Charlie Sheen's ANGER MANAGEMENT Lands Deal with Viasat in Scandinavia

CANNES, France and SANTA MONICA, Calif., April 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- ANGER MANAGEMENT continued its march around the globe as the Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF) sitcom about an irascible anger management therapist, played by former TWO AND A HALF MEN star Charlie Sheen, has been acquired by the international entertainment broadcasting group Modern Times Group (MTG) for airing on its Viasat Broadcasting free-TV channels  in Scandinavia, the two companies announced today to kick off the first day of MIPTV 2012 in Cannes, France.

Lionsgate International has already sold ANGER MANAGEMENT in Canada, Latin America and Germany.  

The new series marks Charlie Sheen's first return to serialized television since his departure from the CBS hit series TWO AND A HALF MEN a little over a year ago. The show is loosely based on Revolution Studios' 2003 feature film ANGER MANAGEMENT, which starred Adam Sandler, Jack Nicholson, and Marisa Tomei and grossed $178 million in global box office – an unusual feat for a US comedy.

Viasat's free-TV channels already air TWO AND A HALF MEN.

'We're delighted to be partnered with Lionsgate International on this exciting series," said Viasat Senior Vice President of Acquisitions & Programming Jakob Mejlhede.  "With a global star of Sheen's magnitude to drive the show, we're confident that ANGER MANAGEMENT will deliver to both viewers and advertisers alike."

"We believe that Viasat is the perfect home for ANGER MANAGEMENT in Scandinavia, and we're delighted to continue building the show's momentum through groundbreaking sales in territories around the world," said Lionsgate President of Worldwide Television & Digital Distribution Jim Packer.  "We expect this show to quickly become a signature of Viasat's programming lineup and resonate with their audiences for years to come."

In this new series, Sheen stars as ex-baseball pro Charlie, who has to cope with some anger management issues of his own. His female co-stars are Shawnee Smith (SAW franchise, BECKER) as his ex-wife and Selma Blair (CRUEL INTENTIONS, LEGALLY BLONDE) as his therapist.  Bruce Helford (GEORGE LOPEZ, THE DREW CAREY SHOW) heads up the writing team and will serve as show runner.  Joe Roth, Vince Totino and Mark Burg are executive producing, along with Sheen and Helford.

ANGER MANAGEMENT began shooting in March and will premiere on FX (SONS OF ANARCHY, NIP/TUCK, THE SHIELD) on June 28.  FX has committed to an unprecedented initial order of 100 episodes - subject only to the first ten episodes exceeding a certain ratings level -- which was pre-negotiated between FX and Lionsgate's Debmar-Mercury.  Debmar-Mercury distributes the show in the U.S.

ANGER MANAGEMENT is produced by Lionsgate Television in conjunction with Roth and Totino's Revolution Studios, Burg's Evolution Entertainment, Helford's Mohawk Productions, Inc. and Estevez Sheen Productions.  Lionsgate Television produces the multiple Emmy Award-winning series MAD MEN, which recently kicked off its fifth season on AMC, WEEDS, now in its eighth season on Showtime, the provocative NURSE JACKIE (Showtime) and the drama BOSS (Starz), for which Kelsey Grammer earned a Golden Globe in its debut season.

The Scandinavian distribution deal was negotiated by Lionsgate international TV executive Peter Iacono and Viasat's Mejlhede and Camilla Hardyment, Head of Viasat Free & Pay TV Scandinavian Acquisitions.

About MTG

Modern Times Group (MTG) is an international entertainment broadcasting group with operations that span four continents and include free-TV, pay-TV, radio and content production businesses. MTG's Viasat Broadcasting operates free-TV and pay-TV channels, which are available on Viasat's own satellite platforms and third party networks, and also distributes TV content over the internet. MTG is also the largest shareholder in CTC Media, which is Russia's leading independent television broadcaster.

Modern Times Group is a growth company and generated record net sales of SEK 13.5 billion in 2011. MTG's Class A and B shares are listed on Nasdaq OMX Stockholm's Large Cap index under the symbols 'MTGA' and 'MTGB'.

About Lionsgate

Lionsgate is a leading global entertainment company with a strong and diversified presence in motion picture production and distribution, television programming and syndication, home entertainment, family entertainment, digital distribution, new channel platforms and international distribution and sales. The Company has built a strong television presence in production of primetime cable and broadcast network series, distribution and syndication of programming and an array of channel assets. Lionsgate currently has 15 shows on more than 10 networks spanning its primetime production, distribution and syndication businesses, including such critically-acclaimed hits as the multiple Emmy Award-winning "Mad Men," "Weeds" and "Nurse Jackie," along with the powerful drama "Boss" and the syndication successes "Tyler Perry's House of Payne", its spinoff "Meet the Browns," "The Wendy Williams Show" and "Are We There Yet?

Its feature film business has been fueled by such recent successes as the blockbuster first installment of "The Hunger Games" franchise, which achieved the third highest-grossing opening weekend of all time at the North American box office, "The Expendables," "The Lincoln Lawyer," "Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family" and "Margin Call." With the January 2012 acquisition of Summit Entertainment, the Company now has the two leading young adult franchises – the blockbuster "Twilight Saga," which has grossed more than $2.5 billion at the worldwide box office, and "The Hunger Games." Recent Summit hits include "Red," "Letters to Juliet," "Knowing," the "Step Up" franchise and the Academy Award-winning Best Picture, "The Hurt Locker."

Lionsgate's home entertainment business is an industry leader in box office-to-DVD and box office-to-VOD revenue conversion rate. Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of approximately 13,000 motion picture and television titles that is an important source of recurring revenue and serves as the foundation for the growth of the Company's core businesses. The Lionsgate and Summit brands remain synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world.

For Lionsgate corporate inquiries, please contact:

Peter D. Wilkes
310-255-3726
[email protected]

For MTG corporate inquiries, please contact:

Nils Gjerstad
+44 (0) 7834 215 306
[email protected]

SOURCE Lionsgate