Lopez finds comedy in his drinking problem, not his divorce

Comic and actor George Lopez has had some tough moments in recent years. His TBS talk show was unceremoniously canceled after the network set its priorities on Conan O’Brien. He divorced his wife of 17 years. And earlier this year, he was arrested for public intoxication at a casino.

He’s getting past losing his talk show and just concluded 10 episodes of a new FX sitcom, “Saint George,” where he plays a divorced man living with a bitter mom, trying to do right by his son and wading tentatively into the dating pool.

Lopez is also working the stand-up circuit, returning to Atlanta’s Fox Theatre on June 27. While he will joke about his family members, he isn’t quite up to talking about his ex-wife Ann Serrano on stage.

“It never comes off funny,” Lopez said in a recent phone interview. “It comes off a little angry. I’m still a little too close to that.”

He is more willing to broach the topic of his drinking. He said he has been sober since his arrest in late February.

“Everything has to have balance,” Lopez said. “When you fall, you have no balance. What are you going to do when you get up? Everyone has that moment. My relationship with alcohol was never good. You have to realize when something is more powerful than you are. It has no heart. It has no soul. It doesn’t care. It’s always available.”

Lopez’s current TV show deal is similar to one revolutionized by production company Debmar-Mercury and used a couple of times on TBS for Tyler Perry’s first two sitcoms, “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne” and “Meet the Browns.” The production company creates 10 episodes. They’re tested and if they reach a certain audience threshold, the network will take another 90, guaranteeing enough episodes for syndication. FX’s “Anger Management” starring Charlie Sheen hit the mark in 2012.

Unfortunately, Lopez’s show settled at a modest 700,000 viewers in overnight ratings, which may not be enough to trigger the big 90-episode commitment, even if DVR and on-demand usage is added. “I felt the (threshold) number was set so high, it was almost unattainable,” he said, without citing the exact number.

His breakthrough sitcom on ABC, “The George Lopez Show,” ran from 2002 to 2007. “FX wanted the show to be a little more adult, a little edgier,” Lopez said. He created a busy man surrounded by family members who are not as financially successful but ultimately more content.

Lopez over the years has broached the possibility of getting into politics, but at age 53, he’s not quite there yet. “It’s too early,” he said. “I’m still working stuff through my career. Maybe later. But that’s an exciting possibility.”