Kidding

Kidding
Multiple pieces of paper with the text "KiDDiNG / CREATED BY DAVE HOLSTEiN" ("/" = newline character)
Title screen from the first episode
Genre Comedy-drama
Created by Dave Holstein
Starring
Composer(s) David Wingo
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 1
No. of episodes 5 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)
  • Dave Holstein
  • Jim Carrey
  • Michel Gondry
  • Raffi Adlan
  • Michael Aguilar
  • Roberto Benabib
  • Jason Bateman
  • James Garavente
Producer(s)
Cinematography Shawn Kim
Editor(s)
  • Ivan Victor
  • Kyle Reiter
  • Jennifer Van Goethem
Camera setup Single-camera
Running time 28–32 minutes
Production company(s)
Release
Original network Showtime
Original release September 9, 2018 (2018-09-09) – present (present)
External links
Official website

Kidding is an American comedy-drama television series created by Dave Holstein that premiered on September 9, 2018, on Showtime. The series stars Jim Carrey, Frank Langella, Judy Greer, Cole Allen, Juliet Morris, and Catherine Keener and marks the second collaboration between director and executive producer Michel Gondry and Carrey, who previously worked together on the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. On October 10, 2018, it was announced that Showtime had renewed the series for a second season.

Premise

Kidding is set in Columbus, Ohio and follows Jeff Piccirillo, aka beloved children's television presenter Mr. Pickles, appreciated by children and parents alike. Mr. Pickles anchors a multimillion-dollar branding empire, but he faces a personal tragedy and difficult family life.[1]

Cast and characters

Main

  • Jim Carrey as Jeff Piccirillo, a television personality who has performed as "Jeff Pickles" on his longtime children's television program Mr. Pickles' Puppet Time on PBS for thirty years. Following the death of one of his sons, he finds great difficulty in adapting to the hardships of life. Zackary Arthur portrays a young Jeff in a guest appearance in the episode "The New You".
  • Frank Langella as Sebastian Piccirillo, the executive producer of Mr. Pickles' Puppet Time and Jeff's father.
  • Judy Greer as Jill Piccirillo, a nurse and Jeff's estranged ex-wife
  • Cole Allen as William "Will" and Philip "Phil" Piccirillo, Jeff and Jill's identical twin sons, the latter of whom died in a car accident.
  • Juliet Morris as Maddy, Deirdre and Scott's daughter and Jeff's niece.
  • Catherine Keener as Deirdre "Didi", the head puppet maker of Mr. Pickles' Puppet Time and Jeff's sister.

Recurring

  • Justin Kirk as Peter, an anesthesiologist whom Jill is dating.
  • Julitta Scheel as Cassidy, one of Will's older friends from high school.
  • Coda Boesel as B.D., one of Will's older friends from high school.
  • Juliocesar Chavez as Gigs, one of Will's older friends from high school.
  • Bernard White as Scott, Deirdre's husband
  • Alex Raul Barrios as Derrell, the stagehand for Mr. Pickles' Puppet Time.
  • Mary Faber as Macy, the puppeteer of Soap Scum on Mr. Pickles' Puppet Time.
  • Barry Rothbart as Bert, one of the two puppeteers of Snagglehorse on Mr. Pickles' Puppet Time.
  • Rich Fulcher as Clay, one of the two puppeteers of Snagglehorse on Mr. Pickles' Puppet Time.
  • Kelly Coffield Park as Joanne Placket, a real estate agent that sells Jeff the house right next door to his previous one.
  • Gwen Hollander as Sheryl, the puppeteer of Astron-Otter on Mr. Pickles' Puppet Time.
  • Mike Quinn as the puppeteer of Secret Chef
  • Patrick Johnson as the puppeteer of The Oops and Maestro Pimento Fermata
  • Grace Song as Eliza, a college student who lives next door to Jeff in his apartment building. He often finds her passed out drunk and carries her back to her apartment.
  • Andrew Tinpo Lee as Rex Farpopolis, a piano teacher and Deirdre and Scott's neighbor. Maddie takes lessons from him and he is having an affair with Scott.
  • Jernard Burks as Denny, the truck driver who crashed into the Piccirillo family's car, killing Phil.
  • Dan Garza as the puppeteer of Ennui La Triste, a talking French baguette puppet.
  • Ginger Gonzaga as Vivian, a woman dying of cancer whom Jeff begins to date.

