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SHOWTIME has ordered a second season of its comedy series Kidding, starring two time Golden Globe(R) winner and Emmy(R) nominee Jim Carrey in his first series regular role in more than two decades. Ordered for 10 episodes next season, Kidding is created by Dave Holstein (Weeds, Raising Hope). The first season of Kidding currently airs on Sundays at 10 p.m. ET/PT, with its season finale on November 11. Kidding centers on Jeff, aka Mr. Pickles (Carrey), an icon of children's television and a beacon of kindness and wisdom to America's impressionable young minds and the parents who grew up with him. But when this beloved personality's family begins to implode, Jeff finds no fairytale, 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. The series also stars Oscar(R), Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon), Oscar, Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Catherine Keener (Get Out), Judy Greer (Married), Cole Allen and Juliet Morris. Throughout the season, Jeff begins to push back against the limits of the well-oiled machine that is "Mr. Pickles' Puppet Time," and of his executive producer, Seb (Langella). Seb fears Jeff's mental state could ruin the branding empire they've built, and thus begins preparing the show for a life after Jeff, while Deirdre (Keener), the head puppet maker, grapples with her own professional and personal issues, including with her daughter, played by Morris. Greer stars as Jeff's estranged wife, and their son is played by Allen. Guest stars include Justin Kirk (Weeds), Ginger Gonzaga (I'm Dying Up Here) and Tara Lipinski.

Turner's TBS has ordered the comedy game show Misery Index, a new unscripted series inspired by the outrageously entertaining card game Sh*t Happens. Critically acclaimed and in demand comedy troupe The Tenderloins — Brian "Q" Quinn, James "Murr" Murray, Joe Gatto and Sal Vulcano — creators and stars of truTV's Impractical Jokers, cable's #1 original comedy series, have joined the series to help infuse comic relief. The game will feature two teams — each consisting of one contestant and two Tenderloins. Teams will compete against each other by attempting to determine the ranking of hilarious and miserable real-life events — from getting fired to accidentally sexting your grandfather — on a scale of 1-100. The network is adding 10 episodes of the half-hour comedy to its successful lineup of unscripted programs including Snoop Dogg Presents The Joker's Wild and Drop the Mic, the top two new unscripted cable comedies of 2017.

Showtime has released the series premiere of its new comedy Kidding early across multiple platforms. The series stars Golden Globe winner Jim Carrey in his first series regular role in more than two decades. Kidding reunites Carrey with Oscar(R) winner Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and is created by Dave Holstein (Weeds, Raising Hope). The premiere episode is available for free now on YouTube, Facebook and SHO.com. The 10-episode season of Kidding will premiere on Sunday, September 9 at 10 p.m. ET/PT after Shameless. Early sampling for Kidding is part of the Showtime Free Preview Weekend that was available to over 71 million households and lasted through Monday, September 3. Viewers nationwide are able sample the network's award-winning programming on SHOWTIME, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND(R), SHOWTIME ANYTIME(R) and select distributors' TV Everywhere portals.

Kidding centers on Jeff, aka Mr. Pickles (Carrey), an icon of children's television and a beacon of kindness and wisdom to America's impressionable young minds and the parents who grew up with him. But when this beloved personality's family begins to implode, Jeff finds no fairytale, 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. The series also stars Oscar, Emmy(R) and Golden Globe nominee Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon), Judy Greer (Married), Oscar, Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Catherine Keener (Get Out), Cole Allen and Juliet Morris. Throughout the season, Jeff begins to push back against the limits of the well-oiled machine that is "Mr. Pickles' Puppet Time," and of his executive producer, Seb (Langella). Seb fears Jeff's mental state could ruin the branding empire they've built, and thus begins preparing the show for a life after Jeff, while Deirdre (Keener), the head puppet maker, grapples with her own professional and personal issues, including with her daughter, played by Morris. Greer stars as Jeff's estranged wife, and their son is played by Allen. Guest stars include Justin Kirk (Weeds), Ginger Gonzaga (I'm Dying Up Here, Mixologoy) and Tara Lipinski.

