The very public battle between Charlie Sheen and his one-time 'Two and a Half Men' boss Chuck Lorre has been well-documented, but since relaunching his hit CBS series with Ashton Kutcher, Lorre hasn't said much about his former star's "winning" meltdown and subsequent replacement.

In the latest issue of TV Guide Magazine, which hits newsstands Thursday, Dec. 15, Lorre talks to editor Michael Schneider, who's been teasing that the man of many multi-cam sitcoms finally tells all.

But it's worth noting that it's Emmy winner Jon Cryer -- not the recently gossip-plagued Kutcher -- who's gracing the cover with Lorre, along with 'Mike & Molly' funny lady Melissa McCarthy and Jim Parsons of 'The Big Bang Theory,' who've both also taken home Emmy love for their Lorre-created roles. He must be doing something right ...

We've got the exclusive first tease of TV Guide Magazine's interview with Lorre, including why the revamp was so "exciting" and how life imitated art for hard-partying, goddess-worshipping Sheen, who'll forever be linked to (and compared to) his now-departed TV alter-ego Charlie Harper.

On giving 'Two and a Half Men' an extreme makeover by bringing in a new star:
Lorre: "I thought, why not find out if we can do it? If we failed, what have we failed at? Making a sitcom? Then it became exciting. We got to do something none of us ever dreamed of doing: We got to end a series and start a new series in 20 minutes."

On referencing Charlie Sheen during this season of 'Two and a Half Men':
Lorre: "To not deal with it felt like a cheat. The unbelievably public nature of this debacle is part of our legacy now. It happened, and the dividing line between Charlie Harper and Charlie Sheen is forever blurred."

What do you think: Did Chuck Lorre make the right decision to replace Charlie Sheen with Ashton Kutcher? Who really won?