Charlie Sheen is set to return to television in a sitcom loosely based on the 2003 Jack Nicholson–Adam Sandler comedy "Anger Management," Lionsgate Television announced Monday.
TheWrap confirmed two weeks ago that the wheels had been set in motion on the project, which Revolution Studios' honcho Joe Roth was shopping.
But now it's official: Lionsgate will produce the half-hour comedy and will distribute through its subsidiary Debmar-Mercury. Sheen will have a "significant ownership stake" in the project, the production company said.
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"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.”
Roth has produced five Sheen movies, including "Major League" and "Young Guns."
Speculation about the project began when Sheen offered a not-so-subtle hint to TMZ that he was prepping a show based on a Roth-produced film with the initials "A.M."
"Anger Management" will be Sheen's first full-time TV gig since CBS fired him in March from his mega-successful "Two and a Half Men" after a series of outlandish media interviews in which he bashed showrunner Chuck Lorre and bragged about past drug use.
Sheen will be the subject of a Comedy Central roast, which will air Monday, September 19, the same night that "Two and a Half Men" returns to the air.
Sheen will play a variation on Jack Nicholson's character in "Anger Management." No word yet on whether the Sandler character will be involved in the adaptation or who the writing team will be.
According to Mark Burg, whose production company, Evolution Management, will be co-producing the new venture, “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.”