Charlie Sheen's 'Anger Management' sells to FX

SheenCharlie Sheen's new syndie sitcom "Anger Management" has found a home at FX. Cabler has ordered 10 episodes and, per the syndie deal with Lionsgate-owned distrib Debmar-Mercury, an additional 90 episodes will be aired by FX only if the show hits a series of initial high-ratings thresholds. Debmar-Mercury has a similar deal with Tyler Perry's comedies that air on TBS. Production will begin early next year, with a summer launch scheduled. Sheen, who is already a fixture at the cabler in "Men" reruns, will topline the skein that is based on the 2003 bigscreen Adam Sandler-Jack Nicholson comedy. Lionsgate will produce, with Bruce Helford serving as showrunner. He'll exec produce with Sheen and Joe Roth. The project was aggressively pitched around town a few weeks ago to a handful of broadcast and cable nets, including USA Network, Comedy Central and TV Land. While FX has made its mark with original laffers -- "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," "Louie," "Wilfred" and "The League" -- net has seen a huge increase in its bottom line because of its recent syndie acquisitions, and the cabler feels it can get keep that momentum ongoing with "Anger Management." Sheen's popularity is difficult to gauge right now. He starred in "Men" for eight seasons on CBS; the comedy was for many years the most watched on television. However, after his public meltdown that led to his dismissal from the show earlier this year, "Two and a Half Men" has stormed back with strong ratings with Ashton Kutcher as Sheen's replacement. Following the "Men" brouhaha, Sheen went on a public standup tour that left many fans feeling unsatisfied. Deal gives Sheen a stake in the show, so it is now clearly in the actor's best interest to stay sober. All parties have out clauses that would go into effect should Sheen become medically unable to complete the 100 episodes. On Sheen's history of instability and what it would mean to the show's future, one source said: "It's fair to say that everyone who has something invested in this show has their eyes wide open." The initial 10 episodes will run as a weekly series next summer, and the show will then shift to a mostly daily pattern -- from early 2013 through September 2014 -- if FX picks up the additional 90 episodes. Cabler is planning on pairing "Anger Management" with both "Two and a Half Men" and "How I Met Your Mother." "Men" continues to be a strong asset for FX, currently averaging 700,000 viewers an episode. No pilot has yet been shot, nor has a cast been selected. As much as Sheen is the show's drawing card, FX prexy John Landgraf and his exec team are relying on the producing skills of Helford to keep the show on course. Helford is a veteran comedy producer and knows how to balance both production schedules and disparate personalities. At one time, about a decade ago, he was Chuck Lorre-like in juggling three series on the air: "George Lopez," "Nikki" and "The Drew Carey Show." Contact Stuart Levine at stuart.levine@variety.com