VIDEO: Jim Carrey Is a Children’s TV Icon on the Brink of a Breakdown in First ‘Kidding’ Trailer

Jim Carrey plays a mild-mannered children’s TV icon on the brink of a breakdown in “Kidding,” an upcoming Showtime dramedy debuting in September.

The show’s official trailer (above) opens as Carrey’s Mr. Rogers-esque character Jeff Pickles waxes philosophical about inner beauty from a TV studio filled with props, puppets, and captivated children.

“Smiles are a little gift that we give each other,” he tells them with a smile of his own (above). “That’s the most beautiful part of yourself.”

But Mr. Pickles’ off-camera life is anything but smiles. As his family begins to crumble and his sanity is tested, it seems neither puppet nor well-meaning platitude can save him. Soon he’s shaving his head, ripping apart his kitchen appliances, and sprinting down the street in the dark.

Created by Dave Holstein (“Weeds”) and executive produced by Jim’s “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” director Michel Gondry, “Kidding” marks Carrey’s first starring TV role in several decades. When the legendary entertainer joined the Stern Show in 2017, he spoke all about the evolution of his career, including his days as a stand-up comic and on TV’s “In Living Color” before he became a big-time movie star and a household name. He also revealed he was the happiest he’d even been, thanks in part to having fully immersed himself in painting. “That’s the key—the key to happiness is total involvement,” Jim told Howard.

“Kidding,” also starring Frank Langella, Judy Greer, and Catherine Keener, premieres Sunday, Sept. 10 on Showtime.