CBS wants more 'Men'

Nina Tassler at TCACBS Entertainment prexy Nina Tassler said Wednesday that the network is in "early conversations" with Ashton Kutcher to return to "Two and a Half Men" next season.Tassler wouldn't go into much detail but she told scribes during CBS' portion of the TCA press tour in Pasadena that "everybody likes what they're doing" on the relaunched "Men." Given the show's success in the fall, it's no surprise that CBS and Warner Bros. TV are starting to have talks about renewing the show for a tenth season. Kutcher signed a one-season pact when he was recruited last spring in the wake of Charlie Sheen's spectacular meltdown that led to his firing. In addition to a new deal with Kutcher, CBS and WBTV have to work out a new deal for the series, which also means sorting out new syndication deals for the show with broadcast TV stations, where the initial "Men" deals were capped at nine seasons. (The show's cable syndie deal with FX covers 10 seasons.)In her remarks to the scribe tribe, Tassler talked up CBS' strong fall performance with its new and returning shows. But she was quick to give credit to the creatives behind the shows. She made special mention of Michael Patrick King, co-creator and showrunner of frosh comedy hit "2 Broke Girls" ("He's just a gem") and J.J. Abrams and Jonah Nolan, the duo behind frosh drama "Person of Interest" ("We hit the lottery").More to come . . . Contact Cynthia Littleton at cynthia.littleton@variety.com