Rising star RJ Cyler ("Me And Earl And The Dying Girl") has booked a series regular role in Showtime’s dark comedy “I’m Dying Up Here,” an hourlong project set in the 1970s comedy scene, which the network has ordered a pilot for.

Cyler is the first actor to be cast in the potential series, which Jim Carrey is an executive producer of, hailing from former stand-up comedian Dave Flebotte, who penned the pilot, which is based on William Knoedelseder’s novel of the same name.

Exploring the famous Hollywood comedy clubs of the 1970s, where and when many of today’s respected comedians got their start, "I’m Dying Up Here" will delve into the inspired and damaged psyches that inhabit the hilarious, yet complex business of making an audience laugh.

“The 1970s L.A. comedy scene gave rise to some of the biggest and most influential performers of the last half-century,” Showtime boss David Nevins said at the TCA earlier this year when the project was first announced. “Who better than Jim Carrey and Dave Flebotte, who were both there, to tell the story of that special era, along with the complicated and talented performers that dared to grab an open mic.”

Jonathan Levine (“50/50,” “Warm Bodies”) will direct the pilot, with filming set for this fall.