''Kidding'' is an American
comedy-drama television series created by Dave Holstein that premiered on September 9, 2018, on
Showtime
Showtime or Show Time may refer to:
Film
* ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film
* ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur
Television Networks and channels
* Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...
. The series stars
Jim Carrey,
Frank Langella
Frank A. Langella Jr. (; born January 1, 1938) is an American stage and film actor. He has won four Tony Awards: two for Best Leading Actor in a Play for his performance as Richard Nixon in Peter Morgan's '' Frost/Nixon'' and as André in Flor ...
,
Judy Greer
Judith Therese Evans (born July 20, 1975), known professionally as Judy Greer, is an American actress. She is primarily known as a character actress, who has appeared in a wide variety of films. She first rose to prominence in a variety of suppor ...
, Cole Allen, Juliet Morris, and
Catherine Keener
Catherine Ann Keener (born March 26, 1959) is an American actress. She has portrayed disgruntled and melancholic yet sympathetic women in independent films, as well as supporting roles in studio films. She has been nominated twice for the Acad ...
.
Michel Gondry
Michel Gondry (; born 8 May 1963) is a French filmmaker noted for his inventive visual style and distinctive manipulation of mise en scène. Along with Charlie Kaufman, he won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay as one of the writers ...
serves as executive producer and directed several episodes. In October 2018, Showtime renewed the series for a second season which premiered February 9, 2020. In July 2020, the series was canceled after two seasons.
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.
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
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
for thirty years. Following the death of one of his sons, he finds great difficulty in adapting to the hardships of life.
Zackary Arthur
Zackary Arthur (born September 12, 2006) is an American actor, known for portraying the lead role of Jake Wheeler in '' Chucky'', a television continuation of the ''Child's Play'' film franchise, for which he was nominated for the Saturn Award ...
portrays a young Jeff in a recurring role.
*
Frank Langella
Frank A. Langella Jr. (; born January 1, 1938) is an American stage and film actor. He has won four Tony Awards: two for Best Leading Actor in a Play for his performance as Richard Nixon in Peter Morgan's '' Frost/Nixon'' and as André in Flor ...
as Sebastian Piccirillo, the executive producer of ''Mr. Pickles' Puppet Time'' and Jeff and Didi's father
*
Judy Greer
Judith Therese Evans (born July 20, 1975), known professionally as Judy Greer, is an American actress. She is primarily known as a character actress, who has appeared in a wide variety of films. She first rose to prominence in a variety of suppor ...
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 Perera, Deirdre and Scott's daughter and Jeff's niece
*
Catherine Keener
Catherine Ann Keener (born March 26, 1959) is an American actress. She has portrayed disgruntled and melancholic yet sympathetic women in independent films, as well as supporting roles in studio films. She has been nominated twice for the Acad ...
as Deirdre "Didi" Perera, the head puppet maker of ''Mr. Pickles' Puppet Time'' and Jeff's sister
*
Justin Kirk
Justin Kirk (born May 28, 1969) is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Prior Walter in Mike Nichols's screen adaptation of ''Angels in America'', for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting A ...
as Peter, an anesthesiologist whom Jill is dating (recurring season 1, main season 2)
Recurring
*
Bernard White as Scott Perera, Deirdre's husband
* Alex Raul Barrios as Derrell, the stagehand for ''Mr. Pickles' Puppet Time''
* 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
*
Ginger Gonzaga
Ginger Gonzaga (born May 17, 1983) is an American comedian and actress. She plays Nikki Ramos, best friend of Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk in the Disney+ series '' She-Hulk: Attorney at Law''.
Early life
Gonzaga grew up in Modesto, California, w ...
as Vivian, a woman dying of cancer whom Jeff dates until she goes into
remission
*
Tara Lipinski
Tara Kristen Lipinski (born June 10, 1982) is an American former competitive figure skater, actress, sports commentator and documentary film producer. A former competitor in women's singles, she is the 1998 Olympic champion, the 1997 World ...
as herself, an Olympic figure skater hired to star as Mr. Pickles in the "Pickles On Ice-tacular"
* Jennie Pierson as Sara Lipinski, Tara's sister who replaces her as Mr. Pickles' ice-skating double.
