Joe Pera Talks with You
Joe Pera Talks with You | |
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Genre | Comedy |
Created by | Joe Pera |
Directed by | Marty Schousboe |
Starring |
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Composer | Ryan Dann |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 3 |
No. of episodes | 32 |
Production | |
Executive producers | |
Producers | |
Editor | Whit Conway |
Running time | 11 minutes |
Production companies |
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Distributor | Warner Bros. Television Distribution |
Release | |
Original network | Adult Swim |
Original release | May 20, 2018 present | –
External links | |
Website |
Joe Pera Talks with You is an American comedy television series that first aired on Adult Swim on May 20, 2018. The series was created by Joe Pera and produced by Factual Productions, Inc, later Alive and Kicking, Inc. It entered development following the success of the 2016 specials Joe Pera Talks You to Sleep, which was animated, and Joe Pera Helps You Find the Perfect Christmas Tree, airing as part of Infomercials. The second season premiered on December 6, 2019.[1][2] A third season aired from November to December 2021.[3][4]
Summary[]
The series stars comedian Joe Pera as a fictionalized version of himself, living in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and teaching choir at a local middle school. Pera attempts to talk directly to the audience about mundane subject matter such as iron, Sunday breakfast, fall drives and sleeping.
Characters[]
- Joe Pera (Joe Pera) is a self-proclaimed "soft-handed choir teacher" from Marquette. Though he is very introspective, with a vast knowledge of specific concepts, he expresses naivety in his social interactions.
- Mike Melsky (Conner O'Malley) is Joe's neighbor. The two meet in the show's first episode, when Mike attempts to buy Joe's house after neighborhood kids place a For Sale sign in his yard as a prank. He is generally sarcastic, short-tempered, and incredulous towards Joe.
- Sue Melsky (Jo Scott) is the wife of Mike Melsky. She is more friendly and accepting towards Joe.
- Gene Gibson (Gene Kelly), Joe's best friend. He likes to help Joe teach his lessons, and often ends up giving Joe advice in the process.
- Sarah Conner (Jo Firestone) is a new band teacher working at the same school as Joe. Many of her beliefs are rooted in conspiracies and fears for the future, as evidenced by her construction of a fortified basement below her house. She becomes Joe's love interest over the course of the first season.
- "Nana" Josephine Pera (Nancy Cornell in season 1, Pat Vern Harris in season 2) is Joe's grandmother, based on his real grandmother of the same name.
- Gus (Fitzgerald William) is Joe's lazy basset hound.
Predecessors[]
The first Pera project to appear on Adult Swim was the animated short, Joe Pera Talks You to Sleep. It was aired as part of the network's Infomercials series on March 21, 2016. The short was animated and directed by Kieran O'Hare, who had previously animated a Joe Pera comedy bit for his YouTube channel. O'Hare applied the same animation style to the Adult Swim special.
On December 9, 2016,[5] a second special, Joe Pera Helps You Find the Perfect Christmas Tree, premiered on Adult Swim. The live-action special was more tonally similar to what would become Joe Pera Talks with You. Like the series, it was directed by Marty Schousboe and written by Pera alongside Dan Licata, and made by the same production team under the name Rent Now Productions. It also takes place in the same location in Michigan where Pera works as a choir teacher. It features characters that would later appear in the series, such as Gene, the Melsky family and Joe's Nana Josephine. Differences include Joe's dog Gus being a black bloodhound (or possibly a black lab mix) instead of a basset hound portrayed by Fitzgerald William, Joe living in a different house, and Joe's co-worker and love interest Sarah, portrayed in the series by Jo Firestone, being absent entirely. These differences imply the special and series are not within the same continuity. Joe's Nana Josephine was also played by his real-life grandmother, Josephine Pera, who died in 2017.[6] The character Gene Gibson is also present in the Christmas special, but not portrayed by real-life camera operator, Gene Kelly, as he was in the series. Pera appeared on local talk shows to promote the special.[7]
