Jerrod Carmichael Tries to “Self-Truman Show” in Trailer for HBO Series
HBO is billing its unscripted series starring Jerrod Carmichael as following the comedian on a “tumultuous quest for love, sex, and truth.” The trailer suggests that quest won’t be a smooth one.
The two-minute trailer for Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show, which will have a premiere at SXSW Sunday before its on-air debut March 29, showcases a host of squirmy moments featuring Carmichael and his parents — including a gas station mishap with an RV — and a conversation with someone who apparently didn’t want his face on camera and thus appears wearing a ski mask and goggles and with his voice altered.
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The masked man also takes issue with Carmichael’s assertion that he wants to “maintain being truthful on camera.” “This is not truth,” the mystery man replies. “This is narrative that will be edited … that’s not true.”
Carmichael also says in the trailer that he’s “trying to self-Truman Show myself,” referencing the Jim Carrey movie about a man who doesn’t know his entire life has been staged for TV cameras. The clip also showcases the comedian’s romantic relationship (he came out as gay in his 2022 special Rothaniel) and his hopes of reconnecting with his parents, who he says did not react well to his coming out. The trailer then ends with an extremely awkward 20 seconds of Carmichael discussing different kinds of gay men while his dad sits stone-faced next to him.
Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show is executive produced by Carmichael, director Ari Katcher, Eli Despres, Susie Fox, and Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg of Edgeline Films. Maya Seidler produces for Edgeline Films. Watch the trailer below.
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