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A few years back I stumbled across a few new comedy shows that seemingly popped up out of nowhere. Some of these shows managed to create and develop some strong popularity as they went on, but many of them failed to really take off despite having good reception from critics and their, well, rather small audiences. These shows, alongside a few much larger ones, were eventually bundled together in what was an incredibly disappointing mass cancellation of shows from the network, leading to some of the more popular shows managing to survive as other networks picked them up, while some of the smaller ones were left to die, with their audiences never getting to discover what happened to their beloved characters and the stories that were just getting started for them.

As many others were, I was incredibly disappointed to see that two of these shows, the ones that were coincidentally my favourite of the many that were cancelled, were not among the fortunate shows to be given a second chance under a new home. These two shows were The Last Man on Earth, and People of Earth. I am sure most people are aware of The Last Man on Earth, which established quite a large following going into the last parts of its life, but so few ever discovered the gem that is People of Earth. 

Many years have since passed since I watched People of Earth's only two seasons, and recently I made the decision to revisit it. It is a rare instance that I choose to watch something over again, especially a show that is short and was cancelled, ultimately reliving that disappointment of knowing I will never get the actual closure by experiencing the full story and its characters, but in the very brief amount of time People of Earth had, it was surprisingly refreshing. I feel this is down to its obscure choice of narrative, and how well it works as it refuses to take itself too seriously, while also allocating plenty of time in its earlier episodes to exploring each character's backstory. It was lighthearted, but the attention to character development is what made it attractive.

<center>**People of Earth**</center>

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People of Earth places itself around the concept of a small community of "experiencers"; a small handful of people in a small town known as Beacon that claim to have experienced interactions with extraterrestrial beings. Some of these experiences range from claims of actual abductions, to simple interactions with strange characters in the dead of the night within their own homes. What is unique, is how People of Earth adds these experiences of obscure natures to these characters while equally contributing a certain aspect of personal struggles and pains in life that would otherwise be reasoning behind the belief of such strange experiences. 

One character, going through a coincidental divorce at the same time as he seeks help with others regarding these experiences, is often ignored. The connection to real life trauma and something as seemingly nonsensical as the claim of alien abduction speaks of desperation and fear of going forward alone through a heartbreaking event. The show does this incredibly well as it portrays its unique range of characters. Each of them have their own struggles in life, and ultimately fears. Though they come together to support each other through their supposed alien experiences. 

The comedic elements of the show take reign, however, as it is evident from the first episode that these strange and rather wacky characters are in fact completely correct about their claims of alien abductions and lizardpeople roaming the Earth, controlling much of the world's media and thus aiming to achieve a specific plan with Earth and humanity. It is never actually made clear to us, the audience, just what that plan was, since the show never really got far enough to tell us. But it displays these aliens and lizardpeople in such a comedic manner too. They're idiotic, funny looking, and actually rather wholesome despite their rather alien nature.

In fact, some of my favourite scenes in the two seasons of the show are the ones that feature these idiotic aliens that hold unknown power despite being, well, absolute idiots that seemingly fail at everything they're supposed to be good at. It serves as a counter to the show's more serious elements in its characters that are struggling to overcome the world's struggles in addition to coming to terms with their alien experiences.

One of such characters, our main protagonist, is a journalist that moves to Beacon having slowly discovered he himself has a strange past and a series of events he can't quite explain. The show never really gets far enough to show us what that backstory is, and how he is connected to these strange events and the aliens and lizardpeople; though the show does hint at him having a strange past with one of them, where the two connected in a really friendly manner as he was growing up. This aspect of personal connection, again, doesn't get given enough time to fully be explored, but it shows the ways in which the show's writers attempted to maintain the comedic elements while also exploring character development to slowly piece together a larger narrative that was unfortunately never going to be told.

This main narrative is where the show does sadly end, just as things were slowly being told to us, the audience. I wish I could've seen just where it was going to go next, since the first two seasons explored the characters and gave them a lot of time to slowly develop and have their own weight. It was unique, given many shows don't quite pay so much attention to such a large range of characters. In some episodes, our protagonist is certainly not even the focus. Often enough, that can be frustrating for shows, but People of Earth did it right.

<center>**The era of cancellations**</center>

People of Earth was cancelled right around the time that streaming was really peaking and we were starting to see giants such as Netflix killing off many originals. It was a strange time for television show productions, particularly as the demand for fresh content was also peaking, and viewers were certainly throwing their attention at series as shows such as Game of Thrones were still in popularity. I can't help but feel that the cancellation of People of Earth, and many others that were cancelled alongside it, deserved much better. They were unique, offering something not really done before to the world. In a way, alomst alien itself. Perhaps it was too good for this world. Something we didn't quite deserve. 

I recall waiting for the news that it was going to be picked up too alongside the others shows, but it never was. Even revisiting it now, I can't help but look at the show and question how it would perform today if it was given another chance to live. I'm sure under the right home it would flourish. 

In a way, with some of the same cast, the show Resident Alien somewhat takes the reigns of People of Earth, where it to a degree can live on. Though, it isn't quite the same.