A longtime HBO favorite returns with six new episodes of her Emmy(R)-nominated series when Tracey Ullman's Show kicks off its third season Friday, Sept. 28 (midnight-12:30 a.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO. Emmy(R) winner Ullman stars as a wide array of famous faces and everyday people in the sketch comedy show, which looks at modern life and current social figures through a comedic lens. The series is also available on HBO NOW, HBO GO, HBO On Demand and partners' streaming platforms.

Over the course of the new season, Ullman uses her signature brand of sharp satire to shape-shift into a range of public figures and offbeat original characters. She reprises her characterizations of Dame Judi Dench, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and Jerry Hall, and introduces her takes on British Prime Minister Theresa May, French First Lady Brigitte Macron and U.S. First Lady Melania Trump, among others. More topical than ever before, Tracey Ullman's Show satirizes today's culture, including television's latest obsession with strong but messy female characters, the future possibilities for smart-home devices, life in a post-Brexit world and the absurdity of the 24-hour news cycle.

p> SHOWTIME has announced its new fall comedy line-up with the ninth season of its hit series Shameless, starring Oscar(R) nominee and Emmy(R) and SAG Award(R) winner William H. Macy and Golden Globe(R) nominee Emmy Rossum, premiering on Sunday, September 9 at 9 p.m. ET/PT, followed by the series premiere of the new half-hour comedy series Kidding, starring Golden Globe(R) winner Jim Carrey in his first series regular role in more than two decades and reuniting him with Oscar winner Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), at 10 p.m. ET/PT. Shameless season nine will feature the show's 100th episode in week four, and is currently in production in Los Angeles.

Kidding centers on Jeff, aka Mr. Pickles (Carrey), an icon of children's television and a beacon of kindness and wisdom to America's impressionable young minds and the parents who grew up with him. But when this beloved personality's family begins to implode, Jeff finds no fairytale, 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. The series also stars Oscar(R), Emmy(R) and Golden Globe nominee Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon), Oscar, Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Catherine Keener (Get Out) and Judy Greer (Married). Throughout the season, Jeff begins to push back against the limits of the well-oiled machine that is "Mr. Pickles' Puppet Time," and of his executive producer, Seb (Langella). Seb fears Jeff's mental state could ruin the branding empire they've built, and thus begins preparing the show for a life after Jeff, while Deirdre (Keener), the head puppet maker, grapples with her own personal and professional life issues. Greer stars as Jeff's estranged wife and their son is played by Cole Allen. Guest stars include Justin Kirk (Weeds) and Ginger Gonzaga (I'm Dying Up Here, Wrecked).

Caroline & Friends Promo from Game Show Network on Vimeo.

Game Show Network, the leader in game shows and competitive entertainment, announced the premiere of its newest game show, Caroline & Friends, hosted by Caroline Rhea (Sabrina, The Teenage Witch). The new weekday half-hour series debuts Monday, July 16 at 4:00 p.m. ET. Caroline & Friends, is a new comedic, family-friendly series showcasing the most hilarious and adorable videos. As our comedic host guides the audience through each animal, kid and funny video, she'll provide lighthearted conversation and commentary with her two comedic, celebrity friends. Caroline and her companions then nominate their favorites and ultimately the studio audience picks the 'best in show,' earning the family who submitted the video a special prize. Friends joining Caroline throughout the season are Louie Anderson, Sherri Shepherd and Marissa Jaret Winokur among others.

CBS All Access, CBS' digital subscription video on-demand and live streaming service, announced the second season renewal of its first original comedy series, No Activity. The eight-episode first season of No Activity is currently available to stream on CBS All Access. No Activity is a comedy series from executive producers Will Ferrell and Adam McKay. In what should be a high-stakes sting operation, NO ACTIVITY celebrates the mundane. Set against the world of a major drug cartel bust, the series follows two low-level cops who have spent far too much time in a car together; two criminals who are largely kept in the dark; two dispatch workers who haven't really clicked; and two Mexican tunnelers who are in way too small a space considering they've only just met.

