'Anger Management' Sets Cable Comedy Record With 5.74 Million Viewers

11:24 AM PDT 6/29/2012 by Michael O'Connell

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UPDATED: With a potential 90-episode renewal on the line, the FX comedy posts strong ratings with viewers and adults 18-49 as Russell Brand's "BrandX" gets off to a solid start.

Anger Management Charlie Sheen Living Room - H 2012

Charlie Sheen and FX should be nothing but happy with Anger Management's premiere ratings.

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Thursday night's debut of the sitcom star's follow-up to Two and Half Men ranks as the most-watched scripted comedy broadcast in cable history -- among both adults 18-49 and total viewers (excluding children's programming).

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The series averaged 5.47 million viewers, 2.65 million of which were in the key demo. A second episode at 9:30 p.m. actually improved, posting 5.74 million total viewers and 2.89 million in the demo.

If subsequent episodes meet an undisclosed ratings threshold, the series will earn an additional 90-episode order -- per the arrangement with distributor Debmar-Mercury.

Meanwhile, Wilfred and Louie received significant boosts over last season, thanks in no small part to the lead-in from Anger Management. Wilfred rose 71 percent in its sophomore-season premiere (2.53 million total viewers) from last year's average, while the Season 3 bow of Louie was up 55 percent (1.43 million).

And at 11 p.m., FX's late-night venture with Russell Brand, BrandX, earned 1.1 million viewers in its inaugural broadcast, with 687,000 among them adults 18-49. The numbers gave the network respective 32 and 38 percent boosts compared with the time slot average.