Jim Carrey Will Play Mr. Pickles in Showtime Comedy Series KIDDING

Jim Carrey is set to star in his first TV series since his time on the 1990s sketch comedy show In Living Color. The half-hour comedy series is called Kidding and it's set up at Showtime.

According to Variety, Carrey will play Jeff, a.k.a. Mr. Pickles,  "an icon of children’s television, who also anchors a multimillion dollar branding empire. But when his family begins to implode, Jeff finds no fairy tale or fable or puppet will guide him through this crisis, which advances faster than his means to cope."

It sounds like it could be a little more dramatic than just a flat out comedy, which is fine. It sounds interesting. Showtime has ordered a 10-episode first season and the project also reunites Carrey with director Michel Gondry, who directed him in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Gondry will be a director on the new series, which was created by Dave Holstein, who worked on Weeds and I'm Dying Up Here.

Showtime president and CEO David Nevins had this to say in a statement:

“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 Michel Gondry on board to direct, we are on our way to a magnetic, volcanic and emotional viewing experience.”

I've been a fan of Jim Carrey since he was on In Living Color, and it's awesome to see that he landed a great new gig. I'm looking forward to seeing how this turns out.