Jim Carrey behind new series

A new TV comedy is to be based around the burgeoning 1970s Los Angeles stand-up scene.

I'm Dying Up Here will be based on the golden years of the Comedy Store, where names such as Jay Leno, David Letterman, Andy Kaufman and Robin Williams cut their teeth.

Jim Carrey will be an executive producer on the series, which is based on journalist William Knoedelseder's 2010 non-fiction book about the era.

The series, to air on the Showtime cable network, offers a fictionalised take on those times. In place of the Comedy Store's legendary owner Mitzi Shore, the new version centres on a promoter called Goldie, to be played by Melissa Leo. She is described as 'a brassy comedy club owner who rules over her business with an iron fist and nurtures her comedians with tough love'.

Actors Ari Graynor, Andrew Santino, RJ Cyler, Erik Griffin and Stephen Guarino will all play local comedians, while Clark Duke and Michael Angarano play newcomers to the scene, freshly arrived from Boston.

Guest stars lined up to appear include Alfred Molina, Jon Daly and Al Madrigal; while it will be written by Dave Flebotte, whose credits include Masters of Sex, Will & Grace, Desperate Housewives.

The commission follows a successful pilot shot in November, and the series will start filming this autumn.

Showtime's announcement came at the winter TV Critics Association convention in California.

Published: 13 Jan 2016