''Anger Management'' is an American television
multi-camera
The multiple-camera setup, multiple-camera mode of production, multi-camera or simply multicam is a method of filmmaking and video production. Several cameras—either film or professional video cameras—are employed on the set and simultaneous ...
sitcom created by
Bruce Helford
Bruce Lewis Helford (born January 28, 1952) is an American television writer and producer.
Career
Helford was the co-creator of '' The Drew Carey Show''. He served as executive producer of the series for its entire run, from 1995 to 2004. Hel ...
that premiered on
FX on June 28, 2012.
The series is loosely based on the
2003 film of the same title and stars
Charlie Sheen
Carlos Irwin Estévez (born September 3, 1965), known professionally as Charlie Sheen, is an American actor. He has appeared in films such as ''Platoon'' (1986), ''Wall Street'' (1987), '' Young Guns'' (1988), '' The Rookie'' (1990), ''The Thr ...
in a variation of the
Jack Nicholson
John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. In many of his films, he played rebels against the social structure. He received numerous ...
character in the film.
The series received 5.74 million viewers in its debut, breaking the record as the most-watched sitcom premiere in US
cable television
Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broa ...
history.
On November 7, 2014, FX announced that the series would end after its
100th episode, which aired on December 22, 2014.
Premise
The series revolves around Charlie Goodson (Sheen), a one-time minor league baseball player who struggled to take the next step because of his recurring anger issues. Thanks to a therapist, Dr. Kate Wales (
Selma Blair
Selma Blair Beitner (born June 23, 1972) is an American actress. She played a number of roles in films and on television before obtaining recognition for her leading role in the film '' Brown's Requiem'' (1998). Her breakthrough came when she s ...
), Charlie was able to get his issues under control and finally make it to the
major leagues. But he had a relapse during a big league game, breaking a bat over his knee in anger and causing a career-ending injury.
The incident inspired Charlie to return to school and become an anger management therapist. Charlie is
divorce
Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...
d from his former wife Jennifer (
Shawnee Smith
Shawnee Rebecca Smith (born July 3, 1969) is an American actress and singer. She is known for her portrayal of Amanda Young in the ''Saw'' franchise (2004–2010), which established her as a " scream queen" and as an influential figure in popula ...
), on whom he
cheated multiple times during his baseball-playing days. The two still see a lot of each other because they share joint custody of their teenage daughter Sam (
Daniela Bobadilla
Daniela Bobadilla (born April 4, 1993) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for playing Sam Goodson in the FX series ''Anger Management''. She has also appeared in other film and television roles, such as '' Mr. Troop Mom'', the NBC drama '' ...
), who has
obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Charlie has a complicated relationship with Kate, who is not only his therapist, but also his
"sex buddy". He holds regular group sessions for court-directed anger-management patients in his home, and also does group sessions at an area prison.
Cast and characters
Main
*
Charlie Sheen
Carlos Irwin Estévez (born September 3, 1965), known professionally as Charlie Sheen, is an American actor. He has appeared in films such as ''Platoon'' (1986), ''Wall Street'' (1987), '' Young Guns'' (1988), '' The Rookie'' (1990), ''The Thr ...
as Dr. Charles "Charlie" Goodson, a former professional baseball player turned anger-management therapist.
*
Selma Blair
Selma Blair Beitner (born June 23, 1972) is an American actress. She played a number of roles in films and on television before obtaining recognition for her leading role in the film '' Brown's Requiem'' (1998). Her breakthrough came when she s ...
as Dr. Kate Wales, Charlie's ex–therapist colleague and casual
sex partner
Sexual partners are people who engage in sexual activity together. The sexual partners may be in a committed relationship, either on an exclusive basis or not, or engage in the sexual activity on a casual basis. They may be on intimate terms ...
.
(episodes 1–52, 57 and 63)
*
Shawnee Smith
Shawnee Rebecca Smith (born July 3, 1969) is an American actress and singer. She is known for her portrayal of Amanda Young in the ''Saw'' franchise (2004–2010), which established her as a " scream queen" and as an influential figure in popula ...
as Jennifer Goodson, Charlie's ex-wife.
