Jim Carrey embraces his creepy Mr. Rogers side in the first trailer for Showtime's Kidding

Even before his most recent, high-profile bouts with murder thrillers, political nudes, and publicly fucking with people, there’s always been an edge of madness to a good Jim Carrey performance. That’s something that Kidding, his new Showtime series with Eternal Sunshine collaborator Michel Gondry, seems to be banking on; even when Carrey’s character is talking to kids about love and acceptance, there’s an unavoidable tinge of something much darker and more dangerous lurking behind his eyes.

Co-starring Catherine Keener, Judy Greer, and Frank Langella, the show centers on Carrey as a milquetoast Mr. Rogers type, one who looks to be teetering on the edge of some sort of total emotional collapse. Full of Gondry’s typical touches of arts-and-craft whimsy—including a giant mask of Carrey’s face that seems hand-crafted from our personal nightmares—Kidding’s success is going to hinge primarily on how well it can harness Carrey’s unpredictable energy. We’ll know more when it debuts on September 9.