New Charlie Sheen Sitcom Coming To FX in Summer 2012; Chelsea Kane Joins ABC Family Sitcom Pilot

Monday, October 31, 2011

New Charlie Sheen Sitcom Coming To FX in Summer 2012; Chelsea Kane Joins ABC Family Sitcom Pilot

Happy Halloween! This could be scary for some, but former Two and a Half Men star Charlie Sheen will return to television, as we know... but now we have the full details! Starting in summer 2012, FX has acquired the new Sheen sitcom Anger Management, a new sitcom loosely based on Revolution Studios' 2003 hit comedy feature film of the same name. FX has ordered 10 episodes of Anger Management from Lionsgate-owned distributor Debmar-Mercury, led by Co-Presidents Mort Marcus and Ira Bernstein. Production on the sitcom will begin in early 2012 with comedy veteran writer-producer Bruce Helford (George Lopez, The Drew Carey Show) as executive producer and showrunner. It will be produced by Lionsgate Television, led by Television Group President Kevin Beggs and COO Sandra Stern; Joe Roth and Revolution Studios' Vince Totino; Sheen manager Mark Burg's production company, Evolution Management; and Ramon Estevez and Estevez Sheen Productions.

In success, FX will pick up an additional 90 episodes under a unique syndication model crafted by Debmar-Mercury for multiple Tyler Perry sitcoms and Revolution's and Ice Cube's Are We There Yet? The series will air exclusively on FX until the off-network episodes start airing in broadcast syndication in fall 2014 -- only two years after its debut, since it will have 100 episodes by then. Sheen will retain a significant ownership stake in the series inspired by the film, in which an anger management therapist, who may need more counseling than his patients, wreaks havoc on the lives of his patients through his unconventional methods.
FX already airs repeats of his former sitcom Two and a Half Men everyday and they do great ratings. We will have more on this for sure as we get closer to summer 2012, such as a premiere date and what day/time it will air. So come on back!

ABC Family has cast rising star Chelsea Kane (Dancing with the Stars Season 12) on a new sitcom pilot. She is probably best known for being a finalist on ABC's Dancing with the Stars and who stars in Disney Channel's Jonas as Stella and in the upcoming ABC Family movie musical, Elixir (working title), has been cast as Penny in the new half-hour comedy pilot, Baby Daddy. Kane joins previously announced cast including Derek Theler and Cameron Deane Stewart. This sitcom pilot, a half-hour comedy from executive producer Dan Berendsen, is about Ben (Stewart) who, in his 20s, becomes a surprise dad to a baby girl when she's left on his doorstep by an ex-girlfriend. Ben decides to raise the baby with the help of his mother, his brother, Danny (Theler), his best buddy and his close female friend, Penny (Kane), who is harboring a secret crush on him. Baby Daddy is a multi-camera comedy and is scheduled to shoot in front of a live audience in December in Los Angeles.

If the series is picked-up to series, it could be a possible companion to ABC Family's popular original sitcom Melissa & Joey. ABC Family has not found a good pairing with that sitcom yet, as State of Georgia (starring Raven Symone) was recently canceled by ABC Family due to low ratings, which is a bummer since it was decent. ABC Family also has another sitcom pilot that is in contention titled Village People, a multi-camera half-hour pilot centering on a single, high-powered career woman who adopts a baby from a teen mother -- whom she ends up caring for as well. We hope both make it to series but are hoping more for Baby Daddy so we can see Chelsea Kane blossom into a big star. Stay with us for further updates!

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Friday, December 6

Happy's Place - "Ho-Ho Howey" (NBC, 9:15PM ET/PT)
When the tavern's health insurance is threatened to be canceled, Gabby has a plan; she'll persuade her friend Danny to host his company party at Happy's, but the catch is everyone must call Bobbie "Gabby" and Gabby "Bobbie."

Lopez vs Lopez - "Lopez vs Santa" (NBC, 9:45PM ET/PT)
While Mayan tries to track down the perfect Christmas gift for Chance, George has to settle a feud with Santa that stretches back to George's childhood; Quinten tries to shake Rosie out of her holiday blues.

Bob Hearts Abishola - "We Were Beggars, Now We Are Choosers" (The CW, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
After Abishola gives her previous suitor a second chance, Uncle Tunde goes behind Auntie Olu's back to warn Bob about the other man who's courting his niece.

Bob Hearts Abishola - "Ice Cream for Breakfast" (The CW, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Bob must gain the confidence to fight for Abishola when she goes on another date with Chukwuemeka; Uncle Tunde finds an unlikely friend in Dottie in the aftermath of his fight with Auntie Olu.

Children Ruin Everything - "Chores" (The CW, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Astrid and James question the effectiveness of their own parenting when they meet one of Felix's friends with impeccable manners; Astrid and James worry about the types of adults their kids will become.

Children Ruin Everything - "Feelings" (The CW, 9:30PM ET/PT)
James, feeling left out when Ennis makes a new friend, inserts himself in Ennis' dodgeball tournament; Astrid struggles to get Viv to control her emotions, especially when frustrations at work make it hard to lead by example.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 2)

Friday, December 6

Ralph Macchio (Eight Is Enough) - Watch Ralph on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Ben Stiller (Arrested Development) - Ben is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Rita Moreno (One Day at a Time/Happily Divorced/9 to 5) - Rita appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Emily Osment (Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage/Young Sheldon/Young & Hungry/Hannah Montana), Tien Tran (How I Met Your Father) and Vinny Thomas (Platonic) - Emily, Tien and Vinny are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Hilary Swank (Camp Wilder) - NBC's Today catches up with Hilary in the 10am hour.
The Cast of Sex Lives of College Girls - The Sex Lives of College Girls creator Mindy Kaling is joining Drew on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings. Then, the case of the show, Pauline Chalamet, Alyah Chanelle Scott, Amrit Kaur, Mia Rodgers and Gracie Lawrence are all chatting about the latest season of the hit show.
Ryan Destiny (grown-ish) and Brian Tyree Henry (HouseBroken/Atlanta) - Ryan and Brian talk about their new film The Fire Inside on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Steve Howey (Reba) - Steve talks about NBC's Happy Place on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Krysten Ritter (Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23) - Krysten discusses her film Sonic 3 on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Melissa Joan Hart (Baby Daddy/Sabrina the Teenage Witch/Clarissa Explains It All) - Melissa is a guest on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:05am.