Jim Gaffigan To Play Late Toronto Mayor Rob Ford In A New AMC Limited Series
Jim Gaffiganis mostly know for his stand-up comedy antics and being a hilarious character actor. But he’s recently turned in some solid work in indie dramas and thrillers such asLight from Light, Them That Follow, andChappaquiddick. Soon he’ll stretch his dramatic chops with a little bit of dark comedy by leading his own limited series at AMC that will see him playing late, former Toronto MayorRob Ford, who was infamously caught smoking crack cocaine during his re-election campaign and had a reputation for being a substance abusing party guy.Varietyhas word on the project with Jim Gaffigan playing Rob Ford, which is currently untitled. The limited series is described as a “dark comedy series” that focuses on the rise and fall of Ford’s political career. The finer points of what will be covered in the series were not detailed at this time, but the dark comedic take implies it will cover all manner of sins throughout Ford’s wild time in politics, maybe even the lifestyle that preceded his time as mayor, and very likely when he became a late night talk show punchline once video of him smoking crack cocaine surfaced.
Sadly, Ford’s story doesn’t have a happy ending. In 2014, an abdominal tumor was discovered that took him out of the running for the 2014 Toronto mayoral election. After chemotherapy and radiation, it was a surgery that seemingly cleared him of cancerous tumors, but a new tumor was discovered in his bladder in the fall of 2015. Chemotherapy didn’t work, and Ford passed away in March of 2016.
The new AMC limited series will follow in the footsteps of the SXSW-selected movieRun This Town, which had Damian Lewis playing Rob Ford in a story focusing on a political scandal in Toronto in 2013 as witnessed by young staffers at city hall and a local newspaper. But this sounds like it will have a very different tone.
Jesse McKeown(The Sinner, Letterkenny) will write and executive produce along withEd HelmsandMike Falboacting as executive producers through their Pacific Electric Co. production banner.GoonandStuberfilmmakerMichael Dowsewill also be executive producing, as well as directing.
There’s no estimation of when the AMC series is moving forward or when it might debut, but we’ll be sure to keep you posted as more information becomes available.
