Jason LaVeris/Getty Images
Leah Remini and Naya Rivera co-star.
Charlie Sheen is returning to the small screen.
Ten months after going public with his HIV-positive status, Sheen is set to star in and exec produce Crackle original movie Mad Families, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
Mad Families, which started production last week in L.A., stars Sheen as Charlie Jones, a loveable "man-child" with a heart of gold and unique way of looking at the world. The TV movie is described as a multi-generational comedy that centers on three families — one Latino, one African-American and one white — who find themselves sharing the same camping space over the Fourth of July weekend. When none offer to leave the site, they try to figure out a way to co-exist peacefully but ultimately decide on a series of competitions to determine a winner. As the families face off in a series of hysterical contests, the brassy, biting Charlie quips and complains his way through the great outdoors, but ultimately, with the help of his fellow campers, ends up realizing what’s most important in life.
Fred Wolf (Joe Dirt 2) will direct and produce from a script that he and David Spade co-wrote. Sheen worked with Wolf to develop the role after signing on to the project. Anne Clements will also produce.
Leah Remini will co-star as Charlie's step-mother. The cast also includes Juan Gabriel Pareja (Goliath), Charlotte McKinney (Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser), Naya Rivera (Glee), Chris Mulkey (Whiplash), Clint Howard (Arrested Development), Chanel Iman (Dope), Barry Shabaka Henley (Better Call Saul), Lil Rel Howery (The Carmichael Show), Tiffany Haddish (The Carmichael Show), Efren Ramirez (Eastbound and Down) and Danny Mora (Chop Shop).
“It’s great to be back in business with Fred, and to have Charlie on board. The combination of Fred’s unique comedic voice and Charlie’s sharp wit and gift for physical humor is sure to be ‘winning,’” said Eric Berger, Executive Vice President, Digital Networks, Sony Pictures Television and General Manager, Crackle. “Original movies are a key component of our ongoing programming strategy and Mad Families is a great fit for our viewers.”
APA, which reps Sheen, Haddish, Remini and Lil Rel, packaged the project.
For Sheen, the role marks his first since he revealed he was HIV positive 10 months ago and his first TV gig since FX's Anger Management and, before that, Two and a Half Men.
