What if Mister Rogers wasn’t the great guy we knew he was? What if he had a horrible personal life and a dash of mental illness? That’s basically the premise of the new Showtime series “Kidding,” starring comedian Jim Carrey.
In the first trailer for the series, two things are readily apparent. First, Jim Carrey looks like he was made for this role of a tortured Fred Rogers-esque host named Mr. Pickles. Second, filmmaker Michel Gondry’s fingerprints are all over this. And that’s true. Acclaimed filmmaker Gondry is listed as an executive producer of the series and is said to have directed some episodes, as well. The duo, who famously teamed up for the classic film “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” are back together with a series that has instantly leaped to the top of my most-anticipated list.
The new series marks the return of Carrey to the same TV screens that launched his career two decades ago when he starred on the sketch comedy show “In Living Color.” Since then, he’s flirted with TV, popping up in little cameos for “The Office,” “30 Rock,” and “Drunk History.” “Kidding” also stars Catherine Keener, Judy Greer, and Frank Langella.
“Kidding” will premiere on Showtime on September 9.
Here’s the official synopsis:
In his first series regular role in over two decades, Jim Carrey stars as Jeff, aka Mr. Pickles, an icon of children’s television, a beacon of kindness and wisdom to America’s impressionable young minds, who also anchors a multimillion-dollar branding empire. But when Jeff’s family begins to implode, he finds no fairy tale or fable or puppet will guide him through the crisis, which advances faster than his means to cope. The result: a kind man in a cruel world faces a slow leak of sanity as hilarious as it is heartbreaking.