I'm the first to admit that I'm not current on what's going on, and never have been; but what I do know about comedian and radio show DJ Rickey Smiley, is that he's a really big deal south of the Mason/Dixon line.

They may not know him in New York or Chicago, but he packs them in, in Birmingham and Macon.

His following is big enough that he's going to have his own sit-com on the TVOne network called, not so imaginatively, The Rickey Smiley Show, which premieres on October 14.

The not-so original premise has Smiley playing a radio show host trying to raise four adopted children.

The sreies will feature, along with Smiley, Roz Ryan, J. Anthony Brown. Lil JJ (Lil' WHO?) and reality show star/Brandy's brother/Whitney Houston's boyfriend and Kimmy Kakes sex video co-star, Ray J, who will play Rickey's "protege" on the show.

Not exactly clear what they mean by that, unless Smiley taught Ray J everything about making home sex tapes.