There's no joking around when it comes to success of Michel Gondry's KIDDING, a dark comedy series starring Jim Carrey and Catherine Keener about a children's show host experiencing a roller coaster of emotions as he comes to terms with his place within the pantheon of family-friendly entertainers. As part of an exciting bit of news for the comedic drama, it's been announced that the Showtime series will be getting a second season on the premium cable network.
Earlier today, Showtime's President of Programming, Gary Levine, declared that “Kidding has established itself as one of the most endearing and inventive shows on television.” He then added to his statement by saying, “I feel like I have been watching Mr. Pickles my whole life, and I look forward to being entranced by his unique blend of hilarity and heartbreak in Season 2.”
Executive produced by Gondry and Carrey, and co-starring Frank Langella, Judy Greer, Cole Allen, Justin Kirk, and Juliet Morris, the series created by Dave Holstein just received an order for 10 additional episodes as part of the show's Season 2 renewal. For the acclaimed program, Carrey stars as Mr. Pickles, a down-and-out Mister Rogers-like character struggling under the pressure of his executive producer/father (Langella) to get his shit together or quit trying, before his distractions and personal torment tank a once-lauded and lucrative TV property. Co-starring alongside Carrey is Catherine Keener, who plays Jeff's (Carrey) sister and the head puppeteer on the Mr. Pickles’ Puppet Time program. KIDDING made its Showtime debut on September 9th to the tune of 443,000 viewers, but has since gone on to garner 2.3 million weekly viewers across all of the CBS-owned services.
KIDDING, now considered a major success for both Gondry and Carrey, will continue Jeff's tragic tale when the show's sophomore season arrives sometime down the line.