The new Rob Ford TV series on AMC has found its lead

It’s safe to say that Hollywood is still obsessed with former Toronto mayor Rob Ford. It’s been six years since the man was in office and four years since his death, but the story of his journey as a political leader is getting its time in the spotlight again now that AMC has ordered a limited series on the subject. The network that gave us Mad Men, Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead officially announced it’s working on the dark comedy, and they’ve hired comedian Jim Gaffigan to play the larger-than-life figure.According to Variety, which first announced the news, the series follows Ford’s rise and fall as a city councillor and then mayor. Naturally it will tackle the time he was (now famously) caught smoking crack cocaine during his re-election campaign, as well as his much-documented battle with substance abuse. As of right now the series is still in development and hasn’t been officially greenlit, but when cable series like this confirm a lead and move forward with scripts it’s typically a pretty good sign.

Stop the gravy train!!! ?? https://t.co/Pkb88ZWRAJ

— Jim Gaffigan (@JimGaffigan) May 6, 2020

[video_embed id='1946106']RELATED: Mena Massoud was happy to bring a Toronto story to life in 'Run This Town'[/video_embed]This won’t be the first time Ford’s story has been adapted for an audience. Damian Lewis played the man in last March’s release of Run This Town, which also starred Nina Dobrev (The Vampire Diaries) and Mena Massoud (Aladdin). There’s also Robyn Doolittle’s bestselling book, Crazy Town: The Rob Ford Story, which sold movie rights back in 2014 but (so far) hasn’t gone any further.One thing is for sure, and that’s that Gaffigan has a tough road ahead of him to invoke the essence of the former mayor—even though he’s clearly already got the “gravy train” catchphrase down pat, as per his tweet confirming the news. The comedian is known for his stand-up and for starring in films like Chappaquiddick and Chuck, and of course he starred in his own TV show, The Jim Gaffigan Show. Playing an actual person is next-level though because there are so many details to get right. Meanwhile behind-the-scenes there are some notable creatives involved in bringing this to life too. Ed Helms is on board as one of the producers, and Toronto-born writer Jesse McKeown (Letterkenny) is attached as one of the writers and producers.While he was mayor Ford earned lots of attention from people in Hollywood, especially Jimmy Kimmel, who developed a bit of an obsession with him. Kimmel even flew Ford and his brother Doug (now the Ontario premier) out to Los Angeles to appear on Jimmy Kimmel Live In 2014. When Ford passed away in 2016 at the age of 46 following a battle with cancer, Kimmel had some nice words to say about the man. “I did get to know him and I did get to know his brother,” he told the Canadian Press in 2016. “Whatever you want to say about the guy, he really cared about being mayor and he really cared about doing a good job. Obviously he had his demons.”Demons that will inevitably be on full display should this “gravy train” of a series go forward.[video_embed id='1952166']BEFORE YOU GO: It's an all-female, all-star fight club[/video_embed]