Flavor Flav Stars in New Sitcom

What can I say? People don’t need to make this stuff up when it comes true all on its own.

Public Enemy mascot Flavor Flav is moving on and moving up from his newfound reality-TV stardom to a gig on a scripted television series. I kid you not, in case you haven’t heard already.

The 48-year-old Flavor of Love star, born William Jonathan Drayton Jr. and father of seven, will play lead character Calvster Hill on the forthcoming MyNetworkTV multi-camera sitcom Under One Roof, the network announced on February 6. Hill is described as an ex-convict who begins to wreak havoc in his rich brother’s conservative world when he moves in and introduces his brother’s family to the street life.

If the “alien invasion” plot — although network executives and press-release writers prefer the tamer, blander description “fish out of water” — sounds familiar, it’s because you’ve already seen it before, including on the sitcom that first made movie star Will Smith more than just another rapper, namely The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

I hope whoever is running Flav’s show can come up with something more original to throw in before the final product hits the small screen. But then again, this is MyNetworkTV we’re talking about, which didn’t even exist a year and a half ago. So, it’s safe to assume their standards probably aren’t all that high. Remember the original “all telenovela, all the time” format? Hmmm. I didn’t think so.

Thus far, the only other role cast on Under One Roof is that of Hill’s brother Walter, who will be played by Kelly Perine. The prolific actor has been featured on numerous TV sitcoms and dramas, including One on One, Providence, The Drew Carey Show, and Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper. He’s also appeared on How I Met Your Mother several times recently. Let’s hope his talent alone is enough to carry the show.

Look for Under One Roof, currently filming in Toronto, Canada, this spring, and try not to get too excited in the meantime.