Originally posted at Broadcasting & Cable (broadcastingcable.com)'Anger Management' Gets 90-Episode Pickup From FX Charlie Sheen series to return in January By Tim Baysinger -- Broadcasting & Cable, 8/29/2012 1:09:42 PM
Charlie Sheen's comeback sitcom Anger Management officially received its 90-episode order from FX.
As part of its original deal, if the show hit a certain ratings benchmark in its initial eight episodes, it would automatically trigger the 90-episode order. Anger Management is cable's highest-rated new comedy series in 2012, averaging 4.53 million viewers and 2.5 million adults 18-49.
Anger Management will resume production in September and return to the airwaves in January.
"We set a very high ratings bar that included some additional hurdles for Anger Management to earn its back-90 order and the series met and exceed those metrics," said Chuck Saftler, executive VP of FX Networks. "Bruce Helford has created a sitcom that works extremely well in our pre-10 p.m. programming lineup. Charlie Sheen and the entire cast did an amazing job in the first ten episodes, which were produced in a very tight window. I have no doubt that the producers and cast will be able to pull off the Herculean task of producing 90 episodes over the next two years."
Debmar-Mercury copresidents Mort Marcus and Ira Bernstein added, "Anger Management has proven its value as a top performer for FX from its record-breaking premiere, finishing its initial run as one of highest-rated comedy series on cable television. Now we have 100 episodes of a top-tier sitcom with an A-list star the caliber of Charlie Sheen to sell into off-network syndication starting in September 2014. We thank the great team at FX for believing in this proven model, and Charlie, Bruce, a wonderful cast and writers for delivering a comedy that has been such a major success."
Wow, is this the 1950s again? That's a rather staggering number of new episodes per year.
Did anybody here catch ANY of the first ten episodes? Can they possibly sustain it over a hundred - or even more?
I can't answer any of those questions. I just know that the headline just made me shake my head and wonder how Archer can be picked up on a season-by-season basis while Charlie Sheen essentially gets the equivalent of a "Carl Crawford, 7-years, $200M" deal. I just don't get it.
Not-so-bold prediction: FX rues this contract by the halfway point.
Originally posted by It's FalseI can't answer any of those questions. I just know that the headline just made me shake my head and wonder how Archer can be picked up on a season-by-season basis while Charlie Sheen essentially gets the equivalent of a "Carl Crawford, 7-years, $200M" deal. I just don't get it.
Not-so-bold prediction: FX rues this contract by the halfway point.
(edited by It's False on 30.8.12 0128)
I hear giving a guaranteed 90 episode deal to someone with a history of flaking out and going on drug binges is a totally sane idea.
Originally posted by It's FalseI can't answer any of those questions. I just know that the headline just made me shake my head and wonder how Archer can be picked up on a season-by-season basis while Charlie Sheen essentially gets the equivalent of a "Carl Crawford, 7-years, $200M" deal. I just don't get it.
Not-so-bold prediction: FX rues this contract by the halfway point.
(edited by It's False on 30.8.12 0128)
I hear giving a guaranteed 90 episode deal to someone with a history of flaking out and going on drug binges is a totally sane idea.
It is not just 90 more episodes total, it is 90 in TWO YEARS. 45 episodes a year? CRAZY.
-- 2006 Time magazine Person of the Year -- -- July 2009 Ordained Reverend --
After the first 10 episodes aired FX had a choice to cancel the series or pick it up for the full 100 episodes (which just happens to be the best model for syndication)
Doing it over two years is INSANE and a recipe for disaster.
Charlie Sheen may be crazy, but Two and a Half Men was consistently one of the top-rated comedies on television and pulled in more than 15 million viewers in six of his eight seasons on the show, according to Wikipedia. The 45 episodes per year deal is kind of crazy, but I don't see the 100 episode-order as crazy at all if it were spaced out in a more conventional manner. Sheen is a proven ratings commodity and stayed on his previous show for eight years before being fired, so I don't see the risk in that regard.
Ehhh, 45 episodes a year isn't as crazy as some think -- that'll be the same length as 22.5 episodes of an hour-long drama, and that's done all the time.
Originally posted by HokienauticEhhh, 45 episodes a year isn't as crazy as some think -- that'll be the same length as 22.5 episodes of an hour-long drama, and that's done all the time.
You said it before I could.
But its still a lot for a sitcom.
Maybe it's a bold new strategy... less reruns, more new episodes
Originally posted by HokienauticEhhh, 45 episodes a year isn't as crazy as some think -- that'll be the same length as 22.5 episodes of an hour-long drama, and that's done all the time.
To keep that same pace as a hour long show, will they tape twice a week? Learning two scripts a week is just an amazing feat.
-- 2006 Time magazine Person of the Year -- -- July 2009 Ordained Reverend --
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