Our New Least Favorite Reality Show: The Capones

By Samantha Abernethy in Arts & Entertainment on Apr 12, 2013 10:30PM

The descendants of Al Capone are cashing in with a reality TV show. Apparently ReelzChannel gave them an offer they couldn't refuse, and The Capones will premiere this fall with 10 episodes documenting the family's life running their Lombard pizzeria.

Have you ever wondered why people of Italian heritage are annoyed by the persistent stereotyping of Italians as mobsters? These promotional photos and the accompanying press release might as well be your textbook for that lesson. ReelzChannel writes:

Each episode follows Dom Capone “The Boss” as he runs this unkempt crew at his Italian eatery with an iron fist. The only one who keeps this loud-mouthed and fiery boss in check is his mother, Dawn. As co-owner of the restaurant with her son, Dawn is the meddling mother who gets involved in everyone’s business, whether they like it or not.

Surrounding Dom and Dawn Capone are an unusual cast of characters even by reality show standards. Dom’s current girlfriend “The Princess” and ex-girlfriend “Madness Cherry Lips”, two crazy aunts and the unemployed friend “Sausage”, drunken cousins, a pathological liar, flirty waitresses, an eccentric uncle “Toupee Lou”, an Irishman, and of course, the neighborhood troublemakers “Meatball” and “Bart” and that just includes the staff. However dysfunctional this cast of characters can get, they always end the week with the traditional Sunday dinner where the drama is always spicier than the pepperoni.

Lou Rago, the president of the Italian American Human Relations Foundation of Chicago is definitely not pleased. He told NBC:

It's unfortunate that this many years after Mr. Capone's death they would try to cash in on his death. These shows throw functional illiterates in front of a television and celebrate things we shouldn't be celebrating. There's not another ethnic group that they would allow this to go on TV, and I'm sure this will resurrect some nuances about Italian culture that are so stereotypical that it's beyond laughable anymore.

In the words of Al Capone, "Now I know why tigers eat their young."

Then again, in the words of Al Capone, "I am like any other man. All I do is supply a demand."