Jennifer Don
Jennifer Don (born October 6, 1984; ) is a Taiwanese American figure skater who competed in both the pairs and singles disciplines. For most of her career, she represented the United States in competition. With partner Jonathon Hunt, she is the ...
portrays her while ice-skating in a guest appearance in the episode "Lt. Pickles".
*
Joel Swetow
Joel Swetow (born January 30, 1951) is an American actor.
Select filmography Film
Television
Videogames
Audio books
References
External links
*
1951 births
People from New York City
Living people
American male film actors
Am ...
as Michael Epstein, a Rabbi and writer hired by Seb to work on ''Mr. Pickles' Puppet Time'' in order to reduce Jeff's workload
*
Louis Ozawa Changchien
Louis Ozawa Changchien (born October 11, 1975) is an American actor best known for his role in the films ''Predators'' ( 2010) and '' The Bourne Legacy'' (2012).
Early life and education
Changchien was born in Queens, New York and raised in New Y ...
as Mr. Pickles-San, an actor newly hired to portray Mr. Pickles in the Japanese version of ''Mr. Pickles' Puppet Time'' who comes to America to shadow Jeff. He stays at Deirdre's home and eventually sleeps with her.
* Jernard Burks as Denny, the truck driver who crashed into the Piccirillo family's car, killing Phil
* Calah Lane as Denny's daughter, who looks after her father and takes care of him as he is harassed by those angry over Phil's death
*
Riki Lindhome
Erika "Riki" Lindhome (born March 5, 1979) is an American actress, comedian, and musician. She is best known as a singer and songwriter for the comedy folk duo Garfunkel and Oates.
After making her television debut in 2002 with minor roles in t ...
as Shaina, a former drug addict who turned her life around by watching ''Mr. Pickles' Puppet Time''. After reading a letter from her, Jeff takes her out on a date.
*
Annette O'Toole as Louise, Jeff and Deirdre's mother and Sebastian's ex-wife.
*
Kelly Coffield Park
Kelly Coffield Park (born January 19, 1962) is an American actress and comedian. She is best known for being an original cast member of the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color''.
In 1997, Park had a supporting role in the short-liv ...
as Joanne, Jeff and Jill’s realtor
;Puppeteers
*
Mary Faber
Mary Benton Faber (born in Greenville, North Carolina) is an American actress. She graduated from the Governor's School for the Arts and Brandeis University.
Stage career
Faber made her Broadway debut on December 26, 2005, replacing Stephanie D ...
as Macy, the puppeteer of Soap Scum on ''Mr. Pickles' Puppet Time''
* Dan Garza as Ennui La Triste, a talking French baguette puppet
* Gwen Hollander as Sheryl, the puppeteer of Astron-Otter on ''Mr. Pickles' Puppet Time''
* Patrick Johnson as The Oops and Maestro Pimento Fermata
* Christian Anderson as Sy the Wide-Eyed Fly
*
Mike Quinn as Secret Chef
*
Barry Rothbart and
Rich Fulcher
Richard Fulcher (born November 18, 1968) is an American comedian, actor and author. He played Bob Fossil and other characters in the British comedy series ''The Mighty Boosh'', and Edward Sheath in the American series '' Jon Benjamin Has a Van'' ...
as Bert and Clay, the two puppeteers of Snagglehorse on ''Mr. Pickles' Puppet Time''
Guest
*
Betty Thomas
Betty Thomas (born Betty Lucille Nienhauser; July 21, 1948) is an American actress, director, and producer. She is known for her Emmy Award-winning role as Sergeant Lucy Bates on the television series '' Hill Street Blues''.
As of March 2018, T ...
("Green Means Go")
*
Conan O'Brien as himself ("Green Means Go"), the eponymous host of ''
Conan'', on which Jeff is a guest
*
Danny Trejo
Danny Trejo ( ; born May 16, 1944) is an American actor. He has appeared in films including ''Desperado'', ''Heat'', and the ''From Dusk Till Dawn'' film series. With frequent collaborator and his second cousin Robert Rodriguez, he portrayed ...