Guest

  • Betty Thomas ("Green Means Go")
  • Conan O'Brien as himself ("Green Means Go"), the eponymous host of Conan, on which Jeff is a guest.
  • Danny Trejo as himself ("Green Means Go"), Jeff's fellow guest on Conan.
  • T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh as Amika ("Pusillanimous"), the make-up artist for Mr. Pickles' Puppet Time.
  • Riki Lindhome as Shaina ("Every Pain Needs a Name"), a former drug addict that turned her life around after watching Mr. Pickles' Puppet Time. After reading a letter from her, Jeff takes her out on a date.
  • Annie Korzen as Mrs. Drinkwater ("Every Pain Needs a Name"), Maddie's elementary school teacher.
  • Tara Lipinski as herself ("The New You")
  • Joel Swetow as Rabbi Michael Epstein ("The New You")

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateU.S. viewers
(millions)
1"Green Means Go"Michel GondryDave HolsteinSeptember 9, 2018 (2018-09-09)[lower-alpha 1]0.443[2]
Following the one-year anniversary of his son Philip's death, Jeff Piccirillo appears on Conan and sings one of his well-known songs. While at the set of his television program Mr. Pickles' Puppet Time, he proposes producing an episode about the topic of death to Seb, the show's producer and his father, who quickly dismisses the idea. Jeff returns to the home he previously shared with his now separated wife Jill and their surviving son Will. Back at the set of the show, Jeff discusses his proposal for a death-centric episode again and Seb acquiesces. Later, Jeff's sister Dierdre goes home and tries to convince her daughter Maddy to eat her vegetables. She relents after Maddy reveals that earlier that day she saw her father Scott having a sexual encounter in the front yard. The next day, Jeff turns on the show expecting to see the episode about death air but instead finds that it has been replaced. Seb confirms this to him in a phone call and reminds him about not tarnishing his brand and image as Jeff partially shaves his head in spite. Jeff goes on to purchase the house for sale right next door to his prior one, where he sees his wife in the kitchen with another man.
2"Pusillanimous"Michel GondryDave HolsteinSeptember 16, 2018 (2018-09-16)[lower-alpha 1]0.290[3]
3"Every Pain Needs a Name"Jake SchreierHalley FeifferSeptember 23, 2018 (2018-09-23)0.303[4]
4"Bye, Mom"Jake SchreierMichael VukadinovichSeptember 30, 2018 (2018-09-30)0.281[5]
5"The New You"Michel GondryCody HellerOctober 7, 2018 (2018-10-07)0.199[6]
6"The Cookie"[7]TBATBAOctober 14, 2018 (2018-10-14)TBD
7"Kintsugi"[8]TBATBAOctober 21, 2018 (2018-10-21)TBD
8"Philliam"[9]TBATBAOctober 28, 2018 (2018-10-28)TBD
9"LT. Pickles"[10]TBATBANovember 4, 2018 (2018-11-04)TBD
10"Some Day"[11]TBATBANovember 11, 2018 (2018-11-11)TBD

Production

Promotional poster featuring Jim Carrey as Jeff Piccirillo.

Development

On September 14, 2017, it was announced that Showtime had given the production a straight-to-series order for a first season consisting of ten episodes. The series was created by Dave Holstein who was also expected to executive produce alongside Jim Carrey, Michel Gondry, Jason Bateman, Jim Garavente, Raffi Adlan, and Michael Aguilar. Additionally, Holstein was set to write the pilot episode and serve as showrunner and Gondry was slated to direct every episode.[1][12][13] On June 7, 2018, it was announced that series would premiere on September 9, 2018.[14]

On October 10, 2018, it was announced that Showtime had renewed the series for a second season consisting of ten episodes that are scheduled to premiere in 2019.[15]

Casting

Simultaneously with the announcement of the series order, it was confirmed that Jim Carrey had been cast in the series' lead role.[1] On December 14, 2017, it was reported that Catherine Keener had been cast as the series' female lead.[16] On January 4, 2018, it was announced that Frank Langella had joined the main cast in a series regular role.[17] On February 13, 2018, it was reported that Judy Greer had also joined the main cast.[18] On March 15, 2018, it was announced that Justin Kirk had been cast in a recurring role.[19] In May 2018, it was reported that Ginger Gonzaga and Bernard White were joining the cast in a recurring capacity.[20][21] On July 9, 2018, it was announced that Grace Song had been cast in a recurring role.[22]

Release

Marketing

On June 7, 2018, the series' first official trailer was released.[14] About two weeks later, a teaser trailer featuring a song from the series was released.[23] On August 6, 2018, the series' poster and the second official trailer were released.[24]

Premiere

On September 5, 2018, the series held its official premiere at the Cinerama Dome in Los Angeles, California. Those in attendance included David Nevins, Judy Greer, Jim Carrey, Catherine Keener, and Dave Holstein.[25]

Distribution

In Canada, the series airs on The Movie Network and CraveTV.[26] In France, the series airs on Canal+ Séries.[27] In the United Kingdom, the series is scheduled to air on Sky Atlantic.[28]

