Charlie Sheen to Return to TV in Anger Management

LOS ANGELES: Charlie Sheen is to star in the new series Anger Management, a sitcom loosely based on the 2003 comedy film of the same name, with Lionsgate Television as producer and Debmar-Mercury distributing the show.

Sheen will retain a significant ownership stake in the series, which features a mild-mannered and non-confrontational man who is ordered to attend group anger management led by a therapist who could use some anger management himself. The 2003 film from which the series is inspired by is from Revolution Studios.

The sitcom will re-team Sheen and producer Joe Roth, who have worked together on features such as Major League. Roth is also currently working with Lionsgate’s Debmar-Mercury and Ice Cube’s Cube Vision on the TBS hit Are We There Yet?, also adapted from a film. 

“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,” Sheen commented. “It also provides me with real ownership in the series, a certain amount of creative control and the chance to be back in business with one of my favorite movie producers of all time, Joe Roth.” 

Debmar-Mercury co-presidents, Mort Marcus and Ira Bernstein, said in a joint statement, “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. It’s not every day you can roll out a sitcom featuring the star of the biggest TV comedy of the past decade.”
 
"We always look for series ideas that are noisy, accessible and relevant,” added Kevin Beggs, the president of Lionsgate’s television group. “Charlie Sheen in Anger Management takes those criteria to a whole new level and we are thrilled to be in business with him, Evolution, Debmar-Mercury and Revolution Studios on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. With a star of Charlie’s magnitude, a producer as venerable as Joe Roth and a branded property as compelling as Anger Management, this show has unique upside while still adhering to our disciplined business model.”
 
Mark Burg, a former executive producer of Two and a Half Men and partner of Evolution Management, noted: “We have been fielding numerous offers for Charlie since his departure from Two and a Half Men, but none were as creatively and financially compelling as the package that Lionsgate, Debmar-Mercury, and Revolution presented us with Anger Management.”