Charlie Sheen
Charlie Sheen in a TV comedy about anger management. How
can it miss?
That's what the actor and several established companies are
betting with "Anger Management," a sitcom announced this
week. What the show needs now is a network or syndication
home, along with a more tranquil work history than Sheen left
behind at "Two and a Half Men."
Sheen, 45, who was fired from the CBS sitcom by studio Warner
Bros. Television because of his erratic personal life and
public ridicule of the show's producer, will be answering in
part to himself on the new series.
He will have a significant ownership stake in the series,
producer Lionsgate Television said in a statement. He will
also gain "a certain amount of creative control," Sheen noted
in the release.
"I chose 'Anger Management' because, while it might be a big
stretch for me to play a guy with serious anger management
issues, I think it is a great concept," he said.
The series, based on the 2003 Adam Sandler-Jack Nicholson
movie, will be shopped to prospective broadcast and cable
networks by Lionsgate subsidiary Debmar-Mercury.
Analyst Bill Carroll of Katz Media speculated that the series
would start on cable for initial exposure and then move to
cable and broadcast syndication. That's the model used by
Debmar-Mercury on the Ice Cube comedy series "Are We There
Yet?" along with "Tyler Perry's House of Payne" and "Meet the
Browns," all of which air on TBS.
Despite Sheen's stormy final chapter with CBS and Warner,
cable and broadcast outlets will have to give his new project
"serious consideration" given his past success, Carroll said.
Pointing to Sheen's ownership position in the new series,
Carroll added, "You have to assume that's going to motivate
his focus on the show," Carroll said.
That was acknowledged, in similar words, in the announcement.
"Our sitcom model is all about building well-known brands
around extraordinary talents like Charlie that, thanks to
their large profit participation, are highly motivated to
succeed," said Debmar-Mercury co-presidents Mort Marcus and
Ira Bernstein.
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