Charlie Sheen's 'Anger Management' Debut Sets FX Records

American cable viewers love them some Charlie Sheen.

No, you shooting me the "No s**t, Sherlock" cocked eyebrow. You dont' understand. America really, really loves Charlie Sheen. They love Charlie Sheen the way Kardashians hate shame.

According to E! Online, critics gave the ex-"Two and a Half Men" star's new FX comedy "Anger Management" - based loosely on the Adam Sandler-Jack Nicholson comedy of the same name - a good, handy drubbing. Then again, critics - for what do we even really need you? Viewers make or break shows in the end, not good or bad reviews, and the recent premiere on FX set new network records that might guarantee the show a ludicrous extended order.

The series debut wasn't just the most-watched series premiere in FX history, topping even acclaimed shows such as "The Shield," "Rescue Me," "Damages," "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" and "Sons of Anarchy." Childrens programming excepted, it was the most-watched scripted comedy primetime premiere in cable history. The premiere received a 9 PM audience of 5.47 million viewers, while the second episode airing at 9:30 PM was watched by a still-bigger audience - 5.74 million, total.

FX didn't exactly go all-in on Sheen's first endeavor post-Chuck Lorre and Warner Bros. The network only initially ordered 10 episodes. This big deal could get a whole lot bigger. E! reports that should these ratings remain consistent, FX could lay out a 90-episode order making the series ready for syndication.

They do say that people only miss you when you're dead or you're gone. Could it be that fans are tuning in because Sheen has previously declared "Anger Management" to be his last major work before semi-retirement? Time will tell. But in Hollywood, remember: retirements have a tendency to last as long there as they do in boxing and professional wrestling - right up until the next big offered payday.