Jim Carrey will be ‘Kidding’ on his new Showtime comedy series
Comedian Jim Carrey will take on his first regular TV role in 20 years, playing a beloved children’s TV star.
Showtime announced Thursday the pickup of half-hour comedy series Kidding, starring the award-winning actor who has starred in feature films such as The Truman Show, Man on the Moon, Bruce Almighty, The Mask and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. In recent weeks, he has attended the film festivals in Venice and Toronto, where he presented his documentary Jim and Andy, about how he took on the portrayal of Andy Kaufman for Man on the Moon. In Kidding, Carrey plays Jeff, aka Mr. Pickles, a children’s TV character who shares kindness and wisdom to impressionable young minds and the parents who grew up with him. Mr. Pickles also anchors a lucrative branding empire. But when real-life family members and relationships start unraveling, Jeff struggles. Viewers will watch how a kind man has to cope with a cruel world.
Kidding reunites Carrey with director Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine). Dave Holstein ( Weeds, Raising Hope) wrote the pilot and will serve as showrunner of the 10-episode series. A premiere date has not yet been announced.
Carrey’s breakout role came in Fox’s series In Living Color.