Kidding

Kidding is a TV series that ran for two seasons on Showtime, focusing on Jeff Pickles, host of beloved long-running children's show Mr. Pickles' Puppet Time whose off-camera life is affected by personal tragedies and emotional crises.
In interviews, creator Dave Holstein noted that while the premise recalls Mister Rogers' Neighborhood and Sesame Street, it was not intended as a parody. One way to avoid that was hiring Joey Mazzarino as a staff writer to create the Mr. Pickles segments: “I said, ‘Joey, I don’t want to make fun of children’s television, it’s too easy. I don’t want to do a parody of Sesame Street. I want to do a show that would legitimately have the language, and the characters, and the substance of a children’s show."IndieWire. "‘Kidding’: Michel Gondry and Dave Holstein on Finding the ‘Scary’ Side of Mr. Rogers to Save Us From Antihero TV" Sep. 10, 2018. 
In another interview, Holstein noted that "We pulled a lot from Sesame Street in terms of their approach and their language with children. The language they use on these shows is very specific and we wanted to get that right. They created a world that has its own rules, parameters, and mythology, and we wanted to create that as well," and also mentions Mr. Snuffleupagus in relation to the walkaround puppet Snagglehorse on Kidding.Emmys.com. "Kidding Asides." Oct. 04, 2018. 
==Muppet Mentions==
*In the first season episode "Every Pain Needs a Name," Seb says that a toy company has been asking to make talking Jeff Pickles dolls "ever since Molest Me Elmo."
==Connections==
*Greg Ballora played the Oops in "The Nightingale Pledge" and "Episode 3101" (2020) 
*Jason Bateman was an executive producer
*Jim Carrey played Jeff Pickles
*Dorien Davies was a utility puppeteer in "Kintsugi" (2018) and played Soap Scum (3 episodes, 2020)
*Peggy Etra played Soap Scum in "Episode 3101" (2020)
*Artie Esposito was a utility puppeteer and assisted on Maestro Fermata
*Dan Garza played Ennui La Triste
*Michel Gondry directed 8 episodes and was an executive producer
*Liz Hara was a utility puppeteer in "Kintsugi" (2018)
*Patrick Johnson played the Oops, Maestro Pimento Fermata, and other puppets and created the puppets at Swazzle Inc.
*Sean Johnson played Uke Larry and other puppets and created the puppets at Swazzle Inc.
*Frank Langella played Seb
*Riki Lindhome played Shaina in "Every Pain Needs a Name" and "Some Day" (both 2018) 
*Joey Mazzarino was a story editor, producer for the second season, and co-wrote the episode "LT. Pickles" (2018) and "Episode 3101" (2020)
*James Murray played J in "Episode 3101" (2020)
*Sarah Oh was a utility puppeteer in "Kintsugi" (2018)
*Brett O'Quinn was a utility puppeteer in "Episode 3101" and played the Secret Chef in "The Death of Fil" (2020)
*Conan O'Brien played himself in "Green Meets Go" (2018)
*Mike Quinn played the Secret Chef
*Danny Trejo played himself in "Green Meets Go" (2018)
*Dick Van Dyke voiced Hopscotch the Sasquatch in "Up, Down and Everything in Between" and "Episode 3101" (2020)
*Stacey Weingarten was a puppet wrangler for "The Cleanest Liver in Columbus, Ohio" and "Episode 3101" (2020)
==Sources==
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Category:TV Mentions