Sheen to Star in 'Anger Management'

Sitcom to be produced by Revolution Studios and Lionsgate and distributed by Debmar-Mercury

By Paige Albiniak -- Broadcasting & Cable, 7/18/2011 12:04:02 PM

Charlie Sheen will star in Anger Management, a new sitcom based on Revolution Studios' 2003 film of the same name.

"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 said in a statement. "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."

The sitcom will be produced by Lionsgate, headed by Television Group President Kevin Beggs and COO Sandra Stern; Revolution Studios, headed by Joe Roth and Vince Totino; Evolution Management, the production company of Sheen's manager, Mark Burg; and Robert Maron. It will be distributed by Lionsgate's Debmar-Mercury, which is headed by co-presidents Mort Marcus and Ira Bernstein. Sheen will retain a significant ownership stake in the series.

Like the film, the show will be about a mild-mannered man ordered to attend group anger management sessions led by a therapist who could probably use some anger management himself.

Anger Management will be produced using a business model that Marcus and Bernstein developed with Tyler Perry and now have applied to several shows, including Tyler Perry's House of Payne, Meet the Browns and For Better or Worse. Marcus and Bernstein also applied that model to Roth and Ice Cube's TBS' show, Are We There Yet?

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

Marcus and Bernstein have yet to close a deal for the sitcom, but in the past, the acquiring network has ordered ten initial episodes of the series, which it tests in a limited run. If the show is determined a success -- both creatively and in the ratings -- the network places an upfront order for 90 more episodes. Marcus and Bernstein then sell the series into broadcast syndication after the originals play on the acquiring network. Sources say the deal for Anger Management will be a variation of this model.

All of Perry's sitcoms, as well as Are We There Yet, play on TBS, although sources at TBS say no discussions have taken place internally about acquiring any project involving Sheen. In March, Sheen was fired from Turner sister company, Warner Bros. Television, after getting into a public dispute with Chuck Lorre, the creator and executive producer of Sheen's hit show, Two and a Half Men.

Sheen and Roth have worked together on five films, including Major League, Young Guns and Three Musketeers.

"Who better than Charlie Sheen to tackle Anger Management," said Roth in a statement. "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."