ashton is an extraordinarily talented guy, and his presence will be an asset to our show," Cryer tells People. "We are old friends from our male modeling days, and we're both looking forward to being judged for our comedic artistry, as opposed to our exceptional physical beauty. I'm jazzed about the news this morning that Two and a Half Men is coming back! For all the rest of the cast and crew I'm sure they are equally excited.”

Kutcher also is excited to begin working.

In a Tweet Friday, he wrote: “Thank you for all the Congrats on 2.5. Met with the team this morning.... We are already working on earning your Laughter.”

Sheen, who was fired in March after a weeks-long media circus that had the actor attacking everything from Alcoholics Anonymous to his boss Chuck Lorre, remains bitter about the Kutcher news.

Taking a shot at the show, he told TMZ Friday, "Enjoy the show America. Enjoy seeing a 2.0 in the demo every Monday, WB."

Then, in a comment Kutcher slamming Lorre, Sheen added, "Enjoy planet Chuck, Ashton. There is no air, laughter, loyalty, or love there."

Sheen thinks 'Men' 'was getting a little stale'

Charlie Sheen is enjoying life after “Two and a Half Men,” but feels sorry for the fans who will never saw his character get a proper send-off.

“It’s nice to have closure with ‘Two and a Half (Men),’” Sheen told Access Hollywood on Thursday night at the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s 8th Annual Gala in Beverley Hills, Calif.

“177 episodes, it was getting a little stale. I just didn’t know it was going to rot and fall off the vine like this,” the actor continued. “I feel bad for the fans because there was never that final episode where (Jon Cryer’s character) Alan like comes into my room calling my name and, you know, pulls back the closet door and there I am hanging ... with the note, ‘How do you like me now, Chuck?’”

The headline-making star said fans of the CBS comedy might see a final moment with his character — at least, possibly his own take on it!

“I feel bad that there was never that,” he continued. “Maybe I’ll do a web version of it. We’ll produce that one ourselves”

Adding, “I’ve had a lot of ideas and a lot of goals and I’ve been unable to pursue any of those for a while and now I feel like I’ve been liberated to go do those things.”

According to The Hollywood Reporter, series co-creator Chuck Lorre has developed a reboot of the comedy without Sheen’s character. The new version of the series would reportedly feature Jon Cryer and a new, yet-to-be-cast character.