Charlie Sheen’s new show ‘Anger Management’

Charlie Sheen’s new show, which airs next month, has experienced some unexpected twists and turns during production.  But none of these surprises have occurred due to reasons you might expect.  Charlie Sheen has not been found half naked with a prostitute in his hotel closet, nor has he been gallivanting around with strippers and cocaine.

According to ex-wife, Denise Richards, “he’s in a really good place” and Sheen has been “very focused on our children and his job.”  And he would have to be focused.  In six short weeks the team behind Anger Management has wrapped up filming ten episodes on time and within the budget at the incredible speed of about fifty pages of script a week.

FX will air the episodes beginning June 28th before deciding whether or not to produce 90 more episodes.

The series is loosely based on the Adam Sandler movie of the same title that was released in 2003.  Sheen is set to play Charlie Goodson, a former professional baseball player who becomes a therapist after dealing with his own anger issues.  The first ten episodes will include some guest appearances from Sheen’s father and his ex-wife.  Sheen told “Access Hollywood” that “we’re going to find out this guy does have major issues with his pop and when that character does finally show up, it will be my dad.”  Sheen does not seem  to have this issue in common with his character.  An on-set source from E! Online reveals that Sheen and his father “got along great and you could tell they had a special bond.”

His ex-wife’s presence on set seems to be a slight shock as well.  The two have had a rocky relationship post-divorce with Sheen being caught verbally bashing Richards in front of a crowd, calling her obscene names, and humiliating her.  Last year Richards turned down a $100,000 offer for a role with Sheen, but now the one-time couple will be staring on television together with Richards as Charlie’s love interest.  The actress told Extra how the idea became a reality.

“Charlie came to me and asked me to do an episode on the show. I saw a sneak peek of the first episode and it’s really funny. I did a table read last week. I play a love interest to my ex husband”

The two have been divorced since 2006 after three years of marriage and two daughters together.  Their relationship seems to be in running smoothly at the moment with Richards tweeting “It’s a wrap! Thanks @charliesheen for a great week.. had a blast! So fun working together again!!”

Since the surprises to production have not been coming from now “focused” Sheen, they have instead been evoked by a $50,000,000 lawsuit.  The lawsuit was filed by Jason Shuman and his Blue Star Entertainment company.  The Hollywood Reporter found that the plaintiffs claim that they developed the idea for Anger Management “under the false promise of receiving significant backend ownership in, and producer credit and fees on, the show.”  They also claim that they have a written producer agreement that Joe Roth has refused to honor.  The $50 million dollars is supposedly to make up for the compensation and credit Shuman believes he deserves.  As the producer behind Anger Management, Roth has addressed the issue via a statement to The Hollywood Reporter saying, “We reviewed this issue months ago with our lawyers, our lawyers determined it has no merit, and we thought the issue had been dropped.”

In spite of the lawsuit Sheen fans are eagerly awaiting the return of the actor’s wry sense of humor in the new series.  Many will be sure to tune in next month for the first television performance of Sheen since he left “Two and a Half Men” last year.