Ashton Kutcher is Highest Paid TV Star

Ashton Kutcher on replacing Charlie Sheen in "Two and a Half Men" has become the higest paid TV star.

He plays a heartbroken Internet billionaire Walden Schmidt in the show and will earn $15.4 million for the whole seaon ($700,000 per episode).

However, it is a lot less than $1.2 million that Charlie Sheen was earning.

CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler says Kutcher's paycheck is well deserved. "There is great value in hiring an actor like Ashton Kutcher," she told reporters at a recent Television Critics Association Panel.

"He is extraordinarily professional, talented, funny, gifted actor who comes with a tremendous amount of commitment and enthusiasm, embraced by an extraordinarily talented cast," she added.

In an interview for Details magazine, the 33-year-old Kutcher said he had never met the man he's replacing. "I've never met him in my life. But, you know, he sent me congratulations and wished me well. Via Twitter," he said.

"Two and a Half Men" with a new cast premiers on September 19 .

Check out the picture gallery of Kutcher through the years.