Charlie Sheen and his father Martin Sheen are back playing a father and son duo for the first time in over a decade.
The duo are headlining Happy Jack, a comedy series for AMC and AMC+.
The half-hour family comedy has been greenlit for six episodes and will start production at Warner Bros. Studios, in the studio where Friends was filmed, for a 2027 launch.
The series comes from Jim Patterson and Matt Ross, who worked together on shows such as Two and a Half Men and The Ranch. The pair will write, exec produce and serve as showrunners. It is produced by AMC Studios.
The logline for the show states:
“Happy Jack stars Charlie Sheen as Jack, a bit of a lifelong ne’er-do-well. He’s got two great daughters, although his Dad, played by Martin Sheen, deserves more credit for how they turned out. Kate runs Jack’s company and keeps him on the rails while Sam is a wild child who is more like her Dad. When Sam comes home to introduce everyone to her new boyfriend, Jack’s shocked to learn Paul, a former investment banker turned van life guru, is the same age as he is. Shocked at first, Jack soon realizes he’s got a choice to make. Will he keep looking out for number one, or embrace this last chance to be a real part of his daughters’ lives?”
“Happy Jack” is the latest collaboration between Charlie and Martin. Martin earned one of his Emmy nominations for guest starring on “Two and a Half Men,” while he played the father to Charlie’s character in “Anger Management.” The two also played father and son in “Wall Street” and “No Code of Coduct,” and have appeared together in films like “Cadence” (which Martin also directed), “Free Money,” and “Hot Shots Part Deux” in perhaps the greatest cameo appearance of all time by Martin.
Charlie Sheen will also exec produce alongside Todd Christopher, Eric Tannenbaum, Kim Tannenbaum and Jason Wang with 20th Television as an exec producer.
Charlie Sheen said, “I’ve always heard the moments that truly matter happen when they’re supposed to. The good folks at AMC have played a huge hand in deciding that moment is now. It’s no secret that it’s been a minute, and I’m thrilled to be going back on television in such a meaningful way in an equally wonderful show. The crew has reassembled – suffice it to say, it’s time to give the people what they want.”
“What a thrill to welcome Charlie Sheen and Martin Sheen to AMC and AMC+, playing a father and son in this original family comedy, Happy Jack,” added Dan McDermott, chief content officer of AMC Global Media and president of AMC Studios. “I worked with Charlie years ago on Spin City and he is a singular talent who has owned the screen in some of the most unforgettable films and television series ever made. We love this show from a great creative team, led by Jim Patterson and Matt Ross, and the Tannenbaums. This is definitely something new for AMC, and we can’t wait to bring it to viewers next year.”
Charlie starred in “Two and a Half Men” for eight seasons, earning four Emmy nominations for his work on the show. Following his very public departure from that series, he went on to star in the multi-cam “Anger Management.” Sheen previously starred in “Spin City,” taking over the lead role in the show from Michael J. Fox. Most recently, he appeared in the HBO Max series “Bookie,” which reunited him with “Two and a Half Men” co-creator Chuck Lorre. In film, Charlie is known for his roles in “Wall Street,” “Platoon,” the “Hot Shots” films, and “Major League.”
Martin Sheen is one of the most celebrated actors of modern times. He is a ten-time Emmy nominee, including six nods for his starring role in Aaron Sorkin’s “The West Wing.” He won an Emmy for guest starring in “Murphy Brown” in 1994. He is primarily known for his roles in films, which include critically-acclaimed features like “Apocalypse Now,” “Gandhi,” “Gettysburg,” “The American President,” and “The Departed.”
Patterson previously worked with Sheen on “Two and a Half Men,” with Patterson rising to the rank of showrunner on the popular CBS series after Charlie’s departure. Ross was also a writer and producer on the show in the post-Charlie years. The duo also previously collaborated on the Netflix multi-cam comedy “The Ranch.”
