Charlie Sheen’s comeback has been secured, with FX handing down the 90-episode order for Anger Management after it met the ratings requirement in the first 10. It’s a big coup for everyone who took a chance on Sheen in spite of the Two and a Half Men fallout, but maybe a bigger coup for Sheen himself.
Anger Management didn’t quite maintain the ratings from its premiere episode throughout the initial 10-episode run, but it did manage to hold on to strong enough numbers to lock in the deal for 90 more episodes. The series premiered to the biggest numbers for a primetime scripted cable comedy in history, setting the bar really high. It wasn’t all that surprising that the ratings dipped the following week. But Anger Management and its star have prevailed.
Charlie Sheen’s meltdown and firing from his previous starring role in Two and a Half Men are part of television history now, but at the time betting on the actor was a little risky. It’s likely at least a few of the viewers of the initial episode tuned in out of curiosity, and everyone has been watching closely to see if Sheen would lose it again. It seems he’s done well so far on his new show, but he has 90 more episodes to get through now.
The remaining back episodes will be produced over the next two years and the entire series is set to go into off-network syndication in 2014, says Deadline. That’s a pretty heavy work schedule for the Anger Management cast, which will include Charlie’s father, Martin Sheen, in a recurring role playing, of course, Charlie’s father.
