Most television shows feel like they're made by an energy drink, Joe Pera says. He wanted his to feel like it was made by apple cider.

Transcript

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

The third season of comedian Joe Pera's show, "Joe Pera Talks With You," is out today. Its star, the real Joe Pera, plays a choir teacher in Michigan's Upper Peninsula who delivers life lessons straight to the audience.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "JOE PERA TALKS WITH YOU")

JOE PERA: (As self) Hello. My name is Joe Pera. And unlike previous family generations, I'm not a miner, but a soft-handed choir teacher who's just in awe of Michigan's geological splendor.

MARTIN: NPR's Sam Yellowhorse Kesler spoke with the comedian about why viewers keep coming back for more serenity.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "JOE PERA TALKS WITH YOU")

PERA: (As self) Are you sitting right now? Don't worry; I'm not going to give bad news, just wondering what you are sitting on.

SAM YELLOWHORSE KESLER, BYLINE: The average American spends about six and a half hours each day sitting down. Joe Pera wants you to know this, and he says that that doesn't even include laying down. It's facts like these that make up "Joe Pera Talks With You," his comedy series on Adult Swim. Joe told me that he wanted to make a show that felt gentler than others.

PERA: You know how most shows on television feel like they were made by an energy drink? Well, this show feels like it's made by apple cider.

KESLER: Something about Pera's awkward, mumbly persona strikes the perfect chord between Grandpa Simpson and Fred Rogers - lovable and ridiculous, with a tendency to ramble, but in no uncertain terms a good person. In the series, he speaks directly to the audience, delivering many lessons on everything from iron and beans to writing an obituary and the rat wars of Alberta. That's a real thing, by the way.

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JO FIRESTONE: (As Sarah Conner) So you're telling us that there has been an ongoing war in North America for nearly 60 years between Canadian humans and rats, and nobody's even talking about it?

PERA: (As self) It's crazy, right?

KESLER: That's Jo Firestone, who plays Joe Pera's partner, Sarah Connor, and writes for the show. I asked her about working with Pera.

FIRESTONE: He's a researcher. You know, he's, like, very deeply interested in the things that we talk about on the show.

PERA: In real life, when I get excited, I'll talk about specific stuff, and sometimes it'll - I don't know - too much. I love doing research for the show and reading books on the subject matter and thinking about it.

KESLER: The show moves slowly, and episodes are short. Viewers likely won't find much plot within each one. Instead, each season builds an emotional arc as it goes on. For instance, in the first season, Pera confronts the idea that the world can be a scary and brutal place at times, something which is at odds with his often narrow and optimistic worldview. Meanwhile, Sarah prepares for the apocalypse.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "JOE PERA TALKS WITH YOU")

FIRESTONE: (As Sarah Conner) You'd be dumb not to have a fortified basement with canned goods and water and a generator and medical supplies for barter and use. What are you going to do when you don't have any cash?

KESLER: Joe Pera's friends used to tell him that he should make cassette tapes to put people to sleep since his comedy was so subdued. He says his father used to fall asleep during his orchestra recitals, and his teacher told him something he still remembers.

PERA: Sleep is a reaction, too, and a response to something, and it's a good thing. It's, like, kind of a compliment that somebody feels relaxed enough with what you're doing that they could fall asleep during it.

KESLER: Joe says he hopes everybody doesn't fall asleep during his show, but if they do, he doesn't mind at all. Sam Yellowhorse Kesler, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.