LOS ANGELES, June 29 (Reuters) – Charlie Sheen may have lost
a man and a half, but the bad boy actor has rebounded from last
year’s television debacle with a record-setting audience for his
new TV comedy.
More than 5.4 million U.S. viewers watched the debut episode
of “Anger Management” on FX on Thursday night according to
audience ratings data, making it was the most-watched, scripted
comedy series debut in primetime cable TV history.
The comedy, in which Sheen plays a womanizing anger
therapist with problems of his own, is Sheen’s first TV series
since he was fired in 2011 from his womanizing bachelor role in
the top-rated CBS comedy “Two and A Half Men”.
The audience for “Anger Management” was about a third of the
viewers Sheen attracted for “Men”. He lost that job after
publicly insulting producers during months of erratic behavior.
TV critics gave “Anger Management” a lukewarm reception,
with many feeling it was a tired version of Sheen’s former
character. The Los Angeles Times said the show was “just
average”, while the New York Daily News called it funny and said
it had an oddball collection of characters.
Also on FX, comedian Russell Brand’s new late-night stand-up
show, “Brand X”, got off to what the network called “a good
start” on Thursday with 1.1 million viewers.
FX is the cable arm of Fox television, owned by News Corp
, and is aimed mostly at young men.
