NEW YORK (

TheStreet

) -- An audience of 27.8 million tuned in to watch Ashton Kutcher's debut on the season premiere of

CBS'

(CBS) - Get Report

"Two and a Half Men" Monday night, following a tumultuous summer that saw the ousting of star Charlie Sheen.

The first episode of the show's ninth season introduced Kutcher as Internet billionaire Walden Schmidt who, depressed after a love spat, tried to commit suicide by taking a dive into the ocean. The show's opening revealed that Sheen's character, Charlie Harper, had died as he was hit by a train after his girlfriend, it's assumed, pushed him in front of it after learning of his infidelity.

Sheen, meanwhile, wasn't absent from TV Monday night as he was roasted on

Comedy Central

(VIA) - Get Report

. Comedians such as Seth MacFarlane, Jon Lovitz and Jeffrey Ross attended the roast and even joked about Sheen's previous domestic violence charges.

"There's no denying the fact that Mike Tyson had the hardest hitting right hook in history -- your opponents spent more time bleeding in the corner than Charlie's ex-wives," Ross said.

Singer Cher's transgender son Chaz Bono performed on

ABC's

(DIS) - Get Report

"Dancing With the Stars" on Monday, and said his mother didn't think he'd be able to do it.

"I think it went pretty well," Bono said. "There were certain little things that I messed up or didn't do, but it was good and it was fun."

Bono said that he still didn't expect his good performance to change the minds of people who would automatically not vote for him because he is transgender.

"There are certain people who are never going to change their view about anything that's out of their comfort zone," Bono said.

-- Written by Joe Deaux in New York.

>To submit a news tip, send an email to:

tips@thestreet.com