[While still credited among the main cast every episode, Smith's role in the series was greatly reduced and from late 2013 she only appeared in a small number of episodes.]
*
Daniela Bobadilla
Daniela Bobadilla (born April 4, 1993) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for playing Sam Goodson in the FX series ''Anger Management''. She has also appeared in other film and television roles, such as '' Mr. Troop Mom'', the NBC drama '' ...
as Sam Goodson, Charlie and Jennifer's teenage daughter.
(episodes 1–52, 54, 57 and 63)
*
Noureen DeWulf
Noureen DeWulf ( née Ahmed) is an American actress and comedian. She is best known for her film roles in ''West Bank Story'' (2005), ''Ghosts of Girlfriends Past'' (2009), and '' The Back-up Plan'' (2010). She also starred as Lacey on the sitco ...
as Lacey Patel, Charlie's spoiled, shallow, destructive & violent anger-management patient.
*
Michael Arden
Michael Jerrod Moore (born October 6, 1982), known professionally as Michael Arden, is an American actor, singer, musician, and theatre director.
Early life
Growing up in Midland, Texas, he was active in the Pickwick Players, Midland Community ...
as Patrick, Charlie's homosexual passive-aggressive anger-management patient.
*
Derek Richardson as Nolan Johnson, Charlie's normally unassertive & dismissive anger-management patient.
*
Barry Corbin
Leonard Barrie Corbin (born October 16, 1940) is an American actor. He is best known for his starring role as Maurice Minnifield on the television series '' Northern Exposure'' (1990–1995), which earned him two consecutive Primetime Emmy Awar ...
as Ed, Charlie's elderly redneck anger-management patient, who enjoys other people's misery.
(episodes 3–100; recurring previously)
*
Brian Austin Green
Brian Austin Green (born Brian Green; July 15, 1973) is an American actor, rapper, television personality and podcaster, best known for his portrayal of David Silver on the television series ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (1990–2000). Green was al ...
as Sean Healy, Charlie's nemesis, who has also dated Jennifer. After Jennifer leaves him over his infidelity, Sean and Charlie become friends and tomcat around together.
(episodes 45–100; recurring previously)
*
Laura Bell Bundy
Laura Ashley Bell Bundy (born April 10, 1981) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for originating the Broadway roles of Amber Von Tussle in the musical version of '' Hairspray and'' Elle Woods in the musical version of ''Legall ...
as Dr. Jordan Denby, a new psychologist and business partner for Charlie. Often Charlie's comic foil, Jordan links up sexually with Sean Healy. She also plays Jordan's identical twin sister, Jessie.
(episodes 47–100)
Recurring
*
Brett Butler as Brett, the female bartender at the Merry Peasant tavern that Charlie frequents.
*
Michael Boatman
Michael Patrick Boatman (born October 25, 1964) is an American actor and writer. He is known for his roles as New York City mayoral aide Carter Heywood in the ABC sitcom ''Spin City'', as U.S. Army Specialist Samuel Beckett in the ABC drama s ...
as Michael, Charlie's neighbor and friend, who is in the real estate business. He is always freeloading off Charlie while listening to him talk about his romantic pursuits. He is especially unlucky at love.
(episodes 1–55, guest episode 95)
*
James Black as Cleo/Derek, a "gay" member of Charlie's prison anger-therapy group. In "Charlie's Patient Gets Out of Jail", Cleo is released on parole and reveals to Charlie that his real name is Derek and that he had a wife before going to prison, claiming he's only "
prison gay".
*
Darius McCrary
Darius Creston McCrary (born May 1, 1976) is an American actor, rapper, singer and producer. McCrary is known for his role as Edward "Eddie" Winslow, the oldest child of Carl and Harriette Winslow on the ABC/CBS television sitcom '' Family Mat ...
as Donovan, a "prison gay" member of Charlie's prison anger-therapy group; Cleo/Derek's romantic partner. He acts effete in prison, but relatively masculine on the outside.
(episodes 1–42)
* Stephen Taylor as Wayne, a member of Charlie's prison anger-therapy group. Despite a seemingly pleasant, philosophical demeanor, he's revealed to have been a dangerous serial killer.
