Charlie Sheen produced some winning numbers for the premiere of his new FX sitcom, “Anger Management.”
The series bowed Thursday night to 5.5 million viewers — a new cable record for the premiere of a prime-time scripted sitcom.
It was also the most-watched series premiere in FX history (in total viewers).
While those 5.5 million viewers paled in comparison to the audience for Sheen’s former sitcom, CBS’s “Two and a Half Men” — which averages over 15 million viewers — they’re nothing to sneeze at.
More importantly for FX, the show also set a cable record as the most-watched scripted comedy prime-time series premiere among adults 18-49, the demographic most important to advertisers.
On the show — which premiered to mixed reviews — Sheen plays Charlie Goodson, a former minor league baseball player whose career (including one year in the big leagues) was derailed by anger issues.
He’s now a therapist dealing with his own therapist/best friend Kate Wales (Selma Blair); his ex-wife, Jennifer (Shawnee Smith); and his 13-year-old daughter, Sam (Daniela Bobadilla). Noureen DeWulf also co-stars as Lacey, one of Charlie’s patients.
Sheen, 46, was fired from “Two and a Half Men” in March 2011 after continually blasting show creator Chuck Lorre and CBS.