Jim Gaffigan to play notorious Toronto mayor Rob Ford in AMC series

Jim Gaffigan has made a name for himself as a family-friendly comic, but his next gig seems anything but clean.

The comedian is starring in an AMC series as Rob Ford, the notorious former Toronto mayor who, among other scandals, was caught on video smoking crack during his tenure.

Gaffigan retweeted a Variety report tying him to the role, adding the caption "Stop the gravy train," an old campaign promise of Ford's.

Ed Helms is attached as an executive producer on the dark comedy along with writer Jesse McKeown (The Sinner, Letterkenny), according to Variety.

While we don't know how much of Ford's life the series will mine, there are certainly a lot of options. Even before his term as mayor, Ford allegedly made offensive and racist remarks while serving in the city council. He was mayor of Toronto from 2010 to 2014, during which time he was caught smoking crack cocaine on video. After initial denials, Ford eventually admitted he smoked the drug in 2013.

That did not stop him from running for mayor again the next year, before bowing out due to medical reasons. In 2016, at the age of 46, Ford died from a rare form of cancer.

He was also involved in a myriad of other scandals. According to The New York Times, he was accused of groping a female politician at a fundraiser, thrown out of a Toronto Maple Leafs hockey game for being "drunk and belligerent," and dismissed from coaching high school football following a violent confrontation with a player.

The series will clearly show a side of Gaffigan most audiences haven't seen. The comic, who released his 12th special last year, rarely uses profanity on stage, and some of his most popular bits involve Hot Pockets and going to Disney with his family.

Recently, he starred in the Amazon Studios movie Troop Zero with Viola Davis and has appeared in shows like Bob's Burgers and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

This latest project comes after another Ford-centric title debuted in March. The movie Run This Town, about the politician's last year as mayor, starred Damian Lewis as Ford and also featured Nina Dobrev, Ben Platt, and Mena Massoud.

Related content:

• Jim Gaffigan recalls Sex and the City episode as Miranda’s boyfriend and that toilet scene
• Rob Ford talks Toronto, his diet, and drinking on Jimmy Kimmel