Oppositely, and perhaps even more astonishing, murmurs of the unthinkable are also emanating from within the Democratic Party and professional liberals alike. Republican, former judge, and accused child molester Roy Moore could possibly do the unthinkable: lose an open Senate election in Alabama to a Democrat who resembles Atticus Finch. I hope everybody doesn't fall asleep during my show, but if they do I don't mind at all.This is already happening to some extent. "It's like, kind of a compliment that somebody feels relaxed enough to what you're doing that they can fall asleep during it. His orchestra teacher told him that wasn't a bad thing: "Sleep is a reaction too," his teacher said. When Pera was a kid, his dad would sometimes fall asleep during his recitals. Pera's always said that the idea behind "Joe Pera Talks With You" is to give audiences something they can enjoy if they stay awake - or something to fall asleep to. So when Adult Swim approached Pera to make a short special, he put together an 11-minute animated video called "Joe Pera Talks You To Sleep." In it, a cartoon Pera sits next to a fire and calmly talks to the audience about subjects like the barns of the Pennsylvania Dutch and Stephen Hawking's affair. His friends would tell him that he should make cassette tapes to put people to sleep, since his comedy was so subdued. The show grew pretty organically out of Pera's stand-up routine. "It doesn't sound super funny out loud, but Joe is still dealing with the grief of last season, and we wanted to make sure, you know, it just didn't dissipate, because that wouldn't be realistic." That idea is something that will carry over into the third season, Pera says. Much of the season centers around his grief. In the second season, Joe's grandmother passes away, just as Pera's grandmother did in real life. "She is very cautious of anything bad happening," says Firestone, "and is very prepared for the apocalypse." Pera confronts the idea that the world can be a scary and brutal place at times, an idea which is at odds with his often narrow and optimistic worldview. In the first season, for example, Joe meets Sarah, a survivalist who has a fortified basement underneath her home. Instead, each season builds an emotional arc as it goes on. The show moves slowly and episodes are short - so viewers likely won't find much plot within each one. "You know, he's very deeply interested in the things we talk about on the show, and we get the fun job of trying to find stories around these strong, heartfelt interests."īetween these lessons, though, we get a glimpse into Pera's quiet life. "He's a researcher!" says Jo Firestone, who writes for the show and plays Sarah Conner, a fellow teacher and Pera's romantic partner. In the show, he speaks directly to the audience, delivering mini-lessons on everything from beans to writing an obituary to the rat wars of Alberta ( that's a real thing, by the way). "And I just kind of imagined what would have happened if I did take that career path."
"A lot of the people I went to school with went on to become choir teachers, and that was a potential career path for me," he says. Pera plays a mild-mannered choir teacher in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, with an understated delivery that is both delightful and calming. I hope everybody doesn't fall asleep during my show, but if they do, I don't mind at all. "I love doing research for the show and reading books on the subject matter and thinking about it." "In real life, when I get excited, I'll talk about specific stuff, and sometimes too much," says Pera. Something about Pera's awkward, mumbly persona strikes the perfect chord between Grampa Simpson and Fred Rogers - lovable and ridiculous, with a tendency to ramble but in no uncertain terms a good person. On a channel known for raunchy and subversive comedy, Pera subverts even that with something far more daring - a show that is simple and wholesome, and entirely hilarious.
"You know how most shows on television feel like they were made by an energy drink? Well, this show feels like it's made by apple cider." He says he wanted to make a show that's gentler than others. It's an episode all about chairs, which may sound a little dry, but that's okay in Pera's book.
JOE ALL THE THINGS VUDEO GIRL SERIES
He'll tell you all about sitting in the first episode of the third season of his Adult Swim series Joe Pera Talks With You. "And that doesn't even include laying down," says Joe Pera. The average American adult spends about 6½ hours each day sitting down. Heads up: This story contains spoilers about past seasons of Joe Pera Talks With You.