Rosie O' Donnell
planning lesbian-led sitcom

Rosie O'Donnell is partnering with novelist Alice Hoffman to write a sitcom pilot about an Erma Bombeck-like humorist coping with the loss of her longtime lover to breast cancer, reports FoxNews.com. "She'll be a columnist for Newsday and have a blended family at home," O'Donnell is quoted as saying. "Her ex-husband will have to move in with her, with his 10-year-old son from his most recent marriage." According to the report, O'Donnell's character will speak to her late lover when she's working on her column.

O'Donnell's HBO documentary, All Aboard! Rosie's Family Cruise, premiered January 24 at the Sundance Film Festival and will air on HBO on April 6. The documentary chronicles R Family's inaugural July 2004 cruise for gay- and lesbian-led families.

Alice Hoffman has had a number of critical and commercial successes, including her novel Practical Magic, which was adapted into a 1998 movie starring Nicole Kidman. (Advocate.com)