People_of_Earth_(TV_series)

<i>People of Earth</i>

People of Earth

American television series

For other uses, see People of Earth (disambiguation).

People of Earth is an American science fiction sitcom television series created by David Jenkins about a support group for alien abductees, as well as the aliens who had abducted them. TBS ordered the pilot under the name The Group in May 2015,[1] and announced a 10-episode order in January 2016.[2] The series premiered on October 31, 2016, on TBS. On September 13, 2017, TBS renewed the series for a third season,[3] but on June 9, 2018, they reversed the decision and canceled the series with season 3 already written.[4]

Quick Facts People of Earth, Genre ...

Plot

The series follows city journalist Ozzie Graham (Wyatt Cenac), who travels to Beacon, New York to write a piece on a support group called "StarCrossed", who are survivors of alien encounters. Although skeptical at first, Ozzie realizes the truth of the group's claims when he begins to recall similar experiences. Ozzie eventually quits his job and moves to Beacon to further investigate the town's strange occurrences, as well as resolve issues in his past related to his possible abduction.

As the series progresses, Ozzie gradually learns that his employer, Jonathan Walsh, is a reptilian in disguise. Jonathan, who has considered him a friend since he abducted the young Ozzie, explains that the Trinity Federation, an alliance among three races of extra-terrestrials (greys, whites, and reptilians), was sent many years ago to conquer Earth under reptilian leadership. However, in his time on Earth, Jonathan has developed sympathy for humans and wants to expose the truth about the invasion, so he hopes to persuade his alien coworkers and the humans he calls friends to help.

Cast

"StarCrossed" members

A support group for "experiencers" – the term they prefer to abductees.

  • Wyatt Cenac as Ozzie Graham, a reporter who travels to Beacon to investigate StarCrossed, then joins them upon realizing that he, too, is an experiencer[5]
    • Aaron Davis as young Ozzie
  • Ana Gasteyer as Gina Morrison, a therapist[5]
  • Luka Jones as Gerry Johnson, a toll booth attendant who is passionate about aliens[5]
  • Brian Huskey as Richard Eugene Clancy Schultz, VP of a tech company that makes terminators for ethernet cables[2]
  • Alice Wetterlund as Kelly Grady, a temp receptionist at a funeral home[5]
  • Da'Vine Joy Randolph as Yvonne Watson, a postal worker[5]
  • Tracee Chimo as Chelsea Wheeler, a homemaker[5]
  • Daniel Stewart Sherman as Ennis Hart, a farmer
  • Nancy Lenehan as Margaret Flood, a retiree[6]
  • Nasim Pedrad as Agent Alex Foster/Crystal, an FBI agent who was abducted as a baby
    • Pedrad also plays Jasmine, Foster's twin sister

Aliens

  • Ken Hall as Jeff, a grey working on the alien spaceship (the "Sub-Ship") as part of the Trinity Federation[2]
  • Björn Gustafsson as Don, a white working on the Sub-Ship[2]
  • Drew Nelson as Kurt, a reptilian working on the Sub-Ship
    • Nelson also voices the deer Ozzie hallucinates after his experience
  • Michael Cassidy as Jonathan Walsh, a reptilian working on Earth as owner of the Glint media empire Ozzie works for[7]
  • Debra Lynne McCabe as Nancy, an android working as Jonathan's Earth assistant
  • Victor Williams as Assessor, a reptilian and senior operative on Earth
  • Peter Serafinowicz as Eric, a floating robotic cube from the Alpha Federation, who becomes the new boss on the Sub-Ship after a merger between the Alpha and Trinity Federations
  • Ted Jefferies as Eric's guard
  • Paul Lieberstein as Assessor, a reptilian assassin

Supporting characters

  • Oscar Nuñez as Father Doug, the priest in charge of the church where StarCrossed meets, who renounces his priesthood to pursue a relationship with Chelsea[5]
  • Amy Landecker as Debbie Schultz, Richard's ex-wife
  • Michael Crane as John Wheeler, Chelsea's husband
  • H. Jon Benjamin as Officer Lance Glimmer, a police officer working for the aliens
  • Kevin Hanchard as Agent Jim Saunders, an FBI agent working for the aliens, and Foster's superior
  • Eddson Morales as Brian
  • Sam Malkin as Glenn, Richard's neighbor
  • Douglas Nyback as Todd, Richard's boss

Episodes

Series overview

More information Season, Episodes ...

Season 1 (2016)

More information No. overall, No. in season ...