* Aldo Gonzalez as Ernesto Sylvia, a member of Charlie's prison anger-therapy group.
*
Martin Sheen
Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. He first became known for his roles in the films ''The Subject Was Roses'' (1968) and ''Badlands'' (1973), and later achieved wid ...
as Martin Goodson, Charlie's hypercritical father.
(episodes 10–100)
*
Steve Valentine
Stephen John Valentine (born 26 October 1966) is a Scottish actor and magician. He is known for his roles as Nigel Townsend on NBC's crime drama series ''Crossing Jordan'', the voice of Harry Flynn in the video game '' Uncharted 2: Among Thiev ...
as Dr. Moore, a rival psychiatrist whom Charlie considers his archenemy.
(episodes 13–44)
*
Anna Hutchison
Anna Hutchison (born 8 February 1986) is a New Zealand actress and producer. Her roles include Delphi Greenlaw on '' Shortland Street'' (2002–04); Lily Chilman, the Yellow Cheetah Ranger on '' Power Rangers Jungle Fury'' (2008); Allison Dine ...
as Sasha, a
hooker who is occasionally a real girlfriend for Charlie. She and Charlie are briefly married after a wild night in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
.
(episodes 49–92)
*
Ajay Mehta
Ajay Mehta ( ) () is an Indian actor based in North America, known for his deep baritone voice.
Early life and education
Mehta was born in New Delhi, India and he was educated in New Delhi, in Mayo College and St. Stephen's College. Accordin ...
as Sanjay Patel, Lacey's father.
*
Meera Simhan
Meera Simhan is an English film and stage actress and writer. She appeared in ''Date Movie'' (2006) and several television and stage productions. She had a recurring role in ''Anger Management'' in 2013 and 2014. She was born in England
...
as Mira Patel, Lacey's mother.
* Schuyler Helford as Sateen, Lacey's sister, who is frequently competing with her.
*
Michael Gross as Dr. Randy Warren, a "psychic psychologist" whom Charlie exposes as a fraud. He briefly appears in Charlie's prison therapy group later on.
(episodes 77–80)
*
Elaine Hendrix
Katherine Elaine Hendrix (born December 28, 1970) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in ''Superstar'', ''Romy and Michele's High School Reunion'', the 1995 ''Get Smart'' series, the 1998 remake of '' The Parent Trap'', ''Dynasty' ...
as Warden Hartley, the new warden at the prison where Charlie and Jordan work.
(episodes 79–83)
Production
On July 18, 2011, it was announced that a show based on the
2003 film of the same name was in development with
Charlie Sheen
Carlos Irwin Estévez (born September 3, 1965), known professionally as Charlie Sheen, is an American actor. He has appeared in films such as ''Platoon'' (1986), ''Wall Street'' (1987), '' Young Guns'' (1988), '' The Rookie'' (1990), ''The Thr ...
starring in the role originally played by
Jack Nicholson
John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. In many of his films, he played rebels against the social structure. He received numerous ...
from the film. The series was Sheen's first acting role since he was officially fired from the hit
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
sitcom ''
Two and a Half Men
''Two and a Half Men'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS for twelve seasons from September 22, 2003, to February 19, 2015. Originally starring Charlie Sheen in the lead role alongside Jon Cryer and Angus T. Jones, the ...
''.
On October 27, 2011, it was announced that
FX had picked up the series with an initial ten-episode order which, if successful, FX would then order an additional 90 episodes under a syndication model crafted by
Debmar-Mercury
Debmar-Mercury is a television syndication company. A wholly-owned subsidiary of Lionsgate, it was formed from a merger of Debmar Studios and Mercury Entertainment in 2006.
History Debmar Studios
Debmar-Mercury's history begins on October 31, ...
. On August 29, 2012, it was announced that the show would be picked up for a further 90 episodes. On January 9, 2013, FX president John Landgraf said that there will essentially be "45 new episodes per year". Landgraf also announced that
Martin Sheen
Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. He first became known for his roles in the films ''The Subject Was Roses'' (1968) and ''Badlands'' (1973), and later achieved wid ...
