MUMBAI: Star International has appointed M K Srinivasan as senior vice president - North America to spearhead the growth of Star in the US and Canada.

He will be reporting to Star EVP- International Business Rajan Singh.

According to a statement, Srinivasan will be tasked with "changing the game" yet again to facilitate the growth of Star?s business. To accomplish this goal, he will be working closely with Singh.

Star Network CEO Uday Shankar said, "The phenomenal success of the international business in the last couple of years has firmly etched Star network as the undisputed leader in international markets. The appointment of M K Srinivasan in the US will help complement the executive team that is already in place, and help with taking the business to new heights."

Singh added, "Srinivasan?s years of experience in the US marketplace will help cultivate new relationships and strengthen existing ones, leading to a positive impact on the overall business. I am looking forward to the new challenges and opportunities that we will be pursuing aggressively."

With almost 25 years of experience in the South Asian market in the US and Canada, Srinivasan has worked closely with most of the major television channels, and is well connected with the media and community across North America.

MUMBAI: Richard Hammond?s Crash Course, an adventurous new series which sees Hammond test drive some of America?s most hazardous vehicles, will be airing on BBC Entertainment this August and September.

The show kicks off on 27 August at 10 pm on BBC Entertainment.

The series follows Hammond, presenter of the motoring show ?Top Gear?. He travels across the US and faces the ultimate challenge of learning how to operate America?s largest and most dangerous vehicles. Immersed in some of the country?s most extreme environments, he has only days to master these monstrous machines, a task that takes years for most people to achieve. Throughout his journey, Hammond works alongside local experts who operate these machines daily, while getting a true taste of American hospitality.

BBC Worldwide Channels senior VP programming, TV channels David Weiland commented, ?We are delighted to deliver yet another distinctive and original series to our global audiences this August. The launch of Richard Hammond?s Crash Course is a fantastic example of our ongoing commitment to bring our viewers around the world closer together, and to provide original, high quality programmes that capture the very best of British talent.?

Having experienced more than his fair share of international auto-escapades, and whizzed along countless race tracks, Hammond has driven just about every high-powered and luxurious vehicle ever made, courtesy BBC Top Gear. Now, in Richard Hammond?s Crash Course, he experiences the world?s biggest and toughest vehicles that are made not for show, but to get a job done.

Visiting six locations, with just three days in each, he must learn how to handle a variety of complex and dangerous machines. Not only is he in a foreign land, he is now the student, getting his hands dirty and learning all aspects of the job from the men and women who operate these essential machines. In the end, the experts decide if he has successfully completed each challenge.

MUMBAI: Comedy Central UK has acquired exclusive broadcast rights to the Charlie Sheen sitcom ?Anger Management? from Lionsgate?s international television division.

Charlie Sheen?s return to primetime television was picked up by Comedy Central UK at the LA screenings in May and joins top rating show Two and a Half Men exclusively on the channel.

Comedy Central director of programming Chris Collie said, "?Anger Management? was the funniest show from this year?s screenings ? Charlie is back and on incredible form. ?Anger Management? sits perfectly alongside our line-up of the biggest and most talked about U.S. shows ? ?30 Rock?, ?South Park?, ?The Office?, ?Two And A Half Men?, ?Friends? and ?The Daily Show with Jon Stewart?."

Lionsgate International television executive Peter Iacono said, "We believe that Comedy Central is the perfect home for Anger Management in the UK.and we?re delighted to continue building the show?s momentum through ground breaking sales in territories around the world. The show is off to a record-breaking start in the U.S., and we expect it to have similar resonance with audiences around the world."

?Anger Management? and series two of UK commission ?Threesome? are the first shows from the Comedy Central autumn line-up to be announced.

The new series marks Charlie Sheen?s first return to serialised television since his departure from the CBS series ?Two and a Half Men? a little over a year ago. The show is loosely based on Revolution Studios? 2003 feature film ?Anger Management?, which grossed $178 million in global box office.

In the series, Sheen stars as ex-baseball pro turned anger management therapist Charlie Goodson, who has to cope with some management issues of his own. His female costars are Shawnee Smith as his ex-wife and Selma Blair as his therapist. Bruce Helford heads up the writing team and serves as showrunner.

Lionsgate International has already sold ?Anger Management? in Canada, Latin America, Germany, Scandinavia, Benelux, Australia, New Zealand and Poland. Lionsgate?s Debmar-Mercury syndication company sold the show to FX Network in the US and will be selling its second syndication window in the U.S. as well.

?Anger Management? debuted on 28 June in the US on FX.