Charlie Sheen Takes Control of His Narrative in New Netflix Documentary

A new two-part documentary series, aka Charlie Sheen, offers a comprehensive biographical account of the actor’s life, presented through the lens of his seven years of sobriety. The project is positioned not as a career comeback but as a personal revelation, with Sheen himself providing extensive testimony to reclaim his own story. The series chronicles his upbringing in Malibu, his meteoric rise to fame, the highly publicized collapse of his career and personal life, and his subsequent path to recovery. The release is coordinated with his memoir, The Book of Sheen, which was made available one day prior.

An Unfiltered Confessional

The documentary is structured as a confessional, with Sheen’s own words forming the narrative foundation. The actor was initially hesitant to participate in the project, prompting director Andrew Renzi to engage in a seven to eight-month process of relationship-building to secure his involvement. This effort resulted in a commitment to complete candor, with Sheen stating he intends to share information he had previously made a “sacred vow to only reveal to a therapist”. In the series, Sheen reflects on his past actions, acknowledging that he “lit the fuse” that led to his life turning into “everything it wasn’t supposed to be”.

aka Charlie Sheen

Revisiting a Public Rise and Fall

The narrative traces Sheen’s life chronologically, beginning with his early years in a unique childhood environment described as being at the “intersection of Hollywood royalty and coastal suburbia”. From there, it examines his seemingly “effortless rise to megastardom” and the subsequent “dramatic faceplants that unfolded in the public eye”. The documentary revisits the most turbulent periods of his life, using his current sobriety as a framework for analysis and reflection on events that became tabloid fixtures.

A Chorus of Perspectives

To provide a multi-faceted portrait, the series incorporates an extensive array of interviews with individuals from nearly every chapter of Sheen’s life. Participants include family members, such as his brother Ramon Estevez and daughter Lola Sheen, and former wives Denise Richards and Brooke Mueller. His professional life is explored through conversations with actors Sean Penn and Chris Tucker, as well as Two and a Half Men co-star Jon Cryer and creator Chuck Lorre. The documentary also features testimony from figures like Heidi Fleiss and Sheen’s former drug dealer, identified as Marco, to provide context for his struggles with addiction. Notably, his father, Martin Sheen, and brother, Emilio Estevez, do not appear; their absence is explained as a deliberate choice to allow Charlie Sheen to have his own moment.

Production and Release

The series is a significant undertaking by production companies Skydance, North of Now, Boardwalk Pictures, and Atlas Independent, with a production team that includes Charles Roven. The global release on a major streaming platform indicates the project is intended to be a definitive account of a complex and controversial public figure. The narrative arc concludes with Sheen’s present-day stability, focusing on his reflections and the clarity gained from sobriety.

The two-part documentary, aka Charlie Sheen, is available for streaming on Netflix beginning today, September 10, 2025.