Anger Management is an American comedy series that premiered on FX on June 28, 2012.[1] The series is based on the 2003 film of the same name and stars Charlie Sheen in a role very-loosely similar to the one originated by Jack Nicholson from the film.[2][3] Anger Management broke a ratings record with 5.74 million viewers on its series debut night and ranks as the most-watched sitcom premiere in cable history.[4][5] The show is distributed internationally by Warner Bros. Television Distribution.
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[edit] Cast
[edit] Main
- Charlie Sheen as Dr. Charlie Goodson, a former minor-league baseball player who became an anger management therapist[6]
- Selma Blair as Dr. Kate Wales, Charlie's therapist/colleague and frequent sex partner
- Shawnee Smith as Jennifer Goodson, Charlie's ex-wife
- Daniela Bobadilla as Sam Goodson, Charlie's teenage daughter
- Noureen DeWulf as Lacey, Charlie's anger management patient
- Michael Arden as Patrick, Charlie's anger management patient
- Derek Richardson as Nolan, Charlie's anger management patient
- Barry Corbin as Ed, Charlie's anger management patient[7]
[edit] Recurring
- Brett Butler as Brett, the bartender at a bar Charlie frequents
- James Black as Cleo/Derek, a member of Charlie's prison anger therapy group
- Katlin Mastandrea as Olivia, Sam's best friend
- Aldo Gonzalez as Ernesto, a therapy patient in Charlie's prison group
- Michael Boatman as Michael, Charlie's neighbor and friend[8]
[edit] Production
On July 18, 2011, it was announced that the show based on the 2003 film of the same name was in development with Charlie Sheen starring in the role originally played by Jack Nicholson from the film. The series will be Sheen's first acting role since he was officially fired from the hit CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men.[2] 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. On August 29, 2012 it was announced that the show would be picked up for a further 90 episodes.[9][edit] Casting
Casting announcements began in January 2012, with Shawnee Smith and Selma Blair 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.[10][11] Several actresses tested for the two female lead roles, including Julie Benz, Jenica Bergere, Elaine Hendrix, Kate Reinders and Nicole Hiltz.[12]Next to be cast was Noureen DeWulf, 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.[13] Michael Arden and Daniela Bobadilla were cast as, respectively, Patrick, one of the members of the therapy group, and Sam, Charlie's 13-year-old daughter.[14] Derek Richardson was the last actor cast in the series, in the role of Nolan, a member of the therapy group whose anger issue is that he has no anger.[15]
Denise Richards, Kerri Kenney-Silver,[16] and Brian Austin Green are confirmed to make guest appearances.
[edit] Critical reception
Anger Management received mixed reviews on Metacritic with a score of 44 out of 100 based on 33 critics' reviews.[17] Linda Stasi of the New York Post 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 [Sheen] from killing himself and others in a blind, drunken, psycho haze on set. Or maybe not."[18] The Wall Street Journal'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."[19] Alan Sepinwall of HitFix 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."[20] The Huffington Post'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." Anger Management was renewed for 90 more episodes, with production starting on September 24.[21][edit] Series overview
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | DVD and Blu-ray release date | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season premiere | Season finale | Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | |||
| 1 | 10 | June 28, 2012 | August 23, 2012 | January 8, 2013[22] | January 14, 2013[23] | TBA | |
[edit] Episodes
[edit] Season 1 (2012)
| No. in series | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Production code | U.S. viewers (million) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Charlie Goes Back to Therapy" | Andy Cadiff | Teleplay and Television Story by: Bruce Helford | June 28, 2012 | 101 | 5.47[24] |
