No, "Kidding." Just No.

Some of my favorite films of the 2000s have come from French director Michel Gondry, namely "Being John Malkovitch" and "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." I was excited when I learned that he was reteaming with Jim Carrey, who starred in "Eternal Sunshine," and Catherine Keener, who appeared in "Being John Malkovich," for a new showtime series, "Kidding." Gondry hasn't had a prominent Hollywood project in a while, and Carrey's also been scarce. I figured that "Kidding" might be a good opportunity for a comeback. And I made it through exactly two episodes before deciding I had to call it quits.

"Kidding" documents a hard time in the life of Jeff Picarillo (Carrey), who is better known as the star of the children's show "Mr. Pickles' Puppet Time." He's estranged from his wife Jill (Judy Greer) after the death of one of his twin sons, and in total denial about the marriage being kaput. His surviving son, Will (Cole Allen), has been acting destructively and hanging out with delinquents. Jeff doesn't get much support from the rest of his family, who are also employed by "Mr. Pickles." His father Sebastian (Frank Langella) recognizes that Jeff is on the skids, but is more worried about the impact on the show. His sister Deirdre (Catherine Keener) has her own worries, with a cheating husband and precocious daughter to look after.

I think what bothers me the most about "Kidding" is that it leans so heavily on the "Mr. Pickles" conceit. Jeff is essentially a screwed up Fred Rogers stand-in, and yet clearly is nothing like Fred Rogers in temperament. It probably doesn't help that I saw the documentary about Rogers' career, "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" very recently, which highlighted the regular risks that "Mr. Roger' Neighborhood" took to address real world issues facing children. So the squeamishness of Sebastian and the emotional dysfunction of Jeff don't ring true. And when "Kidding" goes so far as to invoke old urban legends about Fred Rogers, and patterns the "Mr. Pickles" show so closely off of "Mr. Rogers," it feels really disingenuous.

I suspect the only reason so much attention is put on the puppet show is because Michel Gondry is involved, and these elements gave him the opportunity to inject his usual creative whimsy into "Kidding." However, the show actually doesn't play a major part in the story. Jeff's profession easily could have been anything else, from politician to math teacher. The bulk of "Kidding" is spent watching Jeff going increasingly off the rails in his private life - stalking his wife, trying to connect with his kid, dealing with his own grief, and eventually trying to move on. All of this is played completely straight, except where the contrast between the puppet show and various sexual shenanigans are used for cringe humor or shock value. Frankly, these moments come off as pretty damn distasteful.

And it's a shame, because I like so many members of this cast, and Jim Carrey's performance is strong. He deftly expresses pain under a veneer of silliness, and is alternately sympathetic and unsettling. The supporting cast hasn't had enough to do yet, but I like what I've seen from Langella and Keener so far. I wonder if it would make any difference if the show had more fantastic elements or framing devices, so the puppets and costumes could be more involved. Alternately, if "Kidding" were just about a regular man's life imploding without any of the distraction of the children's show visuals, I think it would go down a lot easier.

"Kidding" is a curious beast, a half-hour dramedy that wants very badly to be darkly comedic, but mostly just comes off as morose and depressing, with occasional weird digressions. It may very well get better as it goes on, but I'm not willing to give it any more time. As good as the ensemble is, they can't make this passel of miserable muppeteers engaging. It was a chore just to get through the second episode.

I find it ironic that in a year that gave us the Gondry-like "Sorry to Bother You" and "Maniac," the project that actually features Michel Gondry is easily the worst of the lot.

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