Jim Carrey Is Coming Back To TV And It's Exactly As Twisted As You Want It To Be
A lot of us know Jim Carrey from his iconic roles as Ace Ventura, Lloyd Christmas, and Stanley Ipkiss, but he actually got his start on the small screen.
He had a few guest spots and small parts on TV shows, but he got his big break thanks to his work on the classic comedy series In Living Color.
That's where we all became completely obsessed with the cartoon-like guy who could embody a character better than anyone in the world. He could make us laugh with the greatest of ease, and because of that he was able to get all those movie roles that would become so iconic.
We all know and love Jim Carrey, even when he starts to seem a little more 'out there' than usual, but now he's finally coming back to the small screen.
It has been two years since his last project was released, and has been spending a lot of time focusing on his art. However, he seems to be jumping back in with both feet, as he's not only voicing Dr. Robotnik in the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog movie, but he has also taken on the leading role in a new TV show.
The show is called Kidding and will debut on Showtime in September. It's a half hour comedy where Carry will be playing a Mr. Rogers-type character, so you know it's got to be absolutely insane.
Carrey plays Jeff, also known as Mr. Pickles, who is a children's television show star. Mr. Pickles is beloved by kids all around America, thanks to his show Mr Pickles' Puppet Time, but when his real-life family starts to fall apart, so does the happy facade that he displays.
He's beginning to lose his sanity as he slips through all these situations that he's not capable of handling, and it looks like a completely wild ride.
Kidding will see Carrey's character clinging to his past self, and it's something the actor says he relates to.
“I think the idea of identity, the search for identity, who it is, what we are, has always been attractive to me.
I think there is definitely something in this piece that calls to me as far as the idea of being hit by a freight train in life and trying to hang on to your true, former self.
This came to me at a time when I’m well-schooled and experienced enough to do this part. I hope it culminates into something that really touches people.”
As Jeff's mental state deteriorates, the people around him start to becoming increasingly concerned. His producer is played by Frank Langella, who begins to worry about the quality of his show, while his estranged wife, played by Judy Greer, tries to deal with Jeff's increasingly erratic behavior.
Creator of the show Dave Holstein says Jeff is a character "who didn't want to break bad but wanted to stay good."
The show has a lot of heart to it, and Carrey relates it back to the connection that Jeff has with his father, because it's one that he can draw on from his own experiences.
“I’m always drawing on my father especially playing a character like this.
I’d watch him performing and holding court in the living room, even before I knew what a joke was, and I saw the connection between my father and whoever was in the house and they left holding their bellies saying, ‘You missed your calling.'”
The director of the series is actually someone that he worked with before, and was part of the reason why he signed on in the first place. Michel Gondry directed Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, a movie that a lot of people think shows off some of Carrey's best work.
“I was incredibly interested in the material but getting to work with a teammate again, it was a thrill. You learn to trust somebody and that has a lot to do with it. We have electricity between us.”
While he joked that the haircut in the show was simply because he "wanted to make it hard as possible for anyone to find me attractive,” it was actually a choice that Gondry made after seeing Carrey's current style.
“I don’t feel crazy at all, I think it’s good. To me it’s a juvenile, a children’s hairdo. It’s an arrested development type situation.”
Check out the trailer, it looks pretty intense:
Kidding premieres on Sunday, September 9th at 10 p.m. on Showtime. Will you be tuning in?
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