Hollywood heart throb Rob Lowe will be KFC's next comedic Colonel Sanders. | Image courtesy of KFC

We don’t do too much chain restaurant discussion on Eat Drink Talk, but I’m a sucker for this ongoing celebrity Col. Sanders campaign run by KFC. Few restaurant commercials have been quite as entertaining, and now they’re threatening to be sexy.

Well, at least for the ladies. The Louisville-based fried chicken chain announced today that Hollywood lust object Rob Lowe will be the next celebrity Col. Sanders.

As the photo above shows, even with the Colonel’s legendary goatee, Lowe’s chiseled chin is still recognizable, and his serious expression is doubly funny given his Sandersesque astronaut suit.

If Lowe is half as funny in the commercials as he could be on the sitcom, “Parks & Recreation,” I look forward to this commercial.

Will I buy the Zinger sandwich he’ll be promoting? My wife believes he’s the most handsome man on the planet, so if I have any brains between my ears, it’s a sure bet I will.

Keep reading to see what KFC has to say about the Zinger spicy chicken sandwich he’ll be pimping.

Excerpts from today’s news release:

KFC has enlisted actor, writer and producer Rob Lowe as the newest celebrity Colonel to play the brand’s iconic founder, Colonel Harland Sanders and to launch the KFC Zinger sandwich in the U.S. (and space).

Beginning April 23, Lowe will be featured in a campaign centered on launching the delicious Zinger chicken sandwich into space this summer (details of which will be revealed later this spring).

“My grandfather was the head of the Ohio chapter of the National Restaurant Association in the 1960s and took me to meet Colonel Harland Sanders when I was a kid. It was a big deal. I thought this would be a nice homage to both Colonel Sanders and to my grandfather,” said Lowe. “Plus, we’re sending the Zinger chicken sandwich to space. You kind of can’t beat that.”

(Th)e Zinger is made The Hard Way with a 100 percent white meat breast filet, hand-breaded and fried to a golden brown by trained cooks in every KFC kitchen, and served with lettuce and Colonel’s mayonnaise on a toasted sesame seed bun.

Said Kevin Hochman, KFC U.S. president and chief concept officer … “the Zinger is the bestselling KFC chicken sandwich in 120 countries and it’s now available in America.” (Another news source reported that 22 million Zingers are sold annually in Australia. That’s one for every Aussie every year.)

(T)he Zinger travels to the U.S. on April 24, available at participating restaurants as an individual sandwich ($3.99) or as a $5 Fill Up meal.

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Steve Coomes is a restaurant veteran turned award-winning food, spirits and travel writer. In his 25-year career, he has edited and written for multiple national trade and consumer publications including Nation's Restaurant News and Southern Living. He is a feature writer for Edible Louisville & The Bluegrass, Whisky Magazine, WhiskeyWash.com and The Bourbon Review. The author of two books, "Country Ham: A Southern Tradition of Hogs, Salt & Smoke," and the "Home Distiller's Guide to Spirits," he also serves as a ghostwriter for multiple clients.