Episodes[]
Season | Episodes | Originally aired | |||
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First aired | Last aired | ||||
1 | 9 | May 20, 2018 | June 17, 2018 | ||
2 | 13 | December 6, 2019 | January 31, 2020 | ||
S | 1 | May 22, 2020 | |||
3 | 9 | November 8, 2021 | December 13, 2021 |
Season 1 (2018)[]
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | US viewers (millions) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | "Joe Pera Shows You Iron" | Marty Schousboe | Joe Pera | May 20, 2018 | 0.631[8] | |
Joe attempts to educate viewers on the rocks and minerals of his Michigan home, but is distracted by the thought that he might have to sell his house. | |||||||
2 | 2 | "Joe Pera Takes You to Breakfast" | Marty Schousboe | Conner O'Malley | May 20, 2018 | 0.573[8] | |
Joe teaches viewers about different ways people eat breakfast while trying to decide on his own breakfast choice. | |||||||
3 | 3 | "Joe Pera Takes You on a Fall Drive" | Marty Schousboe | Conner O'Malley | May 27, 2018 | 0.631[9] | |
Joe takes viewers on his annual fall drive, where he muses on fall and gives his jack-o-lantern a proper funeral. | |||||||
4 | 4 | "Joe Pera Shows You How to Dance" | Marty Schousboe | Jo Firestone | May 27, 2018 | 0.549[9] | |
Joe goes to a coworker's wedding, shows viewers how to dance, and gets to know his coworker Sarah better. | |||||||
5 | 5 | "Joe Pera Talks You Back to Sleep" | Marty Schousboe | Amalia Levari | June 3, 2018 | 0.665[10] | |
Joe muses on topics to help viewers go back to sleep after being awakened by thunder. | |||||||
6 | 6 | "Joe Pera Reads You the Church Announcements" | Marty Schousboe | Dan Licata | June 3, 2018 | 0.556[11] | |
Joe attempts to read out the church announcements, but is distracted by his recent hearing of "Baba O'Riley" by The Who for the first time. | |||||||
7 | 7 | "Joe Pera Lights Up the Night with You" | Marty Schousboe | Dan Licata | June 10, 2018 | 0.523[12] | |
Joe babysits his neighbor's daughter for New Year's. | |||||||
8 | 8 | "Joe Pera Talks to You About the Rat Wars of Alberta, Canada (1950–Present Day)" | Marty Schousboe | Jo Firestone | June 10, 2018 | 0.459[12] | |
Joe and Sarah try to put on a musical about the Rat Wars of Alberta, Canada, but their relationship gets in the way. | |||||||
9 | 9 | "Joe Pera Answers Your Questions About Cold Weather Sports" | Marty Schousboe | Story by : Joe Pera and Amalia Levari Teleplay by : Joe Pera | June 17, 2018 | 0.516[13] | |
Joe and Sarah learn to like each other despite their differences. Notes: Double-length episode |
Season 2 (2019–20)[]
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | US viewers (millions) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
10 | 1 | "Joe Pera Talks with You About Beans" | Marty Schousboe | Joe Pera | December 6, 2019 | 0.517[14] | |
Joe constructs a bean arch in his backyard, and invites his neighbors and his new girlfriend Sarah over to see it. | |||||||
11 | 2 | "Joe Pera Takes You on a Hike" | Marty Schousboe | Nathan Min | December 6, 2019 | 0.479[14] | |
Joe and Sarah go on a hike up Sugarloaf Mountain while contemplating how the rest of the school staff is reacting to their relationship. | |||||||
12 | 3 | "Joe Pera Waits with You" | Marty Schousboe | Katie Dolan | December 13, 2019 | 0.592[15] | |