, who guest-starred in season one as Charlie's on-screen father, would become a season two regular cast member.
While Martin did appear more frequently on the show, it was only in selected episodes and he was ultimately not promoted to regular cast member.
FX paid a $600,000-per-episode license fee for the series. To boost its sagging season-two ratings, FX announced that four episodes (two of them first-run) would air on FX's parent network
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
on Monday nights in June, starting June 3, 2013.
Casting
Casting announcements began in January 2012, with
Shawnee Smith
Shawnee Rebecca Smith (born July 3, 1969) is an American actress and singer. She is known for her portrayal of Amanda Young in the ''Saw'' franchise (2004–2010), which established her as a " scream queen" and as an influential figure in popula ...
and
Selma Blair
Selma Blair Beitner (born June 23, 1972) is an American actress. She played a number of roles in films and on television before obtaining recognition for her leading role in the film '' Brown's Requiem'' (1998). Her breakthrough came when she s ...
first cast as the two female leads. Smith was cast as Charlie's ex-wife and Blair was cast as Charlie's therapist and possible love interest.
Several actresses tested for the two female lead roles, including
Julie Benz
Julie Benz (born May 1, 1972) l is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Darla on ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and ''Angel'' (1997–2004), and as Rita Bennett on '' Dexter'' (2006–2010), for which she won the 2006 Satellite Awar ...
, Jenica Bergere,
Elaine Hendrix
Katherine Elaine Hendrix (born December 28, 1970) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in ''Superstar'', ''Romy and Michele's High School Reunion'', the 1995 ''Get Smart'' series, the 1998 remake of '' The Parent Trap'', ''Dynasty' ...
(who would get a role on the show),
Kate Reinders
Kate Reinders (born December 10, 1980) is an American actress and singer, who has performed as lead and understudy in several Broadway shows. Reinders was born in Seattle, Washington, but raised in Spring Lake, Michigan. She attended Western Mic ...
and
Nichole Hiltz
Nichole Marie Hiltz is an American actress. She has appeared in several films, made-for-TV movies, and television series. Her most recent long-running television credit is for USA Network's ''In Plain Sight'' from 2008 to 2012 in which she portra ...
.
Next to be cast was
Noureen DeWulf
Noureen DeWulf ( née Ahmed) is an American actress and comedian. She is best known for her film roles in ''West Bank Story'' (2005), ''Ghosts of Girlfriends Past'' (2009), and '' The Back-up Plan'' (2010). She also starred as Lacey on the sitco ...
, in the role of Lacey, a spoiled rich girl who is sentenced to join the therapy group after shooting her boyfriend in the testicles when he cheated on her.
Michael Arden
Michael Jerrod Moore (born October 6, 1982), known professionally as Michael Arden, is an American actor, singer, musician, and theatre director.
Early life
Growing up in Midland, Texas, he was active in the Pickwick Players, Midland Community ...
and
Daniela Bobadilla
Daniela Bobadilla (born April 4, 1993) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for playing Sam Goodson in the FX series ''Anger Management''. She has also appeared in other film and television roles, such as '' Mr. Troop Mom'', the NBC drama '' ...
were cast as, respectively, Patrick (an openly gay member of Charlie's therapy group) and Sam (Charlie's teenaged daughter who has
obsessive-compulsive disorder).
Barry Corbin
Leonard Barrie Corbin (born October 16, 1940) is an American actor. He is best known for his starring role as Maurice Minnifield on the television series '' Northern Exposure'' (1990–1995), which earned him two consecutive Primetime Emmy Awar ...
was cast as Ed, a cranky, bigoted
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
veteran and the member of the therapy group who is angry at everyone. Originally billed as a recurring character, the producers decided after just two episodes to make Ed a series regular.
Derek Richardson was the last actor cast in the series, in the role of Nolan, a frequently stoned member of the therapy group whose anger issue is that he has no anger.
Brian Austin Green
Brian Austin Green (born Brian Green; July 15, 1973) is an American actor, rapper, television personality and podcaster, best known for his portrayal of David Silver on the television series ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (1990–2000). Green was al ...
