CBS welcoming actor Angus Jones back to comedy

[January 14, 2013]  PASADENA, Calif. (AP) -- The teenage actor Angus T. Jones is expected back at "Two and a Half Men" next week, with CBS accepting his apology for calling the popular comedy "filth" and "very inappropriate."

"We move on," CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler said on Saturday. After a break for the holidays, actors on "Two and a Half Men" are about to begin rehearsals for new episodes.

Jones, 19, plays the "half" in the popular comedy, portraying actor Jon Cryer's son.

Jones, who reportedly makes $350,000 an episode, later said he was sorry if his remarks in an interview with a religious organization showed an indifference to his colleagues or a lack of appreciation for his opportunity. He didn't publicly change his evaluation of the comedy, which is heavy on sexual jokes and innuendo.

Tassler indicated she was giving Jones some slack for his age, saying her own 24-year-old son said some things between 19 and 24 that she wished he hadn't.

"The bottom line is cooler heads prevailed," she said. "He has been a beloved member of that cast for years and years and years, and he issued a public apology. At the end of the day, they want him to come back, he wants to come back."

Tassler also said CBS, show creator Chuck Lorre and the production company, Warner Bros., are all interested in seeing "Two and a Half Men" continue beyond this season. The actors are still not signed beyond this season.

She said CBS is nearing a deal to continue another one of its Monday night comedies, "How I Met Your Mother," for at least another season.

CBS is also basking in the success of its Thursday night comedy, "The Big Bang Theory," currently in its sixth season. Nielsen said the show had just under 20 million viewers last week, its biggest audience ever, breaking a record set one week earlier.

The show's reruns have become very popular on cable and in syndication, creating a sort of whiplash effect driving more interest in original episodes, Tassler said.

[Associated Press; By DAVID BAUDER]

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