Greg Gayne/FX Charlie Sheen with Shawnee Smith,center, and Daniela Bobadilla in “Anger Management.â€The cable channel FX raised a few eyebrows last August when it agreed to order 90 more episodes of Charlie Sheen’s comedy “Anger Management,†after only ten episodes had been shown. It was an unusually large commitment to a new show, not often seen in television.
Less than eight months later â€" and with 80 episodes left to go â€" the ratings for “Anger Management†suggest that the deal may have been a bit premature.
The most recent episode on March 14 drew about 850,000 total viewers, the show’s lowest audience ever according to Nielsen and a far, far cry from last June, when 5.47 million total viewers made the series premiere the most-watched scripted comedy broadcast in the history of FX.
When FX made their decision, “Anger Management†had averaged 3 million total viewers per episode over the course of its first season.
But the ratings have been on a steady decline ever since. The Season 2 premiere on Jan. 17 had 1.8 million total viewers and overall the season has averaged 1.25 million.
In the short term, “Anger Management†may get a lift in the ratings from an upcoming guest appearance by Lindsay Lohan, in an episode currently scheduled to be shown in April. But the long-term ratings prospects for the show, at its current audience totals, paint a bleak picture.