Reception

The series has been met with a positive response from critics upon its premiere. On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds a 72% approval rating, with an average rating of 7.36 out of 10 based on 58 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Fans of Jim Carrey's slapstick may be disappointed, but other viewers may find a surprisingly poignant examination of life and grief in Kidding."[29] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the series a score of 67 out of 100 based on 32 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews."[30]

In a positive review, Vox's Karen Han praised the series saying, "The deconstruction of a Fred Rogers figure would make for an interesting show on its own, but Kidding transcends that premise by leaps and bounds on the strength of Carrey’s performance and a determination to make the show just as rough--and riveting--as real life."[31] In another favorable critique, The Hollywood Reporter's Tim Goodman offered similar acclaim saying, "With its keen self-awareness, exceptional writing and consistently great acting, Kidding — starring a perfectly cast Jim Carrey in his first series-regular role since In Living Color two decades ago — is Showtime's best and most binge-worthy series in a long time."[32] Ben Travers at IndieWire reviewed the first four episodes of the show, and called it an alt-reality Mr. Rogers, and that although the fixation on death is "uncomfortable, [...] it shows signs of a lighter, broader scope and is buoyed by unrelenting optimism." He praised the story for treating Jeff's sincerity with genuine respect, and Carrey for his "terrific" and "nuanced" performance.[33] Kristen Baldwin of Entertainment Weekly gave it a B+ grade and called it a "bittersweet family saga" and is unsure of the direction of the show but "but for now, it’s a compelling story about the beauty, and difficulty, of giving your pain a name."[34] In a more mixed assessment, Rolling Stone's Alan Sepinwall awarded the series three-and-a-half stars out of five and provided restrained admiration saying, "Carrey’s worth the price of admission, though, even if it’s not the TV comeback vehicle many of his fans would want. Heck, he’d probably be a huge hit just hosting a full-length version of the show within the show, rather than this version that only gives us innocent glimpses amidst all the mourning. But like Jeff Pickles, Carrey wants to lean into the harder parts of life. More often than not with Kidding, he succeeds."[35]

In a negative evaluation, Uproxx's Pilot Viruet compared the series unfavorably to some of Showtimes's past shows saying, "those series found ways to make the humor seem more natural, more fitting with the stories they’re telling. Kidding's approach is more overt and frequently confusing, as if spotting a brightly-colored puppet wandering amongst our real world."[36] Caroline Framke of Variety said that the show succeeds in places but more often than not it "feels caught between too many tones and ideas to become quite as distinctive as it could be." Framke wrote that over the first four episodes the show better understands TV personality and business of Mr. Pickles than it does of grieving father Jeff.[37] Dave Nemetz of TVLine is critical of the tone of the show, saying it is "somewhere between comedy and drama, and isn’t entirely successful at either."[38]

Ratings

No. Title Air dateRating
(18–49)		Viewers
(millions)		DVR viewers
(millions)		Total viewers
(millions)
1 "Green Means Go" September 9, 20180.130.443[2]0.2070.650[39]
2 "Pusillanimous" September 16, 20180.070.290[3]0.1540.444[40]
3 "Every Pain Needs a Name" September 23, 20180.110.303[4]0.2010.504[41]
4 "Bye, Mom" September 30, 20180.090.281[5]0.1640.445[42]
5 "The New You" October 7, 20180.050.199[6]0.1820.381[43]

