Charlie Sheen's 'Anger Management' sitcom officially set at Lionsgate

Now who will step up to air the series?

By Daniel Fienberg Monday, Jul 18, 2011 12:30 PM

Charlie Sheen

Credit: CBS

Lionsgate TV officially announced on Monday (July 18) that it's getting into the Charlie Sheen business for a small screen version of the Adam Sandler hit "Anger Management."

Sheen will have "a significant ownership stake" in the potential series, which will focus on an ordinary, not-especially-angry guy forced to undergo counseling in a group sessions led by a shrink with anger management issues of his own. The 2003 film made over $135 million domestic.

"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 states "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."

Roth, who will produce the "Anger Management" series previously worked with Sheen on a slew of features, including "Major League," "Young Guns" and "The Three Musketeers."

"Who better than Charlie Sheen to tackle Anger Management," Roth states rhetorically. "With Charlie's incredible talent and comedic gifts, he remains the leading man of TV sitcoms. I'm excited to collaborate with him once again."

You might have heard about Sheen's recent difficulties with CBS, Warner Brothers TV and several of the people involved with the hit comedy "Two and a Half Men," which may explain why absolutely everybody associated with the "Anger Management" project has a statement in the Monday press release, justifying their involvement.

"We always look for series ideas that are noisy, accessible and relevant," states Lionsgate's Kevin Beggs. "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."

Debmar-Mercury has been involved with the Tyler Perry comedies "House of Payne" and "Meet the Browns," plus TBS' "Are We There Yet?" The company's presidents Mort Marcus and Ira Bernstein will distribute the series.

"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," Marcus and Bernstein say in a statement. "It's not every day you can roll out a sitcom featuring the star of the biggest TV comedy of the past decade."

Note that as of now, "Anger Management" has a premise, a star, a production company and a distributor, but no network -- broadcast or cable -- is currently committed to airing the project. [No showrunner is committed to writing dialogue for Sheen either.] Nobody sounds worried.

Want one last press release statement?

Sheen's manager Mark Burg, whose production company Evolution Management will produce, adds, "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.'"

The "Major League" and "Platoon" leading man will next be seen as a "Comedy Central Roast" victim in a special airing on Monday, September 19, the same evening CBS premieres the new "Two and a Half Men," featuring Ashton Kutcher.

Stay tuned for more details.

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Daniel Fienberg
Executive Editor

A long-time member of the TCA Board and a longer-time blogger of "American Idol," Dan Fienberg writes about TV, except for when he writes about movies or sometimes writes about the Red Sox. But never music. He would sound stupid talking about music.