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''
*
Matt Evers
Matt Evers (born March 16, 1976) is an American pair skater, model and actor. He is the 1998 U.S. Junior champion, and has competed in every series of the ITV series ''Dancing on Ice''.
Career
With his partner Heather Allebach, Evers won the ...
as Ice Ennui ("LT. Pickles"), the ice-skating performer who portrays Ennui La Triste in the "Pickles On Ice-tacular"
*
Ariana Grande as Piccola Grande ("Episode 3101"), the Pickle Fairy of Hope
*
Dick Van Dyke as Hopskotch the Sasquatch ("Up, Down and Everything in Between" and "Episode 3101"), a giant puppet who is never seen in its entirety
*
Tyler, the Creator
Tyler Gregory Okonma (born March 6, 1991), known professionally as Tyler, the Creator, is an American rapper and record producer. He is one of the founding members of the music collective Odd Future.
Okonma self-released his debut mixtape ' ...
as Cornell ("The Acceptance Speech"), who works at a nostalgia therapy center
*
Blake Griffin
Blake Austin Griffin (born March 16, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Oklahoma Sooners, when he was named the consen ...
as himself ("A Seat on the Rocket")
Episodes
Season 1 (2018)
Season 2 (2020)
Production
Development
On September 14, 2017, it was announced that
Showtime
Showtime or Show Time may refer to:
Film
* ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film
* ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur
Television Networks and channels
* Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...
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 also serves as executive producer alongside
Jim Carrey,
Michel Gondry
Michel Gondry (; born 8 May 1963) is a French filmmaker noted for his inventive visual style and distinctive manipulation of mise en scène. Along with Charlie Kaufman, he won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay as one of the writers ...
,
Jason Bateman, Jim Garavente, Raffi Adlan, and Michael Aguilar. Additionally, Holstein wrote the pilot episode and serves as showrunner and Gondry directed the pilot.
On June 7, 2018, it was announced that the series would premiere on September 9, 2018.
On October 10, 2018, it was announced that Showtime had renewed the series for a second season consisting of ten episodes that were scheduled to premiere on November 3, 2019. However, in September 2019, Showtime announced that the second season would instead premiere on February 9, 2020. On July 14, 2020, Showtime canceled the series after two seasons.
Casting
Simultaneously with the announcement of the series order, it was confirmed that
Jim Carrey had been cast in the series' lead role.
On December 14, 2017, it was reported that
Catherine Keener
Catherine Ann Keener (born March 26, 1959) is an American actress. She has portrayed disgruntled and melancholic yet sympathetic women in independent films, as well as supporting roles in studio films. She has been nominated twice for the Acad ...
had been cast as the series' female lead. On January 4, 2018, it was announced that
Frank Langella
Frank A. Langella Jr. (; born January 1, 1938) is an American stage and film actor. He has won four Tony Awards: two for Best Leading Actor in a Play for his performance as Richard Nixon in Peter Morgan's '' Frost/Nixon'' and as André in Flor ...
had joined the main cast in a series regular role. On February 13, 2018, it was reported that
Judy Greer
Judith Therese Evans (born July 20, 1975), known professionally as Judy Greer, is an American actress. She is primarily known as a character actress, who has appeared in a wide variety of films. She first rose to prominence in a variety of suppor ...
had also joined the main cast. On March 15, 2018, it was announced that
Justin Kirk
Justin Kirk (born May 28, 1969) is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Prior Walter in Mike Nichols's screen adaptation of ''Angels in America'', for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting A ...
had been cast in a recurring role. In May 2018, it was reported that Ginger Gonzaga and
Bernard White were joining the cast in a recurring capacity. On July 9, 2018, it was announced that Grace Song had been cast in a recurring role.
Release
Marketing
On June 7, 2018, the series' first official trailer was released.
About two weeks later, a teaser trailer featuring a song from the series was released. On August 6, 2018, the series' poster and the second official trailer were released.