, who initially made a guest appearance, was promoted to a starring role following the dismissal of Selma Blair.
Denise Richards
Denise Richards (born February 17, 1971) is an American actress, television personality, and former fashion model. Her most recognized roles are Carmen Ibanez in ''Starship Troopers'' (1997), Kelly Van Ryan in '' Wild Things'' (1998) and Bond gi ...
,
Lindsay Lohan
Lindsay Dee Lohan ( ; born July 2, 1986) is an American actress and singer. Born in New York City and raised on Long Island, Lohan was signed to Ford Models at the age of three. Having appeared as a regular on the television soap opera '' An ...
,
Cee Lo Green, and
Kerri Kenney-Silver
Kerri Kenney-Silver (born January 20, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, writer, singer, and musician. She is best known for starring as Trudy Wiegel on the mockumentary series ''Reno 911!'' and previously for her sketch comedy work on MTV ...
made guest appearances. Guitarist
Slash
Slash may refer to:
* Slash (punctuation), the "/" character
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Slash (Marvel Comics)
* Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'')
Music
* Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band
* Nash ...
made a cameo appearance. Sheen's father,
Martin Sheen
Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. He first became known for his roles in the films ''The Subject Was Roses'' (1968) and ''Badlands'' (1973), and later achieved wid ...
, who made a guest appearance in season one as Charlie's on-screen father, had an expanded role in the second season. FX president John Landgraf said, "I thought it would be a better series if it was also a multi-generational series".
[
]
Selma Blair's dismissal
On June 17, 2013, TMZ
TMZ is a tabloid news website owned by Fox Corporation. It made its debut on November 8, 2005, originally as a collaboration between AOL and Telepictures, a division of Warner Bros., until Time Warner divested AOL in 2009. On September 13, 202 ...
reported that Sheen had told producers that he would refuse to work should Blair turn up to work that day as a result of her being the most vocal among the cast and crew regarding complaints about his being a "menace" to work with – specifically questioning his punctuality and work ethic. The following day, TMZ reported that Sheen had told the producers that, if they refused to fire Blair, then he would quit. Later that day, Lionsgate issued a statement confirming that Blair would not be returning to the show and that a new female lead role would be created to fill the void.
The new female lead role was described as a "by-the-book psychiatrist" who joins Charlie to co-author the sex study research he and Kate had been working on before she left and moved to India. On August 5, 2013, FX announced that Laura Bell Bundy
Laura Ashley Bell Bundy (born April 10, 1981) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for originating the Broadway roles of Amber Von Tussle in the musical version of '' Hairspray and'' Elle Woods in the musical version of ''Legall ...
would be replacing Blair as Charlie's new colleague, Dr. Jordan Denby, with production on the first episode featuring Bundy's character beginning that same day. It was announced that Brian Austin Green
Brian Austin Green (born Brian Green; July 15, 1973) is an American actor, rapper, television personality and podcaster, best known for his portrayal of David Silver on the television series ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (1990–2000). Green was al ...
would have an expanded role following Blair's firing.
Potential lawsuit
On September 13, 2013, TMZ reported that Blair was threatening both Sheen and Lionsgate Entertainment for the $1.2 million she would have earned had she not been dismissed from the show but also noted that both sides were talking and attempting to reach a settlement. It was also reported that a decision had already been made prior to her dismissal to write her off the show, as "America didn't want to see Charlie with just one girlfriend" – however, the plan was to phase the character out over eight episodes and that, once Sheen heard of Blair's comments, "that process was accelerated" and the character abruptly moved to India.
Canceled episode
In June 2013, a press release for an episode titled "Charlie and Kate Have Sex for Science" stated that the episode was set to air on June 27, 2013, as the twenty-sixth episode of the season. Following the aftermath of Blair's dismissal, the planned broadcast was canceled and replaced with "Charlie and the Hot Nerd" – the first episode produced without Blair. The status of "Charlie and Kate Have Sex for Science" is unknown, as all episodes with production codes up to, and including, 1040 (Blair's final episode) have aired. An episode with a similar title, but with different storylines, named "Charlie Does It for Science" aired on December 5, 2013.
