Update!

Can Ashton Kutcher and Charlie Sheen Both Be Winners?

Yup. On same night, Kutcher's Two and a Half Men does gangbuster TV ratings, Comedy Central's Sheen roast shows fire, too

By Joal Ryan Sep 20, 2011 7:48 PMTags
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Ashton Kutcher won the premiere-night ratings game. But does that mean Charlie Sheen lost?

Not at all.

Comedy Central's Sheen roast was on last night, too, and it was on fire its own profane self.

A Comedy Central source tells E! News the Sheen roast was the network's highest-rated roast ever, and either the first- or second-biggest show of any kind in network history.

Sheen did his part to boost both his and Kutcher's numbers. The actor hosted a viewing party where the featured entertainment was the Comedy Central special and the Two and a Half Men premiere. No channel flipping was required: Men came on at 9 p.m.; the roast, an hour later.

"He was in a great mood," a source reported to E! News.

Sheen tweeted that the Men opener, featuring his character's funeral, as well as the introduction of Kutcher's clothes-eschewing character, was "Odd... But cool..! So far a lot of laughs!!"

Kutcher had nearly 28 million reasons to be in a good mood, too.

"I owe you guys bigtme for showing up for us last night," he tweeted. "Hope you were entertained. We'll be there every Monday for you."

Now, the questions are: Will the viewers be there every Monday for Kutcher? And will they be there when Sheen returns with his planned TBS show?

At least we know there's prime-time room enough for both of them.

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UPDATE: Comedy Central says the Sheen show was indeed its biggest-ever roast, with 6.4 million viewers, and the network's highest-ever rated show among 18-49-year-olds. So, basically, if you were wondering why The Playboy Club's premiere was so weak, it's because all the real aspiring playboys were watching Sheen.  (The Sheen roast and Playboy Club went head-to-head at 10 p.m.) 

—Additional reporting by Ken Baker and Claudia Rosenbaum