Tears Of A Clown

Jim Carrey is a grief-stricken children’s entertainer in sky Atlantic’s dark comedy Kidding

- Judy Ewens,Richard McLure

Jim Carrey brings his comedy talents to TV this week when he takes the lead in Sky Atlantic series Kidding, which begins this week with a double bill – just don’t expect the goofball humour of his movie hits Ace Ventura or Dumb and Dumber.

The 10-parter is a much darker affair, revolving around kindhearted children’s entertainer Jeff Pickles, played by Carrey, the host of a beloved kids’ TV show called Mr Pickles’ Puppet Time.

After 30 years on air, the show remains as popular as ever, but 12 months after one of his twin teenage sons, Phil, was killed in a car accident, Jeff is overwhelmed by grief and struggling to keep things together.

FALLING APART

The tragedy has caused him to split from his wife, Jill (Judy Greer), and move into a rundown apartment complex. Behaving in an increasingly bizarre fashion, he desperately tries to bond with his other son, Will, who is more interested in smoking pot than his father’s magic tricks and stories.