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"Two And A Half Men" Director Talks Pittsburgh Ties, Reflects On Show's Success

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- CBS' hit television series "Two and a Half Men" is still going strong in its ninth season.

The show went through plenty of ups and downs with actor Charlie Sheen, but now the sitcom is more popular than ever.

"Two and a Half Men" is one of the highest rated sitcoms on CBS.

The show has quite a local connection as director Jamie Widdoes is a hometown guy, born and raised in Squirrel Hill.

Watch Jamie Widdoes interview on Pittsburgh Today Live!

He's in town this week, busy working on a new pilot, but he took some time to chat about the hit he's helped create.

"This year has been an incredibly rewarding experience in terms of being able to introduce a new character, Ashton Kutcher's character and have it be received so well," said Widdoes.

Kutcher joined the cast after the public downward spiral of Charlie Sheen, one of the series' original actors.

"There was obviously a fair amount of sadness and frustration and all that in losing Charlie from the show, but the creative excitement and the reception that we've gotten with the new show has been terrific," said Widdoes.

The director says he expects the comedy to continue to soar, reaching new heights with new talent on board.

"Ashton, I think, has been just a great lift for the show," Widdoes said. "He has a tremendous spirit, he and Jon Cryer have gotten along wonderfully."

Before joining the behind-the-scenes team of "Two and a Half Men," Widdoes was in front of the camera. He played the fraternity president in the 1978 movie, "Animal House."

"As I say to my children, if you're going to be labeled with one thing for the rest of your life, it's a pretty fun thing to be labeled with," said Widdoes. "We had no idea when we made it that it was going to be what it was and aren't I lucky that it turned out that way."

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