Critic Reviews

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.

If Season 1 was a pressure cooker, Season 2 is more of a spiral. Everyone in Jeff's immediate circle has to face up to their sins, and even if some fare better than others, the collective reckoning makes a hell of a mess to clean up.

This is a story about a man who is suffering but continues to put those he loves ahead of himself. It's simultaneously tragic and inspiring. Showtime has something special with Kidding.

Bold, provocative and at its core heartbreakingly endearing, it borrows from the original mold--and then breaks it.

What Holstein, Gondry, Carrey, and the “Kidding” gang have accomplished is bold without reaching, sweet without turning saccharine, and thoughtful without getting pushy. Season 2 is lighter, yes, but only enough to let it fly.

Showtime's best and most binge-worthy series in a long time. ... The result is funny, wildly inventive and utterly sad. To pull off what is conceptually the implosion of Mister Rogers is a real triumph.

Like a kid’s show, Kidding wanders off here and there in order to maintain our strict attention, and the digressions are part of what makes the show work as well as it does. ... What’s developing is a comedy jewel, albeit one wrapped in a shroud. ... The miracle is that the show is so moving. And, even better, so funny.

Langella is a master of deadpan comic timing as Seb. ... Greer is equally wonderful as Jill, who tells Jeff being married to Mr. Pickles is like being Mrs. Santa Claus. Nobody cares about Mrs. Claus! And then there’s Jeff/Mr. Pickles, and what a pair they make. ... Carrey is brilliant.

Jim Carrey makes a triumphant return to TV with Kidding, a Showtime series that reunites him with the director of one of his best movies, "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." The result is a sweet, melancholy, occasionally funny show that marks one of the new TV season's early highlights.

Carrey does excel at transforming a character’s inner torment into outer hijinks--but for now, it’s a compelling story about the beauty, and difficulty, of giving your pain a name.