Fans Mourn Cancellation Of TV's Sweetest Comedy, 'Joe Pera Talks With You'
One of the unlikeliest TV shows of all time is no more.
Joe Pera, star of “Joe Pera Talks With You,” said the gentle comedy was canceled by Adult Swim after just three seasons. In true Pera fashion, however, he praised the network, saying he was given a rare degree of creative freedom.
“An episode where a guy recreates the 2001 film ‘Rat Race’ with his friends that also realistically depicts the experience of losing a family member? Go for it,” he wrote, and noted that Adult Swim “supported our ideas and wanted us to make the show we wanted to make.”
He added:
“It felt like we cracked something ― a different kind of tone that has now popped up a bit elsewhere. Kinda neat but also frustrating that we won’t be able to continue exploring it (at least with this show). Hey, if I never make anything else, this was the show I always wanted to see and I’m glad it now exists. But hopefully that’s not the case.”
“Joe Pera Talks With You” was unique for taking the seemingly mundane ― such as breakfast at a diner, growing a bean arch, discovering a new favorite song or disposing of a jack-o’-lantern after Halloween ― and mining those situations for both tender moments and sublime comedy, often at the same time.
The Guardian called one episode “so beautiful it almost brought me to tears,” while NPR praised it as “simple and wholesome, and entirely hilarious.” Vice compared Pera to Mister Rogers and declared the show to be “the best thing Adult Swim has ever done.”
In the spring of 2020, with the coronavirus raging and millions sheltering at home, Pera released a segment called “Relaxing Old Footage” to help bring a little calm:
Pera joked that since the show’s cancelation, he’s already been offered a new gig.
“A credit card company proposed to me that we do a :30 version of the show,” he wrote. “Like a show that goes between other shows and I hold up their credit card at the end. It sounded great to me so I said…just kidding, I would never.”
Pera also spoke of his interactions with fans who loved the show:
“It was the best when I’d meet someone after a show and they’d mention they watched the Christmas Tree Special every December, or tell me that the sleep episodes actually work, or that they showed the series to their Dad and at first he hated it but now they watch it together regularly.”
Pera is currently on tour with a stand-up show and plans to film it as a special.
But fans are mourning the loss of “Joe Pera Talks With You,” which is currently streaming on HBO Max:
The breakfast episode has forever changed how my husband and I enjoy breakfast together. We always joke about the perfect bite. Thanks for being a part of our breakfast crew, Joe. Your warmth and kindness is appreciated in such darkly cynical times 🥞 pic.twitter.com/Ob9Woxd97v
— flannelkimono (@flannelkimono) July 7, 2022
Farewell to the sweetest and funniest show to ever exist. If a soft blanket and warm cup of cocoa could be a TV show, it would be Joe Pera Talks With You. https://t.co/MrNTOIQGCz
— Chief Farmer Bruce Balloon (@PhineasQDotcom) July 7, 2022
Hey @adultswim - don't cancel Joe Pera Talks With You. It's the best show you've ever made. You can still fix this mistake.
— Chris Berube (@ChrisBerube) July 7, 2022
Crushing news for anyone who cares about the continued existence of unique creative visions in television. Joe Pera Talks With You was an absolute miracle of a show. I'm gonna need to talk through this with a breakfast crew. https://t.co/eMtkMEqoss
— Zach Malm (@muzach) July 7, 2022
Joe Pera Talks With You is one of the great shows of our time. So bummed it's going away, but I get it: it was one of a kind and too human to last. https://t.co/uLvaORx7JR
— Jason P. Woodbury (@jasonpwoodbury) July 7, 2022
Joe Pera Talks With You was somehow sweet and peaceful and weird and heartfelt and chaotic all at once and i loved it very much https://t.co/YpGFc1Dc34
— Brian Grubb (@briancgrubb) July 7, 2022
Joe Pera Talks With You was the only thing I had hope for uniting America and now I am sure we are doomed https://t.co/7ofMueqmLv
— "Daddy Magic" Kath Barbadoro (@kathbarbadoro) July 7, 2022
Joe Pera's show was the first time I ever described something genuinely as heartwarming. Everything about it kept a smile on my face and laughing with tears in my eyes. So relatable in the best kinds of ways.
Everyone I know needs to watch this show before you can't. https://t.co/hDsBrAcgRM— Mike Bolton (@Evan_Schn) July 7, 2022
Almost no one can do sincere and funny. Huge accomplishment. This show was about good genuine people who were also weird which made it somehow subversive. Really hope someone saves it. https://t.co/oMNwgBgOJG
— dave horwitz (@Dave_Horwitz) July 8, 2022
Joe Pera is a national treasure. I'm very sorry to see his show go off the air, but I look forward to following his career and watching his sleep videos on repeat for years to come. https://t.co/Oy2UOXSKfu
— Kevin Rothrock (@KevinRothrock) July 7, 2022
I do not understand how you can have an asset like JOE PERA TALKS TO YOU and not make sure you do whatever you can to make sure it occupies it’s very small, very special niche on the world. An absolute disgrace that it was cancelled.
— Matt Jordan (@ItsMattJordan) July 7, 2022
They canceled Joe Pera Talks With You pic.twitter.com/Gvy7HYLNdm
— RYN CRLSN (@stateofrye) July 7, 2022
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.