Chuck Lorre talks Charlie Sheen on 'Two and a Half Men'

PASADENA, Calif., Jan. 16 (UPI) -- Chuck Lorre discussed Charlie Sheen at the 2015 Television Critics Association winter press tour Thursday.

The Two and a Half Men creator declined to reveal if the 49-year-old actor would appear on the finale, but did praise the former star for helping the CBS sitcom succeed. Sheen portrayed Charlie Harper on the series for eight seasons, but was dismissed due to personal conflicts.

Sheen publicly slammed Lorre and the network after his contract was terminated in March 2011. His character was subsequently killed off, and the actor was replaced by Ashton Kutcher as Walden Schmidt in season nine.

"I think we're going to have a finale that you're going to be very pleased with," Lorre told reporters. "It would be inappropriate to not acknowledge the extraordinary success we had with Charlie, and how grateful I am -- we all are -- for his contributions."

"How to wrap the show up? It's tricky," he related. "Because, in a way, the show morphed into something else entirely for the last four years, and it's something we love. And we want to honor both. How to honor both is the challenge of this finale."

Two and a Half Men is in the midst of a 12th and final season, and will air its season finale February 19. Sheen went on to appear in such films as Machete Kills, and starred as Charlie Goodson on FX sitcom Anger Management for two seasons.