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‘Anger’ rates big

  • Last Updated: 11:20 PM, June 30, 2012
  • Posted: 10:33 PM, June 29, 2012

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.

IF LOOKS COULD KILL: Charlie Sheen and Selma Blair star in “Anger Management” on FX.
IF LOOKS COULD KILL: Charlie Sheen and Selma Blair star in “Anger Management” on FX.

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.

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