'Kidding' Season 2 preview: Jim Carrey’s Jeff Piccirillo was last left with his show on hiatus but wife and father more understanding of him
What do you get when you mix chaotic goodness with quiet vulnerability and tragedy? You get something as explosive as ‘Kidding’. The Showtime series created by Dave Holstein stars Jim Carrey, Judy Greer, Frank Langella, Catherine Keener, Cole Allen, Justin Kirk and Ginger Gonzaga.
While all the performances are phenomenal, it is Carrey’s that makes you stop and take a moment and think. Season 1 of the show starts with the one-year anniversary of the death of Phil, the teenaged son of Jeff Piccirillo a.k.a. Mr. Pickles (Jim Carrey).
On-screen, Jeff is a Fred Rogers-like man, a favorite among children and their parents across the nation. So popular and beloved is Jeff, in fact, when a gang of car-jackers realizes they’ve stolen Mr. Pickles’ car, they reassemble and return it without anyone finding out.
Popular and loved as he is, however, the on-screen persona of Jeff (a ball of sunlight) is very different from what his life is outside the production room. His marriage is broken from the tragedy.
His wife is seeing someone else. His father expects him to be strong “like a man”, and his other son thinks he is a “p***y”. Jeff and Mr. Pickles are two different persons swinging in and out of character like a pendulum, trying to reconcile his marriage and deal with the death of a child while being a role model to children on screen.
And while Jim Carrey’s portrayal of depression (with a hint of edge and mania) is captivating, the show’s treatment of coping and empathy (or the conspicuous lack of it in some characters) becomes slightly monotonous. Jeff wants to make a show about death for his young audience. And his reasons are absolutely correct.
Children, especially in today’s world, need to understand death and what it means for families. His producer (and father) however, completely misses the point. He feels worried his son may be falling apart. They shoot the episode. He refuses to air it.
The first season ends with Jeff’s show being put on indefinite hiatus. And of course, it is because of what Jeff does on screen. He delivers a long speech about how the nation allows televisions (and by extension, him) to babysit children.
He talks about consumerism and his son’s death. And while it wasn’t the ending one would have expected, it was the ending the show deserved. We see Jeff grow. We see his wife understand him better, especially after the episode on his son’s death is finally aired in the finale.
We even see his father soften up a little (but only a little). ‘Kidding’ leaves you wanting for more because over time you get invested in the characters.
'Kidding' Season 2 will premiere November 3 at 10 p.m. ET on Showtime.