Are we alone in the universe? This question has boggled everyone’s mind, and no one can determine whether the answer being yes or no would be scarier. However, while things such as the Wow Signal andPhoenix Lights do existas seemingly unexplained phenomena that intellectuals are genuinely mesmerized by, those who claim to have met extraterrestrial life are often dismissed as mistaken, lying for their own gain, or labeled as insane. WhilePeople of Earthmakes no effort to convince its audience that these kinds of people aren’t odd, it does propose a comedic yet still frightening hypothetical:what if we aren’t alone, and what if those beings have been among us for centuries already?
TheConan O’Brien-produced sitcomfollows Ozzie (Wyatt Cenac), an investigative journalist whose life is upended when he meets a group of people called StarCrossed, who all believe they have been abducted by aliens, with three species being identified: Whites, a Nordic, kind alien; Grays, a species more akin to typical representations of small-body, big-headed aliens; and Reptilians, the equivalent of the lizard-people conspiracy theory. While this may seem like a typical sitcom aiming to have you laughing with each scene, there is an unexpected depth to both the characters and themes that is very welcome in how it makes us engage with the potentially silly plot. Even theplot itself is a mystery that is constantly being peeled back, keeping the audience on their toes and the momentum high.
Each Character in ‘People of Earth’ Is Both Comedic and Tragic
Our protagonist, Ozzie, leaves a prestigious news organization to move to a small town called Beacon and lives in a motel. The leader of the group of “experiencers” (as they prefer to be called over abductees), Gina (Ana Gasteyer), is an alcoholic who has given up being a therapist and barely keeps it together when dealing with her clients in StarCrossed, and Richard (Brian Huskey) is so obsessed with the idea of everyone being reptilians that he loses his wife and is desperate for love.
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This continues through every character in the show and even the aliens we watch, with Jeff the Grey (Ken Hall) heartbroken over the death of his Reptilian love, Kurt (Drew Nelson), and Don the White (Björn Gustafsson) seeking a human connection, and it is key in making us engage with their arcs. While laughter does make them entertaining, thetragedy breeds sympathy and makes their deeper journeys something we actively root for.
‘People of Earth’ Explores One’s Desire To Be Special
As with every show, there is a deeper meaning toPeople of Earththat could be hard to miss with the hilarity throughout with its quirky comedy. That is the pursuit of wanting to bea part of something bigger than ourselves. Simply put, we all want to feel as if we are special. This is something the aliens repeatedly tell humans whether they believe it or not, and Gerry (Luka Jones), an alienhologist, dwells on it throughout. In fact, while he is one of the most obsessive in the group, he is the only one who has nothad an experience with aliensas all the others have.
Gerry goes to ridiculous lengths to purposefully be abducted and has some truly heartfelt scenes with Ozzie where he expresses an anxiety we likely all share, which is that, perhaps, we aren’t as important as we hoped we would be. However,People of Earthreassures both characters and viewers thatwe don’t need to do anything incredible to be special. By supporting others, as the StarCrossed group shows, we can have a significant impact on people’s lives in which they feel heard and seen, and in doing so you do become a part of something far bigger than yourself.
‘People of Earth’s Narrative Is Layered in Mystery and Surprise
Of course, while it is characters who keep us coming back to any narrative, without a strong plot to funnel these characters through, the pacing can feel lacking and audiences can lose interest, which is something you certainly cannot say ofPeople of Earth. In every episode, whether it is revealing that the Mother Ship is on its way to finally conquering Earth after 200 years, or telling us more about Ozzie’s particularly inexplicable encounter with a Reptilian who is far closer to the character than we at first realize, there is always something new to be learned. In doing so,there is a constant momentum towards the next chapter of the story, with even Ozzie saying in Episode 9, “Lost and Found,” that he has been given an answer that only leads to more questions. This is how to keep an audience engaged with your tale, and is somethingPeople of Earthis particularly effective at.
Sitcoms are not everybody’s cup of tea, and that’s okay. However, to brush overPeople of Earthfor fear of it being simplistic or a dumbed-down adventure would be criminal. Even after 10 episodes, there is still plenty to learn leading into Season 2, and the characters are people you always want to be with. You will wish for them to succeed and celebrate when they do, and feel as disheartened as them when they do not. Furthermore, in an age where comparing ourselves to others onsocial mediais at its most heightened,People of Earthshows us how we can still feel like we are making a difference every day we are on this planet.
People of Earth
