Al in the Family, I Kid You Not

By Pepper of the Daily Pepper

That's what Al Sharpton is calling his new sitcom. Yes, Al Sharpton is working on a pilot for his own sitcom.

The move to television was inevitable, as Sharpton appeared on Saturday Night Live during his presidential run. One of the skits featured him as a sushi hut proprietor, and the cast danced behind him, crooning about Sharpton's Casa de Sushi.

(Image from the unbelieveably comprehensive Amy Poehler fan site.)

During the debates, he was best known for quotable states such as, "I'm gonna ride this donkey all the way to the White House!" Lately, he's been seen dancing up a storm for NYC mayoral candidate Fernando Ferrer.

The salsa dance, which you really must see if you haven't yet, must have pushed a network exec into a frenzy thinking up ideas for Sharpton. Based on the title alone, the sitcom will be a takeoff of "All in the Family," with Sharpton as Archie Bunker. The best part of all is the rumored existence of a Republican son:

Asked if one of his children was a Republican on the show, the man who ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 said the producers asked him not to give away too many plot details, "but you can assume something like that."

Instead of "Meathead," we're going to get "Bonehead," "Egghead," or "Jughead." And which Hollywood actress is willing to play Sharpton's Edith?

As a reality-TV critic, I'm a little disappointed because I was hoping that Sharpton would take a place on a VH1 "Celebreality" series. Can you imagine him duking it out with Tawny Kitaen on the next season of the "Surreal Life"? Or sweating it out with Kelly LeBrock on "Celebrity Fit Club"? That might mine even more comic gold than a garden-variety sitcom. Sharpton's agent, are you listening?