Debmar-Mercury, Revolution Studios and Lionsgate Television announced this morning that they are shopping “Anger Management,” a new sitcom based on the 2003 feature comedy that would star former “Two and a Half Men” star Charlie Sheen:
Former Two and a Half Men star Charlie Sheen is planning his return to series television in Anger Management, a new sitcom loosely based on Revolution Studios 2003 hit comedy feature of the same name. Lionsgate-owned Debmar-Mercury, headed by Co-Presidents Mort Marcus and Ira Bernstein, will distribute the series that will be produced by Lionsgate Television, led by Television Group President Kevin Beggs and COO Sandra Stern; Joe Roth and Revolution Studios Vince Totino; Sheen manager Mark Burgs production company, Evolution Management; and Robert Maron.
Sheen will retain a significant ownership stake in the series inspired by the film, in which a mild-mannered, non-confrontational man is ordered to attend group anger management sessions led by a therapist who could probably use some anger management himself.
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. 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 and Sheen have worked together on five features, including Major League, Young Guns and Three Musketeers.
Who better than Charlie Sheen to tackle Anger Management, Roth said. With Charlies incredible talent and comedic gifts, he remains the leading man of TV sitcoms. Im excited to collaborate with him once again.
Roth is also currently working with Lionsgates Debmar-Mercury and Ice Cubes Cube Vision on the TBS hit Are We There Yet? It is one of three hugely successful sitcoms (along with Tyler Perrys House of Payne and Meet The Browns) that are the result of a unique sitcom business model created by Marcus and Bernstein.
Marcus and 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. Its 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, said Lionsgates 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.
Said Burg, one of the creative forces behind Lionsgates SAW franchise, the most popular long-running horror franchise of all time, and a former executive producer of Two and a Half Men, 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 deal was negotiated on behalf of Debmar-Mercury and Lionsgate by Sandra Stern. Sheen was represented by Jake Bloom and Leigh Brecheen of Bloom, Hergott, Diemer, Rosenthal, Laviolette & Feldman. Revolution and Joe Roth were represented by Matt Johnson of Ziffren Brittenham LLP.
Charlie Sheen, who has starred in more than 40 feature films, catapulted to fame in such critical and commercial hits as Platoon and Wall Street. His other feature film credits include Major League, Red Dawn, Lucas, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Eight Men Out, Young Guns, Hot Shots!, Hot Shots! Part Deux, The Three Musketeers, The Chase, Money Talks, Being John Malkovich, Scary Movie 3, Scary Movie 4 and The Big Bounce. He also appeared in the television movies Rated X and Good Advice.
Sheen became known to television audiences through his Golden Globe Award-winning lead role in Spin City. In 2003, Sheen was cast as Charlie Harper in the CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men, which was loosely based on Sheen’s bad boy image. The role garnered him an ALMA Award and three Emmy Awards, as well as two Golden Globe Award nominations for Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series.
In 2011, Sheen set a new Guinness World Record for Twitter as the “Fastest Time to Reach 1 Million Followers,” adding an average of 129,000 new followers per day. On March 10, 2011, Sheen announced a 22-date nationwide tour, “My Violent Torpedo of Truth/Defeat Is Not An Option,” which kicked off in Detroit on April 2. The tour sold out in 18 minutes, a Ticketmaster record.
