Forging on despite the protests of John Candy and John Hughes’ families and the slowly growing look of horror on the faces of ABC marketing executives when the historical connotations of referring to a black man as “Buck” were finally explained to them, the network has landed a lead for its all-black TV remake of Uncle Buck.
Mike Epps, who currently appears on LeBron James’ autobiographical sitcom Survivor’s Remorse but will forever be beloved by potheads as Day-Day from the Friday movies, will star as Buck Russell, “a childish man who learns how to be an adult by taking care of his brother Will’s kids in a very childish way.” Nia Long is also set to star as Buck’s “strong-willed and smart” sister-in-law. Epps will reportedly continue to appear on Survivor’s Remorse while filming the Uncle Buck pilot, which is a smart move both because Epps’ other job allows him to ride in private planes and stuff and because this pilot might become even less popular than it already is once the Internet latches on to the whole “black Buck” thing.