The cutest, greenest little tree has just been chopped out of the proverbial television landscape. Comedian Joe Pera announced over Twitter today that his Adult Swim series, Joe Pera Talks With You, has been canceled at the network after three seasons. The tweet links to a longer explanation on his website (which as of now doesn’t appear to be loading) that explains, “We were driving home from Bethlehem, PA the morning after my final Spring Tour show when I got a call that it wouldn’t be renewed for another season.â€
Pera writes that he felt like the show was “really just getting going†and that “it’s a shame that the characters’ stories can’t continue. I knew where things were headed but I won’t say here cause part of me is holding out hope that sometime down the line we can film a proper ending for Joe, Sarah, the Melskys, Gene, Lulu, and most importantly, Fred the Sample Guy.†Pera continues, “The more I learn how TV works, the more I realize that it’s kind of a miracle that our quiet, 11-minute show about rocks, beans, grocery stores, and breakfast crews got on the air and lasted as long as it did.â€
Joe Pera is currently on his Summer in the Midwest and Rustbelt Tour, and writes, “Doing standup for standup’s sake is a treat and last week I decided that it’s time to film a special. If you come to one of the upcoming shows, I’m going to be working out the kinks and then trying to film in December. Maybe a network will want to do it, maybe not and I’ll do it myself but it’s time. And Marty [Schousboe] has agreed to direct. And that’s what I’ve got for now.â€
We’re saddened that we won’t get another season of the show in its current iteration, but if Pera’s holding out hope that we’ll get to see the Melskys again some day, then so are we. If you’re grieving the loss of this show, luckily there’s a whole season devoted to coping with that exact feeling. Now excuse us while we play “Baba O’Riley†for five hours straight.