Broadcast
The original broadcast was on the American cable channel FX from June 28, 2012, and was later broadcast in the summer of 2013 by Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
. In Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, the series premiered on CTV on August 12, 2012. New episodes later aired on M3. In the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
/Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
it premiered on Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programming ...
on September 12, 2012, and was later shown on 4Music
4Music is a British music television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. The original incarnation was launched on 15 August 2008, and until 29 June 2022, showed a mix of music and entertainment programming. It ...
. ''Anger Management'' began airing in Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
on the Nine Network
The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...
on August 14, 2012, and in New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
on TVNZ
, type = Crown entity
, industry = Broadcast television
, num_locations = New Zealand
, location = Auckland, New Zealand
, area_served = Nationally (New Zealand) and some Pacific Island nations such as the Cook Islands, Fiji, and the So ...
's TV2 from August 15, 2012. The series was in traditional broadcast syndication
Broadcast syndication is the practice of leasing the right to broadcasting television shows and radio programs to multiple television stations and radio stations, without going through a broadcast network. It is common in the United States where ...
in the United States from September 2014 until September 2018, distributed by Debmar-Mercury
Debmar-Mercury is a television syndication company. A wholly-owned subsidiary of Lionsgate, it was formed from a merger of Debmar Studios and Mercury Entertainment in 2006.
History Debmar Studios
Debmar-Mercury's history begins on October 31, ...
and Twentieth Television
20th Television (formerly 20th Century Fox Television, 20th Century-Fox Television, and TCF Television Productions, Inc.) is an American television production company that is a division of Disney Television Studios, part of The Walt Disney Comp ...
.
Reception
''Anger Management'' received largely negative reviews. Based on 33 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the first season of ''Anger Management'' received an average 21% overall "Rotten" approval rating; the website's consensus states, "''Anger Management'' is aggressively so-so, with thin characters and a few groan-worthy gags for every good one."
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
gave the first season of the show a score of 44 out of 100 based on 33 critics' reviews. Linda Stasi of the ''New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com.
It was established ...
'' called the series "not so bad", adding "''Anger Management'' is pretty conventional up to and including an idiot laugh track—and a character named Charlie—again. But maybe the familiar is what will keep crazy Charlie heenfrom killing himself and others in a blind, drunken, psycho haze on set. Or maybe not." ''The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
''s Nancy DeWolf Smith thought the series was "usually funny, often clever" and added "The accomplishment here is that tight writing and editing, a solid cast with good timing and Mr. Sheen's chops as the ne plus ultra of sitcom performers, make the whole thing feel, if not entirely fresh—then crisp."
Alan Sepinwall
Alan Sepinwall (born October 19, 1973) is an American television reviewer and writer. He spent 14 years as a columnist with ''The Star-Ledger'' in Newark until leaving the newspaper in 2010 to work for the entertainment news website HitFix. He ...
of HitFix
HitFix, or HitFix.com, was an entertainment news website that launched in December 2008 specializing in breaking entertainment news, insider information, and reviews and critiques of film, music, and television. In mid-2010 HitFix crossed the 1,00 ...
stated: "''Anger Management'' is Charlie Sheen doing what Charlie Sheen does—on-screen. It's not artful, it's not elegant ... It will likely give his fans what they want. And if there are enough of them to trigger the order for the extra 90 episodes, then FX, Helford and everyone else will feel justified in taking another chance on the guy, despite what happened in the past."
''The Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
''s Maureen Ryan stated: "despite the careful attention to image enhancement possibilities, the core ugliness and toxic narcissism of ''Anger Management'' are impossible to ignore. ... Whoever ''Anger Management'' benefits – and it certainly won't be viewers used to FX's usual scripted fare – whole enterprise is really just image management. Nice work if you can get it."
Home media
Notes
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anger Management (TV Series)
2010s American sitcoms
2012 American television series debuts
2014 American television series endings
English-language television shows
FX Networks original programming
Psychotherapy in fiction
Live action television shows based on films
Television series by Lionsgate Television
Television series created by Bruce Helford
Television shows set in Los Angeles
Television series by Mohawk Productions
Obsessive–compulsive disorder in fiction