Variety has learned that Jim Gaffigan will play Rob Ford in an AMC limited series detailing the rise and fall of the former mayor of Toronto.
Jesse McKeown, writer and co-executive producer of the USA series The Sinner, will pen the script for this Rob Ford project, which is being described as dark comedy. It will likely strike a different tone from Damian Lewis' portrayal of Ford in the 2020 film Run This Town, which centered around a journalist looking to expose the now infamous 2013 video showing the former Toronto mayor smoking crack while two of his aides tried to keep it under wraps.
Ford was elected mayor of Toronto in 2010 after serving as a city councilor for a decade. His four-year mayoral run was highlighted by a slew of controversial moments that highlighted his substance abuse problems. A number of incidents involved him being heavily intoxicated, but the aforementioned video of Ford smoking crack captured the attention of people outside of Canada.
Ford pulled out of the 2014 Toronto mayoral election after a tumor was discovered in his abdomen. He would later undergo surgery to remove a cancerous tumor. Two years later, Ford died at the age of 46.
