Television series

People of Earth

Name: People of Earth
Genre: Comedy, Science Fiction
Released: 2016
Cast: Alice Wetterlund, Ana Gasteyer, Brian Huskey, Tracee Chimo, Luka Jones

People of Earth is a deadpan sci-fi comedy about a support group for alien abductees. A skeptical journalist infiltrates their meetings to debunk them, only to find the impossible might be real—and he might be part of it too. It's warm and genuinely funny, mining cosmic dread and human connection from the same premise.

TVMaze rating

3.5

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy low-key, awkward comedy about lonely people who treat their strange stories with complete sincerity, and you don't mind the jokes landing softly.

Skip it if you want fast, joke-dense sitcom rhythm or a sci-fi show with real spectacle; this is mostly talk, a small room, and jokes that arrive slowly.

What it asks of you: Half-hour episodes that linger in small rooms and let silences sit, so you need patience more than close attention.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

The X-Files1993

Mulder and Scully hunting extraterrestrial truth in the shadows shares People of Earth's blend of genuine mystery with absurdist humor. Same paranoid spirit, much higher stakes, but the DNA is identical.

But Nine seasons is a commitment, and some of the mythology arcs collapsed under their own weight. The show can veer from funny to aggressively serious without warning.

Santa Clarita Diet2017

Another TBS-adjacent comedy about a normal person discovering something impossible and assembling a weird found family around it. Drew Barrymore's earnest confusion mirrors the vibe perfectly.

But It's fundamentally about a marriage, which won't appeal to everyone. Also gets increasingly gory and dark as it goes on, abandoning the lighter touch.

Schitt's Creek2015

A misfit ensemble where the humor comes from watching smart people gradually accept their circumstances and each other. The warmth underneath is the same; so is the willingness to let characters grow.

But It's a slower show. The first season is rougher than later ones, and it won't grab you immediately if you're looking for faster laughs.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from People of Earth

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Four Rooms1995

Both treat 'the weird is real and you have to cope with it' as a structural principle. Both ask characters to accept impossible situations with grace and humor rather than panic.

A baffling, wildly ambitious film about a bellhop navigating bizarre requests from weird guests on New Year's Eve. It has the same anarchic confidence that the real world runs on stranger logic than we admit.

But It's a Tarantino-Avery experiment that doesn't quite work—deliberately pretentious, meandering, and aggressively strange. Not actually funny in conventional ways.

The Office2005

Both find comedy in the mundane made strange, and both are anchored by a lead character's gradual conversion from skeptic to believer. Same awkward-person-in-weird-situation energy.

But If you've already watched it, you have. Nine seasons is a lot. The mockumentary format won't work for everyone.

Community2009

A ragtag group of misfits bonding over something ridiculous, with jokes that land on both character beats and absurdist premises. Same warmth underneath the weirdness.

But Gets increasingly experimental and self-aware in ways that alienate some viewers. The later seasons feel scattered compared to the first three.

Veep2012

Relentlessly clever comedy about a group of people stuck together in an impossible situation, learning to rely on each other. Sharp writing and genuine affection for the cast.

But It's nastier than People of Earth—meaner, more cynical. If you want warmth with your humor, this might feel cold.

Lodge 492018

Surreal comedy-drama about a guy falling into a secret society and discovering nothing is what it seems. Same tone of gentle strangeness and acceptance of the unexplainable.

But Deliberately slow and dreamlike. It asks a lot of patience and won't satisfy people who need plot momentum. Canceled after two seasons.

Betas2013

Silicon Valley adjacent comedy about a group of underdogs trying to make it together. Lighter than most of these, focused on found family and genuine affection between characters.

But It's a bit slight and forgettable compared to its ambitions. The tech-startup world won't be interesting to everyone.

Ugly Americans2010

Animated comedy about a bureaucrat navigating a job helping immigrants, many of them monsters. Absurdist humor mixed with heart and genuine oddness in every episode.

But It's crudely animated by design, which will turn off people looking for slick visuals. The animation style is deliberately cheap-looking and that's the point.

Paul2011

Same question asked differently: if aliens were real and sitting next to you, how would you actually treat them? Both answer with kindness and acceptance rather than fear.

An alien comedy about two sci-fi nerds who encounter an actual alien and must hide him from government hunters. Affectionate, silly, genuinely warm about the friendship at its core.

But It's basically fan service for specific sci-fi nostalgia. If you don't care about Star Wars callbacks and X-Files references, the joke is lost.

3rd Rock from the Sun1996

Both are about outsiders trying to decode humanity and ending up loving their weirdly assorted found families. Both say 'aliens are real' and immediately pivot to 'okay, what do we do now?'

An ensemble about aliens disguised as a human family navigating American life with bewildered sincerity. Genuinely inventive sitcom with a weird heart and cast chemistry that carried it for six seasons.

But It's a 90s network sitcom, so the humor is broadly physical and it's never subtle. If you want sharp writing over slapstick, look elsewhere.