Notes

  1. 1 2 Episodes one and two were released early through Showtime's streaming applications.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Andreeva, Nellie (September 14, 2017). "Jim Carrey To Topline Showtime Comedy Series 'Kidding'; Michel Gondry To Direct". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
  2. 1 2 Metcalf, Mitch (September 11, 2018). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 9.9.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  3. 1 2 Metcalf, Mitch (September 18, 2018). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 9.16.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  4. 1 2 Metcalf, Mitch (September 25, 2018). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 9.23.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  5. 1 2 Metcalf, Mitch (October 2, 2018). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 9.30.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
  6. 1 2 Metcalf, Mitch (October 9, 2018). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 10.7.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Kidding - Season 1 Episode 6, The Cookie". Showtime. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Kidding - Season 1 Episode 7, Kintsugi". Showtime. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Kidding - Season 1 Episode 8, Philliam". Showtime. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Kidding - Season 1 Episode 9, LT. Pickles". Showtime. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Kidding - Season 1 Episode 10, Some Day". Showtime. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  12. ↑ Otterson, Joe (September 14, 2017). "Jim Carrey to Star in New Showtime Comedy Series 'Kidding'". Variety. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
  13. ↑ Goldberg, Lesley (September 14, 2017). "Jim Carrey to Star in Showtime Straight-to-Series Comedy From Michel Gondry". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 31, 2017.
  14. 1 2 Pedersen, Erik (June 7, 2018). "'Shameless' Season 9 & Jim Carrey Comedy 'Kidding' Get Showtime Premiere Dates". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
  15. ↑ Patten, Dominic (October 10, 2018). "Jim Carrey's 'Kidding' Coming Back For Second Season On Showtime". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
  16. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (December 14, 2017). "Catherine Keener To Co-Star In Jim Carrey Comedy Series 'Kidding' On Showtime". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
  17. ↑ Petski, Denise (January 4, 2018). "'Kidding': Frank Langella Cast In Jim Carrey Comedy Series On Showtime". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  18. ↑ Petski, Denise (February 13, 2018). "'Kidding': Judy Greer Cast In Jim Carrey Comedy Series On Showtime". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
  19. ↑ Petski, Denise (March 15, 2018). "'Kidding': Justin Kirk Set To Recur On Jim Carrey's Showtime Comedy Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  20. ↑ Petski, Denise (May 21, 2018). "'Kidding': Ginger Gonzaga Set To Recur In Jim Carrey's Showtime Comedy Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  21. ↑ Petski, Denise (May 22, 2018). "'Kidding' Casts Bernard White; Bria Vinaite Joins 'The OA'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  22. ↑ Petski, Denise (July 9, 2018). "Kat Willis Joins 'Tell Me Your Secrets'; Grace Song In 'Kidding'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  23. ↑ Feldberg, Isaac (June 20, 2018). "Jim Carrey sings a sad song for Michel Gondry in 'Kidding' teaser". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  24. ↑ Petski, Denise (August 6, 2018). "'Kidding': Jim Carrey Showtime Comedy Unveils New Trailer & Posters – TCA". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
  25. ↑ Huver, Scott (September 6, 2018). "Jim Carrey on Getting Serious With a Mister Rogers-Style Hero in 'Kidding'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
  26. ↑ Doyle, John (September 7, 2018). "Jim Carrey's extraordinary new series, Kidding, is grimly funny and sometimes disturbing". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
  27. ↑ Olivier, Clémence (September 10, 2018). "Kidding, the reunion series of Jim Carrey and Michel Gondry". Ouest-France. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
  28. ↑ Westbrook, Caroline (August 9, 2018). "When does Jim Carrey's new TV show Kidding start?". Metro. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
  29. ↑ "Kidding: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  30. ↑ "Kidding: Season 1". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved September 23, 2018.
  31. ↑ Han, Karen (September 9, 2018). "Jim Carrey returns to TV on Showtime's Kidding. It's a messy triumph". Vox. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
  32. ↑ Goodman, Tim (September 5, 2018). "'Kidding': TV Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
  33. ↑ Travers, Ben (August 29, 2018). "'Kidding' Review: Jim Carrey and Michel Gondry's Showtime Series Is Inventive, Incisive, and Obsessed with Death". IndieWire. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  34. ↑ Baldwin, Kristen (August 24, 2018). "Jim Carrey does his best work in years in dramedy Kidding: EW review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  35. ↑ Sepinwall, Alan (September 5, 2018). "'Kidding' Review: Jim Carrey Is All Heart in Showtime Tragicomedy". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
  36. ↑ Viruet, Pilot (September 7, 2018). "Jim Carrey's Showtime Series 'Kidding' Struggles To Find A Balance". Uproxx. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
  37. ↑ Framke, Caroline (August 28, 2018). "TV Review: Jim Carrey in 'Kidding' on Showtime". Variety. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  38. ↑ Nemetz, Dave (August 29, 2018). "Kidding Review: Jim Carrey's New Show Might Be the Saddest Comedy on TV". TVLine. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  39. ↑ Pucci, Douglas (September 14, 2018). "Live+3 Weekly Ratings: 'Mayans M.C.' Series Debut Tops All Telecasts in Raw Adults 18-49 Gains". Programming Insider. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  40. ↑ Pucci, Douglas (September 21, 2018). "Live+3 Weekly Ratings: 'American Horror Story: Apocalypse' Premiere Ranks as Second Most-Watched Cable Program of 2018 To-Date". Programming Insider. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
  41. ↑ Pucci, Douglas (September 28, 2018). "Live+3 Weekly Ratings: 'The Sinner' Season Finale Leads All Original Prime Time Telecasts in Percentage Gains". Programming Insider. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  42. ↑ Pucci, Douglas (October 5, 2018). "Live+3 Weekly Ratings: 'Manifest' and 'This Is Us' Lead Adults 18-49 Gains". Programming Insider. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  43. ↑ Pucci, Douglas (October 12, 2018). "Live+3 Weekly Ratings: NBC Shows Make Up 5 of Top Ten in Overall Gains Among Broadcast Entries". Programming Insider. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
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