Season 2 (2017)

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Production

TBS first began developing the show in May 2015 and was going by The Group as its working title at the time.[25] The final title "People Of Earth" is derived from classic sci-fi media: in the 1956 film Earth vs the Flying Saucers, conquering aliens first address humans with the phrase, "People of Earth. Attention!" [26]

The pilot was ordered to series with a 10-episode order by TBS in January 2016.[27][28] It was directed by Greg Daniels and shot in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.[29]

Reception

People of Earth has received mostly positive reviews from television critics. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes gives the first season an approval rating of 92%, based on 24 reviews, with an average rating of 7.25/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "People of Earth skillfully grounds its high-concept premise with a strong story, quirky humor, and sweetly relatable humanity."[30] On Metacritic, the first season has a score of 72 out of 100, based on reviews from 20 critics, indicating "Generally favorable reviews".[31]

Mike Hale of The New York Times gave it a positive review, writing: "People of Earth provides a funny line or detail just often enough to keep you watching."[32] Maureen Ryan of Variety also praised the series, declaring "People of Earth may be slight and decidedly modest in its ambitions and execution, but it’s not a show that sets out to mock or belittle unconventional people."[33] The Hollywood Reporter's Tim Goodman said People of Earth was "easily one of the best comedies on television."[34]

References

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    Turner Broadcasting (May 13, 2015). "Kevin Reilly Unveils Bold Vision for TNT & TBS At Turner Broadcasting's 2015 Upfront". The Futon Critic. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  2. [2]
    TBS press release (January 7, 2016). "TBS Greenlights New Comedy "People of Earth"". The Futon Critic. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
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    Porter, Rick (September 13, 2017). "'The Guest Book,' 'People of Earth' and 'Wrecked' all renewed at TBS". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on September 14, 2017. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
  4. [4]
    Ryan Schwartz (June 9, 2018). "People of Earth Cancelled at TBS, Reversing Season 3 Renewal". TVLine.
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    D'Alessandro, Anthony (July 30, 2015). "Wyatt Cenac, Alice Wetterlund, Luka Jones, Brian Huskey & More Join TBS' 'The Group'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
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    Andreeva, Nellie (September 11, 2015). "Vanessa Lengies Named 'Lookinglass' Regular On Fox, Nancy Lenehan Joins TBS Pilot 'The Group' In Recasting". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
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    Petski, Denise (August 17, 2015). "Michael Cassidy Joins TBS Pilot 'The Group'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
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    Welch, Alex (November 1, 2016). "Monday cable ratings: Monday Night Football reigns supreme". TV By the Numbers. Archived from the original on November 2, 2016. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
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    Welch, Alex (2017-08-01). "Monday cable ratings: 'Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood' leads, 'WWE Raw' holds steady". Tvbythenumbers. Archived from the original on 2017-08-02. Retrieved 2017-08-07.
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    Welch, Alex (2017-08-08). "Monday cable ratings: 'Preacher' dips, 'Real Housewives of Orange County' holds steady". Archived from the original on 2017-08-09. Retrieved 2017-08-08.
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    "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.14.2017". Showbuzz Daily. 2017-08-15. Archived from the original on 2017-08-16. Retrieved 2017-08-21.
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    "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.21.2017". Showbuzz Daily. 2017-08-22. Archived from the original on 2017-08-23. Retrieved 2017-08-22.
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    "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.28.2017". Showbuzz Daily. 2017-08-29. Archived from the original on 2017-08-30. Retrieved 2017-08-29.
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    "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 9 April 2017". Showbuzz Daily. 2017-09-06. Archived from the original on 2017-09-07. Retrieved 2017-09-06.
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    "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 9 November 2017". Showbuzz Daily. 2017-09-14. Archived from the original on 2017-09-14. Retrieved 2017-09-14.
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    "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 9.18.2017". Showbuzz Daily. 2017-09-19. Archived from the original on 2017-09-20. Retrieved 2017-09-19.
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    Andreeva, Nellie (May 13, 2015). "TNT & TBS Get New Direction, Order Series 'Alienist' & 'Wrecked' And Pilots 'Will', 'Animal Kingdom' & 'The Group'". Deadline. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
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    "Earth vs The Flying Saucers Trailer". YouTube.
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    Goldberg, Lesley (January 7, 2016). "TBS' Wyatt Cenac Alien Comedy 'People of Earth' Ordered to Series". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  28. [28]
    Littleton, Cynthia (January 7, 2016). "TBS Gives Series Order to Wyatt Cenac Comedy 'People of Earth'". Variety. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
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    FX press release (June 27, 2016). "Donald Glover Pilot "Atlanta" Casts Its Leads as Production Gets Underway". The Futon Critic. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
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    "People of Earth (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  31. [31]
    "People of Earth – Season 1 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  32. [32]
    Hale, Mike (October 31, 2016). "Review: The Alien Abductees of 'People of Earth' Keep the Humor Grounded". The New York Times. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
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    Ryan, Maureen (October 26, 2016). "TV Review: 'People of Earth'". Variety. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
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    "'People of Earth' Season 2: TV Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2018-05-21.
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