The cast of No Activity's first season stars co-developer Patrick Brammall and Tim Meadows, along with guest stars Mark Berry, Arturo Castro, Mackenzie Davis, Bridget Everett, Will Ferrell, Darren Gilshenan, Travis Guba, Jake Johnson, Sunita Mani, Jason Mantzoukas, Adrian Martinez, Jesse Plemons, Fred Pohl, Alex Rodriguez, Amy Sedaris, J.K. Simmons, Courtenay Taylor, Michaela Watkins and Daniel Zolghadri.

SHOWTIME has announced that Judy Greer (Married) has been cast as a series regular in the upcoming SHOWTIME half-hour comedy Kidding. Greer joins Golden Globe(R) winner Jim Carrey, in Carrey's first series regular role in more than two decades, along with Oscar(R), Emmy(R) and Golden Globe nominee Catherine Keener (Get Out) and Oscar, Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon). Greer will play Jill, Jeff's estranged wife who has recently hit a rebellious streak. In Kidding, Carrey 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.

It's time for another edition of Fri-Yay! That means we will take a look back on some sitcom happenings in recent days or weeks or other fun sitcomy stuff. It's a sitcom lover's paradise! Happy Fri-Yay!

by Vincent

Is BoJack Horseman currently the best show on TV? Netflix released the fourth season of BoJack Horseman on Friday. BoJack was my favorite show of 2016 - its third season was a tour-de-force of original, offbeat comedy mixed with genuine exploration of dark human emotions such as depression, failure, and regret. Oh, and by the way, it's an animated Hollywood satire that takes place in a society where animals are sentient beings that look and act just like humans.

If you think all of that sounds unlikely to add up to a great television show, I understand. Frankly, much of BoJack's run has been an obvious attempt to balance these two extremely different television shows in one - the strange, Adult Swim-esque Hollywood satire starring animals mixed with an almost Mad Men or Sopranos-esque exploration of deep human darkness. And early on, the show didn't always strike the right balance - the first half of the first season oscillates sometimes uncomfortably between the two extremes, often relying too heavily on gross-out, Family Guy­­-esque gags to toe the line. But around the halfway point of the first season, the show began digging into its dark side more comfortably, exploring the regret and shame behind the life of its washed-up sitcom star BoJack and the "island of misfit toys" type figures that surround him in his personal life. In the excellent second half of the first season, the show transformed into one of the deepest, most meaningful series on TV, and that only continued throughout the astonishing second and third seasons. The fourth season continues to astound me at just how deep it's willing to go - without spoiling anything, I'll just say that this season dives into BoJack's past to explore themes such as loss, regret and the idea of how we inherit the trauma and pain of our parents and grandparents without even realizing it. It's heavy stuff that I rarely see any show on TV digging into, never mind an animated comedy starring a talking horse.

Even as it's gotten darker and darker, though, BoJack still remains a top-notch comedy, as well. Anyone who considers themselves a sitcom fan would dig the way the show pays tribute to sitcoms and television of years past and is in many ways informed by them. BoJack did get his start starring in a TGIF-esque '90s sitcom, after all, and the series often takes cues from those kinds of shows, only to spin them around on their head. (There's even a Christmas special made in between the show's first and second seasons that actually shows us a full episode of Horsin' Around, the family sitcom that BoJack got his start in.) That's what makes BoJack the best show currently airing on television - it has the very best that drama has to offer mixed with the very best that comedy has to offer, without any kind of sacrifice on either end of the spectrum. "Hilarious comedy about depression starring talking animals" may sound too ridiculous to be true, but it's not. It's just BoJack Horseman.

Showtime announced the pick-up of new half-hour comedy series Kidding, starring Golden Globe(R) winner Jim Carrey (The Truman Show) in his first series regular role in more than two decades and reuniting him with Oscar winner Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), who will direct the project with a 10-episode first-season order for Kidding, Carrey - one of the most beguiling, popular screen stars of his time - will executive produce with Gondry, Emmy(R) 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.

In the comedy series, Carrey 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.