Joe sits and waits for his Nana to finish her appointment at the hair salon before they both go out to eat fried fish. | |||||||
13 | 4 | "Joe Pera Guides You Through the Dark" | Marty Schousboe | Marty Schousboe | December 13, 2019 | 0.484[15] | |
When the power goes out in Joe's neighborhood, he visits the Melskys to see how they're dealing with it. | |||||||
14 | 5 | "Joe Pera Takes You to the Grocery Store" | Marty Schousboe | Conner O'Malley | January 3, 2020 | 0.527[16] | |
Joe takes the viewers on his weekly trip to the grocery store. | |||||||
15 | 6 | "Joe Pera Goes to Dave Wojcek's Bachelor Party with You" | Marty Schousboe | Dan Licata | January 3, 2020 | 0.444[16] | |
At Sue Melsky's request, Joe goes to her brother Dave's bachelor party in the woods with Mike, where Mike reveals that Sue kicked him out of the house. Afterwards, the Melskys' kids join Joe and Sarah for dinner. | |||||||
16 | 7 | "Joe Pera Gives You Piano Lessons" | Marty Schousboe | Jo Firestone | January 10, 2020 | 0.486[17] | |
Joe teaches Lulu Gibson how to play the piano in time for her 40th anniversary with Gene. | |||||||
17 | 8 | "Joe Pera Watches Internet Videos with You" | Marty Schousboe | Nathan Min | January 10, 2020 | 0.408[17] | |
Joe and Sarah sit in bed and scroll through various videos on their phone all night, before discovering that Joe's bean arch has fully grown. Guest stars Janeane Garofalo and John Ventimiglia. | |||||||
18 | 9 | "Joe Pera Has a Surprise for You" | Marty Schousboe | Dan Licata | January 17, 2020 | 0.489[18] | |
Inspired by the movie Rat Race, Joe organizes a scavenger hunt amongst his friends and neighbors to find $115, but only Brad Cam and Big Jeff participate in it. When they return with the money, Sarah reveals that Joe's Nana has passed away. | |||||||
19 | 10 | "Joe Pera Helps You Write an Obituary[h]" | Marty Schousboe | Jo Firestone | January 17, 2020 | 0.416[18] | |
Joe is unable to come up with an obituary for his recently deceased grandmother. Sarah takes a moment to teach the viewers about edible plants. | |||||||
20 | 11 | "Joe Pera Shows You How to Do Good Fashion" | Marty Schousboe | Katie Dolan and Conner O'Malley | January 24, 2020 | 0.562[20] | |
Joe and Gene head to Milwaukee to see Gene's sons put on a fashion show. | |||||||
21 | 12 | "Joe Pera Shows You How to Pack a Lunch" | Marty Schousboe | Joe Pera | January 31, 2020 | 0.583[21] | |
Joe shows the audience how to pack a lunch, but it only takes two minutes, so Joe tells the story of how Mike made up with Sue and how he got sprayed by a skunk. | |||||||
22 | 13 | "Joe Pera Talks with You on the First Day of School" | Marty Schousboe | Marty Schousboe | January 31, 2020 | 0.509[21] | |
Joe returns to school after summer break. |
Special (2020)[]
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Original air date | Prod. code | US viewers (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
23 | 1 | "Relaxing Old Footage with Joe Pera" | Marty Schousboe | May 20, 2020(YouTube) May 22, 2020 (TV) | TBA | 0.496[23] |
Joe Pera narrates stories over a combination of unused footage from seasons one and two of the series, and stock footage. Features the song "Your Dog" by Advance Base.[22]
|
Season 3 (2021)[]
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | US viewers (millions) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
24 | 1 | "Joe Pera Sits with You" | Marty Schousboe | Nathan Min and Joe Pera | November 8, 2021 | 0.168[24] | |
Joe helps Gene decide which chair he should purchase as his retirement chair. Joe thinks about all of his sitting options in his home. | |||||||
25 | 2 | "Joe Pera Shows You How to Build a Fire" | Marty Schousboe | Conner O'Malley and Marty Schousboe | November 8, 2021 | 0.129[24] | |
Sarah has an overwhelming feeling something bad is going to happen, so she and Joe head out to the woods to camp, and talk about her past. | |||||||
