Uncle Buck returns with Mike Epps as a fun-loving but irresponsible guy

The venerable 1989 comedy Uncle Buck featuring the late John Candy has been reimagined with comic and rapper Mike Epps, and debuts on OSN First Comedy HD on Friday.

Mike Epps plays the unconventional Uncle Buck, who is made to look after his brother’s children. OSN / ABC

In Hollywood, anything that ever made a nickel is recyclable, so it should come as no surprise that Uncle Buck is back – only this time he's black and more of a hustler than a slob.

The venerable 1989 comedy Uncle Buck featuring the late John Candy has been reimagined with comic and rapper Mike Epps (Next Friday; The Hangover) starring as the unconventional uncle who minds the kids of his more successful baby brother (James Lesure, Las Vegas) and sister-in-law (Nia Long, Big Momma's House). The series debuts on OSN First Comedy HD on Friday.

This is the second time the film went to the small screen. In a rapid follow-up to the film's box-office success, Uncle Buck's first outing was in1989 with Kevin Meaney playing the titular role as a slob who drinks, smokes and is named the guardian of his nieces after their parents perish in a car crash. The series was cancelled after 16 episodes when the ABC's mega-hit Full House flattened it in the ratings.

In the new version, Epps plays Buck as a fun-loving but irresponsible guy who needs a job and a place to stay. By happy coincidence, his nieces’ and nephew’s nanny has just quit, and his brother and sister-in-law need his help. His quirky personality just might make him the right fit for the family – and they may be the answer to his problems, too.

In adapting Uncle Buck for Epps, the executive producer Will Packer says the creative team moved away from Candy's "sloppy and lazy" Buck because "the kind of guy we wanted was more of a hustler, and a smooth talker".

When asked about the risk of racial stereotypes, Packer adds: “There is an Uncle Buck in every race. [Our Uncle Buck] is speaking for all the Uncle Bucks.”

• Uncle Buck airs at 10pm on Friday on OSN First Comedy HD