Charlie Sheen’s ‘Anger Management’ Breaks Ratings Record
Last night’s premiere of Charlie Sheen‘s much-anticipated return to the sitcom world, Anger Management, drew a record-breaking 5.47 million total viewers for a scripted cable comedy debut, according to a statement from the FX network.
Of that total number, 2.65 million fell in the coveted 18-49 age demographic, which also marks a new high for the debut of a cable sitcom.
Those numbers – which grew to 5.74 million total viewers during the airing of the second episode of Anger Management that night – made the Sheen-helmed show the most-watched debut in FX history.
Those numbers are certainly a good sign for Anger Management due to its unique production arrangement. If the show’s first 10 episodes are a success, 90 more will be produced over the next two years; this would give the show a solid syndication package (typically 100 episodes) in about half the time it normally takes.
Recently, Sheen said that Anger Management would most likely be his swan song: “There’s a lot more out there to do than make-believe, you know?” he said in an interview with the New York Times. “At some point you just get tired of wearing somebody else’s clothes, saying somebody else’s words and working in somebody else’s space.”
One of FX’s other comedies, Louie, had its season three premiere last night; you can check out the episode’s most uncomfortable moments here. It saw its ratings jump up 55 percent from last season.