NEW YORK — Charlie Sheen, who was fired from “Two and a Half Men” in March, aims to launch another hit sitcom — this time, on his own terms. The tempestuous star is planning to return to series television in “Anger Management,” based on the 2003 film of the same name.
With no network currently in place, the new series will be produced by Lionsgate Television and shopped to prospective broadcast and cable networks, the company announced Monday. Sheen will have a “significant ownership stake” in the series, Lionsgate said. Sheen also said he would gain “a certain amount of creative control.”
“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,” said Sheen, 45.
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 Lionsgate subsidiary Debmar-Mercury on the Ice Cube comedy series “Are We There Yet?” as well as “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne” and “Meet the Browns,” all of which air on TBS.
Despite Sheen’s stormy final chapter with the “Two and Half Men” network (CBS) and studio (Warner Bros. Television), 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.”
The Associated Press
