Jim Carrey’s TV series, “Kidding,” has been canceled, Page Six has exclusively learned.
Insiders said that the decision was made months ago, but that Carrey and the producers wanted to keep the news secret because he wants to win an Emmy.
Showtime confirmed to Page Six when we reached out for comment on Tuesday that the show will end its run after two seasons.
Insiders told us that “Kidding” showrunner and executive producer Dave Holstein had already told the cast and crew the series was ending, but to keep the info under wraps.
“Dave called all the actors and said everybody on the show is released,” a source said. “But to keep it a secret because Jim [Carrey] wanted to compete for an Emmy.” The source added, “Jim was campaigning hard for an Emmy. He did not want it announced that the show was canceled.”
Emmy nominations come out Jul. 28, later than originally scheduled due to the pandemic. The first phase of voting was bumped from June 15-29 to July 2-13.
But another source insisted that Showtime’s decision not to renew the show was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic — and that Emmy season was not a factor.
The show starred Carrey as an iconic children’s TV host named Jeff Pickles, and guest stars included Ariana Grande, Tyler The Creator, NBA star Blake Griffin, and Dick Van Dyke.
Showtime said in a statement: “After two seasons, ‘Kidding’ has concluded its run on Showtime. We are very proud to have aired this imaginative, critically-acclaimed and rewarding series, and we would like to thank Jim Carrey, Dave Holstein, Michael Aguilar, Michel Gondry and the entire cast and crew for their brilliant and tireless work.”
A rep for Carrey told us: “Jim has already given an exclusive comment on this to the Salem Town Crier.”
Carrey has won Golden Globes for his arty films “Man on the Moon” and “The Truman Show,” and he was nominated for an Emmy in 2018 for the documentary, “Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond.” This year, he starred as the baddie in “Sonic the Hedgehog.”
Perhaps ironically, Carrey’s just put out a semi-autobiographical novel in which a character with the same name is having an existential career crisis because he’s stooped so low as to accept a role in a film called, “Hungry Hungry Hippos in Digital 3-D.”
The book, “Memoirs and Misinformation,” was co-authored with Dana Vachon, and it begins with Carrey holed up in a Brentwood, Calif., mansion, and reportedly flashes back to details including a feud with Nicolas Cage, an aborted Mao Zedong biopic penned by Charlie Kaufman, and a digitized ghost of Rodney Dangerfield.
Gondry, who was an executive producer on “Kidding,” directed the acclaimed Carrey film, “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” which was written by Kaufman.
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