Charlie Sheen sitcom poised for 90-episode pickup

HOLLYWOOD, CA - JUNE 26: Actor Charlie Sheen attends the FX Summer Comedies Party held at Lure on June 26, 2012 in Hollywood, California. / Getty Images/Mark Davis

(AP) BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - Charlie Sheen says he's not insane anymore.

Instead, these are good days for the "Anger Management" star, he declares, with his FX sitcom half-way through its initial 10-episode run and poised to get an order for 90 more.

Sheen told reporters Saturday that the prospect of continuing is as "exciting as hell," and added cheerily, "I don't think 90's gonna be enough."

With the expected pickup, FX plans to bring aboard Sheen's dad, Martin Sheen, as a regular cast member. He will play the father of Charlie Goodson, the anger-management therapist played by Charlie Sheen. The veteran movie actor, who also played President Jed Bartlet on the drama series "The West Wing," is guest-starring on an "Anger Management" episode that airs Aug. 16.

"I think that was the best episode we did," his son said.

Adding Sheen pere to the series "will give an extra dimension and make it a multi-generational family show," said FX boss John Landgraf in making the announcement.

The production schedule would call for filming a total of 100 episodes in just two years. This kind of cost-saving routine means no time for rehearsals, said executive producer Bruce Helford.

"The actors get the lines, we see the scene, the writers make changes, the actors go to makeup, cameras are blocked, we come back together and shoot the scene," he explained.

At first, the cast members "felt like basically they were on the ledge. But by the third episode, everyone found the characters to the point that the writers were following their lead," Helford said.

"I feel like how we started, we just scratched the surface — barely," said Sheen, who arrived for his appearance at the Television Critics Association session clad in Bermuda shorts, a long-sleeve shirt and loafers without socks.

He likened his tumultuous departure from "Two and a Half Men" and the stormy aftermath last year to a dream he couldn't wake up from. Or like "a train I couldn't get off of, except that I was the conductor," he added, speaking in quick bursts and fidgeting in his chair.

He said he learned a lot from that period, including "stick to what you know." Referring to his disastrous "My Violent Torpedo of Truth/Defeat is Not an Option" tour in spring 2011, he got laughs from the group when he advised, "Don't go on the road with a one-man show in 21 cities without an act. "

"I'm not insane anymore," he summed up.

What's different now from Sheen's angry stretch on "Men," characterized by his much-publicized clashes with series creator Chuck Lorre?

Helford weighed in with a theory. On "Men," he ventured, "Charlie didn't really have a voice with creative input. It wasn't built that way."

On "Anger Management," Helford said he's forged a partnership with his star.

"We built this together," he said. "And when Charlie's on the stage, that's his stage. When you feel that, your creative juices are flowing, everything is better for you, because you have a say in what you're doing.

"When you don't control your destiny, things get screwed up in your head," he said as Sheen nodded.

On "Anger Management," Charlie Goodson thrives on chaos. Sheen was asked if he does, too, or if he longs for a simpler life.

"I can wish every minute for a simple life. It's not gonna happen," Sheen replied. "But I don't really look at it as chaos. I look at it as challenges."

[vonnie1970]

I actually watched this show and it's a pretty decent show. Anyway hard to find good T.V. nowadays. Watch the "Soup" with Joel McHale and see what garbage T.V. is really out there.

[63laura]

I wish both Charlie Sheen and his father Martin all the best
with the Show.They are both great actors and Ive enjoyed both of
them in the movies,and on Tv. Remember people out there everyone
deserves compassion,and dont hate Charlie; because he is human and
like all of us human beings make mistakes. Most of us eventually
learn from our mistakes,sometimes it takes some of us a little longer
before it sinks in.
Glad also that Martin and son are working together again.Amelio
would be great with them also.

[Montana5]

Thanks for the warning....I'll amend my cable package accordingly.

[gbgentleman]

Guess I will now boycott FX...anyone who gives this piece of trash money doesn't deserve mine.

[decotoguy]

After reviewing some of these comments I'm convinced some of you Americans are suffering from some-sort of Paranoid Schizophrenic,Dementia.
With that said I would like to Encourage every American man and woman to join the Military and be part of the multinational counterinsurgency mission, and SAVE WORLD from Terrorism.
Who knows, you just might get a little PIZAZZ into your life.

[centralcacoast]

People get fired all of the time. Then they get a new job. Family helps family all of the time. People do stupid things all of the time. Get divorced, get drunk, whatever. Thank goodness the rest of us are not in the public eye.

[maxium6]

Amen!!! None of us are perfect.
Jack

[albertj829]

I won't watch anything with this loser in it.

[USBeaches-net]

I guess it's entertainment for some, though a little can go a long way.

[bluecollarbytes]

Honestly I never cared for his show about bad behavior, which can be fine on occasion as part of a rounded-character's mo, but boring as heck every minute of every lookalike soundalike episode.

Plus Sheen needs to know what losing is so he can better appreciate what 'winning' really means. But that's His problem.

[tahonia]

<<"When you don't control your destiny, things get screwed up in your head," he said as Sheen nodded.>>
Get real! It sounds as if Sheen may be controlling his destiny, and leading the producers/directors/writers/crew around, controlling their destiny, so are all their heads going to get screwed up? Charlie knows how to play ONE character, and seeing the same thing over and over was getting real annoying on 2 1/2 men, and seeing the same this here will, too.