| When Charlie almost beats his ex-wife's boyfriend (Brian Austin Green) with a lamp after an anger relapse, he decides he needs to go back to therapy. Unfortunately, he is currently having sex with the only therapist he trusts: his best friend Kate. Since the number-one rule of therapy is not to have sexual relations with patients, Charlie must choose between his love of sex and his need for help. | |||||||
| 2 | 2 | "Charlie and the Slumpbuster" | Gerry Cohen | Kristy Grant | June 28, 2012 | 103 | 5.74[24] |
| Charlie is visited by a troubled woman (Kerri Kenney-Silver) he had a one-night stand with while playing in the minor leagues. Wracked with the guilt of using her as his "slumpbuster", he pretends to date her and realizes she acts like less of a girlfriend and more of an obsessed stalker. | |||||||
| 3 | 3 | "Charlie Tries Sleep Deprivation" | Bob Koherr | Dave Kaplan | July 5, 2012 | 106 | 3.37[25] |
| Charlie attempts a new way to help his patients, which involves putting them through 36 hours of sleep deprivation with the hope of releasing their inhibitions | |||||||
| 4 | 4 | "Charlie and Kate Battle Over a Patient" | Andy Cadiff | Bob Kushell | July 12, 2012 | 102 | 2.42[26] |
| A long-standing rivalry over who's a better therapist leads to war when Kate steals Patrick, one of Charlie's group patients. | |||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Charlie Tries to Prove Therapy is Legit" | Rob Schiller | Daley Haggar | July 19, 2012 | 107 | 2.65[27] |
| Charlie falls for Jen's hot new business partner, Lori (Denise Richards) only to find she thinks therapy is a scam. In the therapy group, Patrick asks Charlie to counsel the angry ghost of his mother, who he believes is haunting his apartment. | |||||||
| 6 | 6 | "Charlie Dates Kate's Patient" | Sam Simon | Shauna McGarry | July 26, 2012 | 109 | 2.41[28] |
| Inflamed by Kate's comment that he's only "nouveau smart", Charlie starts covertly dating a brilliant coffee-shop barista (Kristen Renton). The only problem is that the woman is turned on by sex where there's a chance of getting caught—and she's Kate's patient. | |||||||
| 7 | 7 | "Charlie's Patient Gets Out of Jail" | Gerry Cohen | Michael Loftus | August 2, 2012 | 104 | 1.58[29] |
| Charlie and his ex, Jennifer, are having an issue with how Charlie still tries to manage her life when Cleo—one of Charlie's patients from his prison anger therapy group—shows up on his doorstep, fresh out on parole. Jennifer decides to get back at Charlie by dating the ex-con. | |||||||
| 8 | 8 | "Charlie Outs a Patient" | Rob Schiller | Brian Posehn | August 9, 2012 | 108 | 2.10[30] |
| Charlie has to evaluate the depth of his involvement in his patient's lives when he accidentally helps his patient who vicariously enjoys other people's anger hook up with a crazy woman. | |||||||
| 9 | 9 | "Charlie's Dad Visits" | Bob Koherr | Story by: Daley Haggar Teleplay by: Brian Posehn & Kristy Grant | August 16, 2012 | 110 | 2.05[31] |
| Charlie gets an unexpected visit from his hyper-critical, bullying father (Martin Sheen), who tells him he is moving to town to be closer to him; in the therapy group, Charlie attempts to help Lacey with road rage. | |||||||
| 10 | 10 | "Charlie Gets Romantic" | Bob Koherr | Janae Bakken | August 23, 2012 | 105 | 1.98[32] |
| After Charlie and Kate have sex, he innocently asks her if she wants to go to a movie. Kate interprets this as a romantic gesture, rushes to fix him up on a date the next day with someone else and the two are forced to examine the nature of their odd relationship. At home, Sam kisses a girl at school and a picture of it ends up on Facebook. Charlie and Jennifer have worries that their daughter is a lesbian. | |||||||
[edit] Season 2 (2013)
| No. in series | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Production code | U.S. viewers (million) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 1 | "Charlie Loses it at a Baby Shower"[33] | Steve Zuckerman | Michael Loftus | January 17, 2013 | ||
| 12 | 2 | "Charlie's Dad Starts to Lose It"[34] | Andy Cadiff | Clay Graham | January 17, 2013 | ||
| 13 | 3 | "Charlie and the Ex–Patient"[35] | Gerry Cohen | Daley Haggar | January 24, 2013 |
(Jan 4, 2013 Friday)
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