Premiere
On September 5, 2018, the series held its official premiere at the
Cinerama Dome
Pacific Theatres' Cinerama Dome is a movie theater located at 6360 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California. Designed to exhibit widescreen Cinerama films, it opened November 7, 1963. The original developer was William R. Forman, founder of Pa ...
in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
. Those in attendance included
David Nevins,
Judy Greer
Judith Therese Evans (born July 20, 1975), known professionally as Judy Greer, is an American actress. She is primarily known as a character actress, who has appeared in a wide variety of films. She first rose to prominence in a variety of suppor ...
,
Jim Carrey,
Catherine Keener
Catherine Ann Keener (born March 26, 1959) is an American actress. She has portrayed disgruntled and melancholic yet sympathetic women in independent films, as well as supporting roles in studio films. She has been nominated twice for the Acad ...
, and Dave Holstein.
Distribution
In Canada, the series airs on
The Movie Network
Crave (formerly The Movie Network or TMN) is a Canadian premium television network and streaming service owned by the Bell Media subsidiary of BCE Inc.
Launched in 1983 as the national service First Choice, early difficulties and a subsequent ...
and
CraveTV
Crave (initially named CraveTV) is a Canadian subscription video on demand service owned by Bell Media. The service competes directly with other subscription-based over-the-top streaming services operating in Canada, primarily American-based se ...
. In France, the series airs on
Canal+ Séries. In the United Kingdom, the series has aired on
Sky Atlantic
Sky Atlantic is a British pay television channel owned by Sky Group Limited broadcast in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The channel is primarily dedicated to imported programmes from the United States, and holds the domestic rights to HB ...
, but it later moved to
Sky Comedy
Sky Comedy is a British pay television channel owned and operated by Sky, a division of Comcast, which launched on 27 January 2020, replacing Universal TV. It is the first dedicated full-time comedy station in Sky's channel portfolio since t ...
. In Spain, the series airs on
Movistar Series.
Reception
Critical response
The series was met with a positive response from critics upon its premiere. On the review aggregation website
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the first season holds a 77% approval rating, with an average rating of 7.38 out of 10 based on 77 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''."
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, which uses a weighted average, assigned the first season a score of 68 out of 100 based on 33 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews."
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." In another favorable critique, ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...
''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." Ben Travers at ''
IndieWire
IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Holl ...
'' reviewed the first four episodes of the show, and called it an alt-reality ''
Mr. Rogers
Fred McFeely Rogers (March 20, 1928 – February 27, 2003), commonly known as Mister Rogers, was an American television host, author, producer, and Presbyterian minister. He was the creator, showrunner, and host of the preschool television se ...
'', 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. Kristen Baldwin of ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...
'' gave it a B+ grade and called it a "bittersweet family saga" and is unsure of the direction of the show but "for now, it’s a compelling story about the beauty, and difficulty, of giving your pain a name." In a more mixed assessment, ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
''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."
In a negative evaluation, ''
Uproxx
''Uproxx'' (stylized in all caps) is an entertainment and popular culture news website. It was founded in 2008 by Jarret Myer and Brian Brater, and acquired by Woven Digital (later renamed Uproxx Media Group) in 2014. The site's target audience ...
''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." Caroline Framke of ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' 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. Dave Nemetz of ''
TVLine
''TVLine'' is a website devoted to information, news, and spoilers of television programs.
History
In late 2010, ''Entertainment Weekly''s Michael Ausiello announced that he would be leaving ''EW'' after nearly two years in their employ to est ...
'' is critical of the tone of the show, saying it is "somewhere between comedy and drama, and isn’t entirely successful at either."
The second season received positive reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, the season holds a 100% approval rating, with an average rating of 8 out of 10 based on 10 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "''Kidding'' lightens its emotional load just enough to craft a sophomore season that is brighter and sweeter and no less insightful than its first."
Ratings
Season 1
Season 2
Awards and nominations
Notes
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kidding
2018 American television series debuts
2020 American television series endings
2010s American comedy-drama television series
2020s American comedy-drama television series
American television shows featuring puppetry
English-language television shows
Showtime (TV network) original programming
Television series about television
Television shows set in Columbus, Ohio