'Volcanic' new show about a man in crisis

Jim Carrey is returning to TV comedy for the first time in almost 25 years.

In Kidding, the star will play a kind-hearted veteran children’s TV presenter whose life is thrown into turmoil by a family crisis.

According to the Showtime network, which has ordered the show, ‘Jeff finds no fairy tale or fable or puppet will guide him through the crisis, which advances faster than his means to cope’ and his problems cause ‘a slow leak of sanity’.

The star is being reunited with Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind director Michael Gondry on the  half-hour show.

Showtime president David Nevins said: ‘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.

‘With his Eternal Sunshine partner Michael Gondry on board to direct, we are on our way to a magnetic, volcanic and emotional viewing experience.’

Carrey made his name on the sketch show In Living Color, which ran from 1990 to 1994, before making the leap to the big screen with hits such as Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Mask, and Dumb And Dumber.

The actor is currently executive producer on I’m Dying Up Here, a drama about the Los Angeles stand-up scene of the 1980s, which has just been renewed for a second season by  Showtime, despite disappointing ratings.

And Netflix has just picked up the rights to his documentary, Jim and Andy: The Great Beyond, about his experiences playing the late Andy Kaufman in the movie Man On The Moon.

Published: 15 Sep 2017