Joe Pera Talks To You Season 3: Talking To Joe About Austin Powers

At a time when the debate over what comedians supposedly can’t say continues, Joe Pera is finding a lot to say about things that no one on television seems to care about at all. Consider the episode titles of the new season of Joe Pera talks to you, his comedy Adult Swim that started in November: “Joe Pera sits with you” (in which Pera talks about buying a chair) or “Joe Pera shows you how to light a fire” (where he shows you how to light a fire ”) OR even “Joe Pera talks to you about school-appropriate entertainment” (best if you see it for yourself).

When it premiered in 2018, Joe Pera talks to you it felt at the same time like the strangest and most wonderful thing on television. The title describes exactly what viewers get: For 11 minutes, Joe Pera will speak to the audience about a topic in whiny, monotonous but warm overtones, while Pera, performing a fictional version of himself, who is a high school choirmaster. , interacts with his friends and neighbors in Marquette, Michigan, sometimes in ways that relate directly to the theme of the episode, sometimes in more abstract ways. For example, while the season three premiere is about buying a chair, it’s also about helping his friend Gene (Gene Kelly) deal with his retirement malaise.

Everything Joe Pera talks to you It goes like this: The mundane as a window to the soul, where nothing is really boring if you open yourself wide enough.

“The phrase that Dan Licata, the writer, came up with a few weeks ago was’ other TV shows feel like they’re made with an energy drink,” Joe Pera tells me over the phone, “So this one looks like it was done. for apple cider. ‘”

It is tempting to describe Joe Pera as a comfort television, thanks to its warm feeling and Pera’s upbeat personality. But that feels like an oversimplification. There is darkness in the series: Viewers meet a character who clearly struggles with alcoholism, other characters struggle with pain, and some people are just not very nice. The show’s achievement is in its efforts to embrace the beauty that exists alongside these things.

“I don’t want to do something that is totally separate from the real world or some kind of fantasy show,” says Pera, “but just focuses on the nicest, most decent moments that happen and trying to pay attention to them.”

Over time, this is the appeal of Joe Pera talks to you: it is a show deeply in love with people, and with no interest in making them more or less glamorous than they already are. This is what makes it funny too, because people are inherently funny, especially when they don’t try to be. In a season 2 episode, Pera attends an incredibly awkward bachelor party where he, thin and awkward, completely at odds with the Michigan siblings he accompanies, surprisingly finds his neighbors opening up to him.

“The bachelor party episode came from a bachelor party weekend I went to,” says Pera. “I was at home in Buffalo and found out that someone at the bachelor party is going to a UFO believers club that meets at the Old Country Buffet. It’s like you’ve never guessed until you talk to someone! “

Joe Pera talks to you it is, in short, full of things you would never guess. One minute a perfectly normal and seemingly funny choirmaster may be talking about the Rat Wars of Alberta, Canada, and the next he might weigh in on Elizabeth Hurley’s underrated performance in Austin Powers. (Pear loves Austin powers. “It is really sharp! Little by little, loaded with good characters, funny moments and a lot of energy. Did you know [Mike Myers] Was he 33 when he did that? “)

All kinds of things can happen if you stop and talk to someone like Joe Pera. You just need to take the time.

New episodes of Joe Pera talks to you airs every Sunday on Adult Swim and airs on the network’s website. Seasons 1-2 are also available on HBO Max.