Jim Carrey to Star on New Showtime Comedy Series 'Kidding'

Jim Carrey headshot

Jim Carrey is returning to television to star on new Showtime half-hour comedy series “Kidding,” which will reunite him with “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” director and co-writer Michael Gondry.

The premium cable channel has ordered 10 episodes of the show, with Gondry set to direct all of them. Carrey and Gondry will also executive produce the upcoming series, as will Jason Bateman, Raffi Adlan, Michael Aguilar and Jim Garavente.

“Kidding” was created by Dave Holstein, who wrote the pilot and will serve as showrunner.

Also Read: Jim Carrey Tells Us What He Meant in That Bizarre Viral Interview (Exclusive Video)

On “Kidding,” Carrey will play Jeff, aka Mr. Pickles, an icon of children’s television, a beacon of kindness and wisdom to America’s impressionable young minds and the parents who grew up with him. Jeff also anchors a multimillion dollar branding empire, per Showtime’s official description. But when this beloved personality’s family — wife, two sons, sister and father — begins to implode, Jeff finds no fairy tale or fable or puppet will guide him through this 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.

“No one inhabits a character like Jim Carrey, and this role – which is like watching Humpty Dumpty after the fall – is going to leave television audiences wondering how they went so long without him,” said David Nevins, president and CEO, Showtime Networks Inc. “With his ‘Eternal Sunshine’ partner Michel Gondry on board to direct, we are on our way to a magnetic, volcanic and emotional viewing experience.”

“Kidding” marks Carrey’s first television series regular role in more than 20 years. The “Ace Ventura” alum currently executive produce Showtime’s “I’m Dying Up Here.”

117 Amazing Portraits From TheWrap's Toronto Studio, From Angelina Jolie to Jim Carrey (Photos)

Actors Margot Robbie, Sebastian Stan, Allison Janney and director Craig Gillespie, "I, Tonya"

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Actress-producer Margot Robbie, "I, Tonya"

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Margot Robbie, "I, Tonya"

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Actress Allison Janney, "I, Tonya"

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Sebastian Stan, "I, Tonya"

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Helen Mirren, "The Leisure Seeker"

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Helen Mirren, "The Leisure Seeker"

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"Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond" Jim Carrey

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Jim Carrey, "Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond"

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Director Chris Smith, "Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond"

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Actor Benedict Cumberbatch, "The Current War"

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Michael Shannon, "The Current War"

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Director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon with actors Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Shannon and Nicholas Hoult, "The Current War"

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Director Angelina Jolie, "First They Killed My Father"

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Director Angelina Jolie with producer Rithy Panh, stars Kimhak Mun, Sareum Srey Moch and co-writer Luong Ung, "First They Killed My Father"

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Writer-director Greta Gerwig, "Lady Bird"

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Greta Gerwig, "Lady Bird"

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Actress Laurie Metcalf, "Lady Bird"

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Actor Tracy Letts, "Lady Bird"

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Brie Larson, "Unicorn Store"

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Actor Sam Rockwell, "Woman Walks Ahead"

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Emma Thompson and Stanley Tucci, "The Children Act"

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Writer Ian McEwan, actor Stanley Tucci, director Richard Eyre and actors Emma Thompson and Duncan Kenworthy, "The Children Act"

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Stanley Tucci, "The Children Act"

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"Outside In" director Lynn Shelton with her cast Jay Duplass, Kaitlyn Dever and Edie Falco

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Jay Duplass, "Outside In"

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Edie Falco, "Outside In"

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Kaitlyn Dever, "Outside In"

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Director Lynn Shelton, "Outside In"

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Jake Gyllenhaal, "Stronger"

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Tatiana Maslany, "Stronger"

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Miranda Richardson, "Stronger"

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"Stronger" star Jake Gyllenhaal with Jeff Bauman, the Boston Marathon bombing survivor he plays in the fiilm

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Writer Jeff Bauman, "Stronger"

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Actor Cedric the Entertainer, "First Reformed"

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Cedric the Entertainer, "First Reformed"

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Cedric the Entertainer and director Paul Schrader "First Reformed"

