Mike Epps to star as 'Uncle Buck'

Indianapolis native Mike Epps has been picked to star as the title character in the new TV adaptation of "Uncle Buck" for ABC, according to Deadline.com.

The classic 1989 comedy starred John Candy and a pre-"Home Alone" Macaulay Culkin and was written and directed by John Hughes. As in the original, the free-wheeling Buck is forced to grow up when he has to take care of his brother's kids. Nia Long (of "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" and "The Best Man" fame) will co-star as Buck's sister-in-law.

This isn't the first TV adaptation of "Uncle Buck." From 1990-91, CBS aired 19 episodes of a version with stand-up comic Kevin Meaney as the title character. The less said of this version, the better.

It's another role for the increasingly busy Epps, who will star as Richard Pryor in the long-gestating biopic of the legendary comedian. Besides his "Real Deal" stand-up tour — he did two shows at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum last month — Epps also launched a new web series for AOL titled "That's Racist."

He will continue on Starz's "Survivor's Remorse" series, and has three movies already in the can: "Meet the Blacks," "Term Life" and "Bessie," a biography of the singer Bessie Smith for HBO.

He told IndyStar's David Lindquist last month that the script for the Pryor film was being finalized and would begin shooting before the end of the year. Oprah Winfrey will co-star as Marie Carter, Pryor's brothel-owning grandmother.

Call Star online editor Channing King at (317) 444-8073. Follow him @ChanningKing