26 | 3 | "Joe Pera Shows You His Second Fridge" | Marty Schousboe | Dan Licata | November 15, 2021 | 0.234[25] | |
Joe has the intention to share the benefits of the traditional mid-west second fridge, but these plans are thwarted by local youths. Joe has a run in with Nicole Melsky in class. | |||||||
27 | 4 | "Joe Pera Listens to Your Drunk Story" | Marty Schousboe | Katie Dolan and Jo Firestone | November 15, 2021 | 0.221[25] | |
Sue Melsky invites Sarah to a friend's house for wine night. Sarah recounts the night to Joe as he makes them pierogis. | |||||||
28 | 5 | "Joe Pera Discusses School-Appropriate Entertainment with You" | Marty Schousboe | Dan Licata | November 22, 2021 | 0.143[26] | |
Joe wants to congratulate his class on a first semester well done with a movie, but struggles to find something new. He ponders why certain professions have political leans. | |||||||
29 | 6 | "Joe Pera Takes You for a Flight" | Marty Schousboe | Joe Pera | November 22, 2021 | 0.130[26] | |
The Melsky boys invite Joe to fly their drone, but only because they needed a driver as Mike has recently gotten a DUI. Joe shows Sara his footage from the drone and they try to contact people on her ham radio. | |||||||
30 | 7 | "Joe Pera Shows You How to Keep Functioning in Mid-Late Winter" | Marty Schousboe | Nathan Min | December 6, 2021 | 0.184[27] | |
Joe schedules his days full of activities to beat the winter blues, including a stop by Gene's where he is mesmerized by a video he put together. Sarah goes skiing with Sue Melsky and her friends and ends up getting into a fight about politics. After she gets into an accident the ladies come to her assistance and show that friendships can withstand disagreements. | |||||||
31 | 8 | "Joe Pera Talks with You About Legacy" | Marty Schousboe | Jo Firestone & Conner O'Malley | December 6, 2021 | 0.159[27] | |
An open house is scheduled for Nana's house, which is too much for Joe to handle, so he goes to the Melsky's to watch the NFL playoffs, to distract himself. | |||||||
32 | 9 | "Joe Pera Builds a Chair with You" | Marty Schousboe | Katie Dolan and Marty Schousboe | December 13, 2021 | 0.174[28] | |
Joe builds his chair, but can't stop thinking about Gene's 100 year plan. Sarah is down in the dumps after another accident. Joe makes a decision about what to do with the funds he received from selling his Nana's house. |
Reception[]
Joe Pera Talks with You has received critical acclaim, with much of the praise going towards the show's unique tone and writing. In a positive review, The A.V. Club's Erik Adams writes that "It’s a particular type of funny, of the soft-spoken, deadpan, and disarming type that Pera practices onstage and on the talk-show circuit. It’s one of his many gifts as a performer, the way his understated wardrobe, deliberate delivery, and nervous body language set an expectation for awkwardness, before Pera pulls the rug out from under the audience with the confidence of his pacing and the precision of his writing."[29] Indiewire's Steve Greene gave the second season an A- and wrote "This is nice. There’s no irony, no rug pull, no cynicism in what he says. Just one person grateful for something that hasn’t even arrived yet. That’s the show in a nutshell: a chronicle of a guy so enthusiastic about the tiny pleasures of life that he’s even happy about potential things. Pera, as the star and frequent writer of the series, plays Joe, a resident of a Michigan city who takes the viewers through the things that fill him with wonder."[30]
References[]
- ^ @JosephPera (September 4, 2019). "Big news I can finally share - season two of 'Joe Pera Talks With You' will be coming out this holiday season on…" (Tweet). Retrieved September 10, 2019 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Joe Pera Shares More of His Lovable Wisdom in Season Two of "Joe Pera Talks with You"". The Futon Critic. November 5, 2019.