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Director Paul Schrader, "First Reformed"

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Actors Aaron Pederson, Abbey Lee, Matt Nable, Simone Kessell, Josh McConville and Ryan Corr, "1%"
Abbey Lee, "1%"

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Actress Simone Kessel, "1%"

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Actor Ed Harris, "Kodachrome"

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Actor Ed Harris and director Mark Raso, "Kodachrome"

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Mark Raso, "Kodachrome"

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Writer-producer Jeremy Chilnick, writer-director-producer Morgan Spurlock and producer Matthew Galkin, "Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken"

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Producer Matthew Galkin, "Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken"

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Writer-producer Jeremy Chilnick, "Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken"

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Writer-director-producer-star Morgan Spurlock, "Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken"

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Morgan Spurlock, "Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken"

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Director Joseph Kahn, "Bodied"

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Actress Rory Uphold, "Bodied"

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Actor Calum Worthy, "Bodied"

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Director Armando Iannucci, "The Death of Stalin"

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Director Darren Aronofsky, "mother!"

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Director Darren Aronofsky, "mother!"

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Willem Dafoe, Bria Vinaite, Brooklynn Prince and Sean Baker, "The Florida Project"

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Willem Dafoe, "The Florida Project"

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Director-star James Franco, "The Disaster Artist"

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Director-star James Franco, "The Disaster Artist"

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Actor Dave Franco, "The Disaster Artist"

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Actor Dave Franco, "The Disaster Artist"

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Screenwriters Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber, "The Disaster Artist"

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Alison Brie, "The Disaster Artist"

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Alison Brie, "The Disaster Artist"

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Ari Graynor, "The Disaster Artist"

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Actress Jessica Chastain, director Susanna White and Michael Greyeyes, "Woman Walks Ahead"

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Selma Blair and Nicolas Cage, "Mom and Dad"

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Actor Terry Notary, "The Square"

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Director Ruben Ostland, "The Square"

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Screenwriter Anthony McCarten, "Darkest Hour"

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Writer Anthony McCarten, stars Ben Mendelsohn, Gary Oldman and Kristin Scott Thomas with director Joe Wright, "Darkest Hour"

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Actor Ben Mendelsohn, "Darkest Hour"

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Actor Gary Oldman, "Darkest Hour"

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Gary Oldman, "Darkest Hour"

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Actress Kristin Scott Thomas, "Darkest Hour"

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Director Joe Wright, "Darkest Hour"

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Actor Arnaud Valois, "BPM (Beats Per Minute)"

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Director John Curran with actors Jim Gaffigan, Ed Helms and Kate Mara, writers Andrew Logan and Taylor Allen, "Chappaquiddick"

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"Chappaquiddick" director John Curran

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Kate Mara, "Chappaquiddick"

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Kate Mara, "Chappaquiddick"

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Jim Gaffigan, "Chappaquiddick"

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Ed Helms, "Chappaquiddick"

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Director Dan Gilroy, "Roman J. Israel, Esq."

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Actress Diane Kruger, "In the Fade"

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Actress Diane Kruger, "In the Fade"

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Director Alexander Payne, "Downsizing"

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Actors Christoph Waltz, Hong Chau and director Alexander Payne, "Downsizing"

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Actor Christoph Waltz, "Downsizing"

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Actress Hong Chau, "Downsizing"

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Simon Baker, "Breath"

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Director Neil Burger, "The Upside"

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Writer-director Martin McDonagh, "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri"

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Director and co-writer Dee Rees, "Mudbound"

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Actor Jason Mitchell, "Mudbound"

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Rob Morgan, "Mudbound"

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Jason Mitchell and Rob Morgan, "Mudbound"

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Actors Garrett Hedlund, Jason Mitchell, director Dee Rees, actors Rob Morgan and Carey Mulligan, "Mudbound"

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Garrett Hedlund, "Mudbound"

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Writer-director Robin Campillo, "BPM (Beats Per Minute)"

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Directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, "Battle of the Sexes"

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Screenwriter Simon Beaufoy, "Battle of the Sexes"

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Brady Jandreau, "The Rider"

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