JUSTIN KIRK RETURNS TO SHOWTIME(R) IN THE NEW COMEDY SERIES "KIDDING"

LOS ANGELES - March 15, 2018 - SHOWTIME has announced that Justin Kirk (WEEDS) has been cast in a recurring role in the upcoming SHOWTIME half-hour comedy KIDDING. Kirk joins Golden Globe(R) winner Jim Carrey, along with Oscar(R), Emmy(R) and Golden Globe nominee Catherine Keener (Get Out), Oscar, Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon) and Judy Greer (Married). Kirk will play Peter, the new boyfriend of Jill (Greer) who is Jeff's (Carrey) estranged wife.

In KIDDING, Carrey in his first series regular role in more than two decades plays Jeff, aka Mr. Pickles, an icon of children's television, a beacon of kindness and wisdom to America's impressionable young minds and the parents who grew up with him - who also anchors a multimillion-dollar branding empire. But when this beloved personality's family - wife, two sons, sister and father - begins to implode, Jeff finds no fairy tale or fable or puppet will guide him through this crisis, which advances faster than his means to cope. The result: A kind man in a cruel world faces a slow leak of sanity as hilarious as it is heartbreaking.

Justin Kirk has received critical acclaim for his many roles in television, film and on stage. Perhaps best known for his portrayal of Andy Botwin on eight seasons of the hit SHOWTIME series WEEDS, he also starred opposite Meryl Streep and Emma Thompson in the Emmy-winning miniseries Angels in America. Kirk was nominated for a Critic's Choice Award for his recurring role on Manhattan. Kirk recently starred opposite Jennifer Garner in the independent film, Tribes of Palos Verdes, and will be seen opposite Christian Bale and Sam Rockwell in Adam McKay's upcoming film Backseat, in which he portrays Scooter Libby. Kirk's stage credits include Jon Robin Baitz's Ten Unknowns and Other Desert Cities.

Ordered for 10 episodes, KIDDING is executive produced by Carrey, Oscar winner Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), Emmy nominee Jason Bateman (Arrested Development), Jim Garavente (Bad Words), Raffi Adlan (The Green Hornet) and Michael Aguilar (I'M DYING UP HERE). KIDDING was created by Dave Holstein (WEEDS, Raising Hope), who wrote the pilot and will serve as showrunner. Gondry will also direct the project.