- ^ Martin, Garrett (August 4, 2021). "Joe Pera Talks With You's Third Season Comes to Adult Swim This Fall". pastemagazine.com. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
- ^ @adultswim (October 11, 2021). "Joe Pera Talks With You returns November 7th" (Tweet). Retrieved October 12, 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Joe Pera Helps You Find The Perfect Christmas Tree in this Adult Swim exclusive". The A.V. Club. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
- ^ "Josephine Pera, 93, unlikely star of grandson's comedy videos". Buffalonews.com. August 12, 2017. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
- ^ "Christmas Tree Expert Joe Pera". YouTube. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
- ^ a b Porter, Rick (May 22, 2018). "Sunday cable ratings: 'Fear the Walking Dead' dips opposite NBA Playoffs". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on May 23, 2018. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
- ^ a b Porter, Rick (May 30, 2018). "Sunday cable ratings: ESPN gets huge numbers for Cavaliers-Celtics Game 7". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on June 2, 2018. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
- ^ "Sunday cable ratings: 'Westworld' rebounds a little, 'Pose' and 'Succession' start slowly". TV by the Numbers. June 5, 2018. Archived from the original on June 8, 2018. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (June 5, 2018). "Updated: Showbuzzdaily's top 150 sunday cable originals & network finals: 6.3.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on June 10, 2018. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
- ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (June 12, 2018). "Updated: Showbuzzdaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 6.10.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (June 19, 2018). "Updated: Showbuzzdaily's top 150 sunday cable originals & network finals: 6.17.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on June 19, 2018. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
- ^ a b Rejent, Joseph (December 9, 2019). "Friday cable ratings: Lakers vs. Portland edges out the competition, 'Gold Rush' falls". Tvbythenumbers. Archived from the original on December 9, 2019. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
- ^ a b Welch, Alex (December 16, 2019). "Friday cable ratings: NBA wins again, 'Live PD' stays even". Tvbythenumbers. Archived from the original on December 17, 2019. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
- ^ a b Welch, Alex (January 7, 2020). "Friday cable ratings: NBA comes out on top, 'Live PD' improves". Tvbythenumbers. Archived from the original on January 8, 2020. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
- ^ a b Welch, Alex (January 13, 2020). "Friday cable ratings: NBA leads again, 'Gold Rush' ticks down". Tvbythenumbers. Archived from the original on January 14, 2020. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
- ^ a b Welch, Alex (January 21, 2020). "Friday cable ratings: 'Gold Rush' takes the win, 'Live PD' ticks down". Tvbythenumbers. Archived from the original on January 22, 2020. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
- ^ @JosephPera (January 10, 2020). "@PattenPending @adultswim 13, but one is a full half hour" (Tweet). Retrieved January 24, 2020 – via Twitter.
- ^ Welch, Alex (January 28, 2020). "Friday cable ratings: 'Live PD' rebounds and leads a quiet night". Tvbythenumbers. Archived from the original on January 28, 2020. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
- ^ a b "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Friday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 1.31.2020". Showbuzz Daily. February 3, 2020. Archived from the original on February 3, 2020. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
- ^ @rfcrecords (May 20, 2020). "Check out "Your Dog" by @AdvanceBase in the new @JosephPera special over on @adultswim! It's available to watch onl…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ [1]
- ^ a b "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Sunday 11.7.2021 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals UPDATED". Showbuzz Daily. November 19, 2021. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
- ^ a b "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Sunday 11.14.2021 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals UPDATED". Showbuzz Daily. November 19, 2021. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
- ^ a b "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Sunday 11.21.2021 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals UPDATED". Showbuzz Daily. November 23, 2021. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
- ^ a b "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Sunday 12.5.2021 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals UPDATED". Showbuzz Daily.|date=2021-12-7|access-date=2021-12-7}}
- ^ "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Sunday 12.12.2021 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals UPDATED". Showbuzz Daily.|date=2021-12-14|access-date=2021-12-14}}
- ^ "Joe Pera Talks With You is the Adult Swim comedy that'll restore your soul". The A.V. Club. June 23, 2018. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
- ^ Greene, Steve (December 6, 2019). "'Joe Pera Talks With You' Review: TV's Cozy Blanket Returns for an Even Richer Season 2". IndieWire. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
Notes[]
- ^ Firestone was co-producer in season one and executive producer in season two.
- ^ Mark Costa is executive producer for Factual Productions, Inc. in season one and Alive and Kicking, Inc. in season two.
- ^ a b Boudreaux and Roig are executive producers for Alive and Kicking, Inc. beginning in season three. Both also served as executive producers for "Relaxing Footage with Joe Pera" under Factual Productions, Inc.
- ^ a b c Crofford, Newman and Tang are executive producers for Williams Street, with Crofford serving during seasons one and two, Tang during season three, and Newman for the series' run.
- ^ Roig is producer for season two.
- ^ a b Licata and Stone are co-producers in season two
- ^ Stolfi was producer for season one.
- ^ This is the onscreen title; on Adult Swim's website and apps, the title is given as "Joe Pera Helps You Write."
External links[]
- 2018 American television series debuts
- 2010s American comedy television series
- 2020s American comedy television series
- Adult Swim original programming
- English-language television shows
- Television series by Williams Street
- Television shows set in Michigan
- Upper Peninsula of Michigan
- Television series about educators