Sheen turns Anger on UK

Comedy Central has acquired UK rights to Charlie Sheen’s latest TV sitcom.

Charlie Sheen

Anger Management (10×30′) airs in the US on FX and is loosely based on the 2003 film starring Jack Nicholson and Adam Sandler. Sheen plays an ex-baseball pro who must confront his temper issues.

Comedy Central UK will air the show this autumn. The channel already broadcasts Two and a Half Men, which Sheen left under a cloud last year to be replaced by Ashton Kutcher.

The sale comes after Anger Management had the most-watched scripted comedy debut on US cable TV ever last week. Producer-distributor Lionsgate Entertainment has also sold the show into Canada, Latin America, Germany, Scandinavia, Benelux, Australia, New Zealand and Poland.

Chris Collie, director of programming at Comedy Central, said the show was the funniest he saw at the LA Screenings in May.

It is produced by Lionsgate Television with Revolution Studios, Evolution Entertainment, Mohawk Productions and Estevez Sheen Productions. FX has already committed to an order of 100 episodes, subject to the first 10 exceeding a certain rating in the US.

Last week, Comedy Central UK acquired rights to another US series, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, which will resume airing in the UK on Tuesday July 23 after a year’s absence.