Although he is best-known for his roles in movies, Jim Carrey has taken the leap into accepting a role in a comedy which will go straight to television. This ten-part comedy will reunite him with some movie industry professionals with whom he has worked with previously.
The series was created by Dave Holstein who will also star in the series. He previously worked as the co-executive producer of ‘I’m Dying Up Here’ but he has now created the scripted comedy ‘Kidding’ which has been picked up by the premium cable network and will be produced in-house by Showtime.
Holstein is not the only professional who Carrey will be reunited with for this new series as he will also be working alongside Michel Gondry, who was the writer and director of the award-winning ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’. This is Gondry’s largest television commitment to date.
Jim Carrey will star as Jeff, who is also known as Mr. Pickles. This character is an icon of children’s television who is known for being a role model to the young people of America. He is also known to the parents as they grew up with him on the television. The character is also an anchor to a multi-million dollar branding empire.
The storyline of the comedy revolves around Jeff and his family, which includes his wife, his two sons, his father, and his sister. When he runs into problems in his family life, his world unravels faster than he can imagine. This is both heartbreaking and hilarious.
David Nevins, the CEO of Showtime, spoke about Jeff in a statement regarding ‘Kidding’. He said that Carrey can inhabit a role like no other actor and audiences will start to wonder how they ever lived without Jeff in their lives. Nevins believes that the combination of Carrey and Michel Gondry working together is explosive and that the pair has the ability to create a viewing experience that is both emotional and magnetic.
This is not the first time that Carrey has ventured into the world of television, although it is over two decades since he last had a television role. The last time he did so was in a variety-sketch show called ‘Living Color’. He starred in this series for five seasons. He also had a role in the 1984 comedy series ‘The Duck Factory’.
Carrey will have an executive producer role on ‘Kidding’ along with Michel Gondry, Jason Bateman, Jim Garavente, Raffi Adlan, and Michael Aguilar. Each of these has vast experience in the industry and something different they can bring to this new comedy series. While Bateman has worked on ‘Arrested Development’ and ‘Ozark’, Adlan has worked on ‘The Green Hornet’. Michael Aguilar is best-known for his involvement in ‘I’m Dying Up Here’. Holstein will serve as the showrunner.
‘Kidding’ is just one of the new fixtures announced by Showtime as they have also recently renewed ‘I’m Dying Up Here’, a 1970s-stand-up comedy-drama, for its second season. There are also two half-hour series set to launch this year; ‘White Famous’ and ‘SMILF’. The former stars Jay Pharoah while the latter was written by and stars Frankie Shaw. Showtime will say goodbye to ‘Episodes, a veteran comedy of the network’s, and they are still deciding the future of ‘Dice, an Andrew Dice Clay comedy.
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