People of Earth

The comedy, and there’s a bunch of it, comes from the support group members--as you can imagine, nobody believes their stories--and the aliens, who generate some very, very funny and spot-on workplace humor in a spaceship setting.

From the setup to the incidentals, People of Earth is packed with humor and heart forever revealed in clever ways.

As Ozzie’s empathy for the group’s misfits grows, so does the show’s, and the supporting characters, including Ana Gasteyer, who plays the group’s empathetic leader, develop into more than mere punchlines.

People of Earth deserves praise more for its high concept and intelligence than for its ability to generate laughs. It’s the kind of show that doesn’t make you LOL so much as chuckle softly while admiring its subtext.

Carefully crafted performances balance the hilarity with notes of trauma lurking within, adding a winning sincerity to People of Earth.

It manages to be sweet, smart, quirky, story-strong and funny all at the same time with what appears to be minimal effort.

A funny, bizarre high concept comedy about a support group for alien abductees.

Like the supporting casts in early seasons of The Office and Parks And Recreation, secondary players in Ozzie’s story make the most of their time in the spotlight—particularly Ana Gasteyer as the disgraced therapist at the head of Starcrossed, and Brian Huskey as a self-proclaimed business mogul who’s convinced that Reptilians have made off with his wife.

The four episodes sent to critics show more than enough ways for People of Earth to keep the ball rolling, but the performances seal the deal.

People of Earth has built a small-town universe with just enough quirks and intrigue to keep its premise in play. It has both heart and a sense of the absurd, making it increasingly “accessible” with the proviso that you’re just not going to get a laugh riot.

It’s gently funny, but also endearing.

It follows the tenets of each genre it tackles with little attempt at straying into its own cosmic path. That’s okay, because it does what it does well, and where it does feel original and worthwhile is in its total confidence to be unusual without trying to excuse its unusualness for a broader audience.

A gentle and modestly pleasing comedy about a support group for alien abductees.

The overall result is pleasant, even beguiling, but it feels a little inconsequential in a season that has brought us new comedies like “Atlanta,” “Insecure” and “Fleabag.” ... Through the first four episodes, though, the human characters don’t really come into their own in comic terms, except for Brian Huskey as Richard, who’s the most conspiracy-minded of the group.

People of Earth is a very, very strange series, and not all of it works (including a recurring talking deer). But it has a surprising amount of character development, a great cast, and a low-key, almost indy approach to humor (“There is dickery happening in Beacon”) that makes Ozzie’s transformation from skeptic to believer one that is both silly and sincere, and worth watching.

The series will need the members of StarCrossed to evolve to keep them from being one note.

People of Earth earns kudos for going for the stars, but it also suffers from a failure to launch.

People of Earth does have plenty of moments and personalities to warrant a look. You’ll just wish the whole experience amounted to more than lost time.