'Men' still strong for CBS

'Two . 5 Males,' with Ashton Kutcher and Jon Cryer, has jumped early. Three days into its publish-Charlie Sheen existence, "2 . 5 Males" continues to be primetime's most widely used comedy.Ashton Kutcher's debut because the new lead from the CBS sitcom Sept. 19 came an astonishing 28.7 million audiences along with a 10.7 rating among grown ups 18-49 -- amounts not seen regularly by any comedy since NBC's "Buddies."The show predictably fell off within the next days (to twenty.5 million Sept. 26 and 17.7 million March. 3), however it was still being large enough to rule as TV's No. 1 entertainment series in demos for any third straight week -- and was nearly 40% above last year's third "Males" seg with Sheen.While it's unlikely the show will remain only at that high level, it's clearly re-energized the whole Monday comedy block for CBS. Inside a fall when auds were clearly prepared to laugh, the attention would be a large beneficiary from the beginning.Around the opening evening of year, CBS smartly used the anticipated huge tune-set for "Males" at 9 p.m. to guide into new comedy "2 Broke Women," which came 19.4 million (along with a 7.1 demo rating) before settling into its regular 8:30 p.m. slot with two strong perfs that gained it a fast full-season pickup. Vet "Generate An Income Met Your Mother" is on a really strong start at 8 (up about 30% versus. this past year), and "Mike & Molly" is sturdy in the second season within the publish-"Males" slot at 9:30 (up about 15%).Be even more handy not so good news around the comedy front this be seduced by CBS may be the performance of their new Thursday show "How to become a Gentleman," that has fumbled away nearly 1 / 2 of its substantial "The Large Bang Theory" lead-in.While Monday continues to be the signature CBS comedy evening because the times of "I Really Like Lucy," the internet want to expand its comedy presence from 2 to 4 comedies on Thursday, where NBC's significantly approved laffers are getting a difficult time making a rankings dent beyond "Work.InchIn between the 4 Monday comedies, "Large Bang" as well as on-the-bench vet "Rules of Engagement," the attention has six viable half-hrs to utilize. And when auds still stay tuned for Kutcher on Monday anchor "Males," CBS might feel prepared to dive headfirst into Thursday comedy next fall. Contact Ron Kissell at ron.kissell@variety.com