Joe Pera
About Joe Pera
Joseph Pera (born July 24, 1988) is an American comedian, writer and actor. He was born in Buffalo, New York and raised in the suburb of Amherst, becoming interested in comedy from an early age, which he attributes to his father and both sets of grandparents joking around a lot. During his teenage years he took a comedy course taught by Saturday Night Live writer Alan Zweibel. He studied film at Ithaca College, where he competed in and won the college's stand-up competition three times, graduating in 2010 before moving to New York City to pursue comedy.
Known for his slow, "grandfatherly" delivery and his penchant for wearing sweaters, Pera created the Adult Swim Infomercial Joe Pera Talks You to Sleep (2016), followed by Joe Pera Helps You Find the Perfect Christmas Tree. Their success, through his production company Chestnut Walnut founded with Conner O'Malley, led to the television series Joe Pera Talks with You, which premiered on May 20, 2018, and ran for three seasons before its cancellation was announced on July 7, 2022. The show received critical acclaim for its unique tone and writing; The A.V. Club's Erik Adams called it "a particular type of funny, of the soft-spoken, deadpan, and disarming type that Pera practices onstage."
Pera has appeared on Conan (2017), Late Night with Seth Meyers and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (2019). In 2021 he released the book A Bathroom Book for People Not Pooping or Peeing but Using the Bathroom as an Escape, illustrated by Joe Bennett. He launched the sleep-aid podcast Drifting Off With Joe Pera in 2023 and released the 56-minute stand-up special Joe Pera: Slow and Steady on YouTube that October. On February 18, 2026, it was announced that Adult Swim had picked up a new series created by Pera and Dan Licata called My Two Cars.
Videos (168)
Videos 49 to 72 of 168.
1:47'Old Time Favorites' by Joe Pera and Gerry Miller
84.1K views
8:00:01Drifting Off With Joe Pera - S1 Ep. 4: Ireland - Max Drift Edition
81K views
23:51Drifting Off w/ Joe Pera | S2E3 | Drinks Before Bedtime ft. Carmen Christopher
80K views
2:11Response to the Assassination Attempt
74.1K views
8:00:29Drifting Off With Joe Pera - S1 Ep. 7: From Books 'Round My Desk - Max Drift Edition
73.4K views
3:20TheAndyKaufmanAward.com - Joe Pera, 2011
73K views
0:56Addressing an important issue about the Bathroom Book
73K views
0:23Cubes shirt for a cause. There are some other new items and some stuff from tour on sale too
70.2K views
8:00:01Drifting Off With Joe Pera - S1 Ep. 2: A History of Clock Chimes - Max Drift Edition
64.6K views
0:33Audience Member In Chappelle Hat Helps Film Most Insane Crowd Work Clip of All Time!
62.3K views
0:22Aisle of bars
59.5K views
1:58Trying to do more style...
59.4K views
0:48Salt Lake joke I wrote after my first visit
58.9K views
0:48Staten Island Crowd Work Gone Wild
57.7K views
1:01Phone call with Disney Cruise line from ‘How to Make it in USA’ with @omalleyrock . (Part 2/2)
57.5K views
1:45Drifting Off with Joe Pera - Sleep Podcast Trailer
54.4K views
0:09Squirrel likes Dr. Pepper
54.2K views
0:35“What’s the tagline for your show again?” riffing w/ Carmen Christopher
53.4K views
0:42They said it'd be too hot for me in Nashville, Asheville, and Atlanta.
51.4K views
1:08:11Drifting Off: Live from the Brooklyn Opera House (Full Audio)
51K views
1:00If Apollo 11 failed, Nixon would’ve read this speech - New ‘Drifting Off with Joe Pera’ Out Now
49K views
1:03"Fall", A Cinepoem by Joe Pera
48.8K views
1:39Shooting Hoops with Joe - "Layup Drills / Clothes" (Ep 3 of 382)
48.2K views
8:22DOING BUSINESS AT THE END OF THE WORLD with Joe Pera & Carmen Christopher (2025)
47.1K viewsGuest appearances (6)
Videos on other comedians' channels featuring Joe Pera.
Guest appearances 1 to 6 of 6.
5:38Joe Pera Is A Parkour Pro | CONAN on TBS
Conan O'Brien
1.2M views
12:27Joe Pera Announces He's the Next James Bond and Shows Footage of His New Bond Film
Seth Meyers
439K views
7:30Joe Pera Has Some Tips for How to Re-Enter a Party After Using the Bathroom
Seth Meyers
385.6K views
7:04Joe Pera on His Comedy Tour and Doing Crowd Work for Drunk Audiences
Seth Meyers
171.8K views
5:28Joe Pera Stand-Up Performance
Seth Meyers
100.2K views
2:35Joe Pera CANCELLED
Tim Heidecker
63.1K viewsChannels on this page: Conan O'Brien, Seth Meyers, Tim Heidecker
Frequently asked questions
What is Joe Pera best known for?
He is best known as the creator and star of Adult Swim's Joe Pera Talks with You, which ran for three seasons after developing from the 2016 special Joe Pera Talks You to Sleep.
How would you describe Joe Pera's comedic style?
He is known for a slow, soft-spoken, "grandfatherly" delivery, pausing often, with humor coming from kindness and humility rather than mean-spiritedness.
Where did Joe Pera study?
He studied film at Ithaca College, where he won the college's stand-up competition three times, and graduated in 2010.
What podcast does Joe Pera host?
In 2023 he launched Drifting Off With Joe Pera, a podcast designed to help people fall asleep, with monthly episodes featuring a guest interview, a guest musician and a philosophical monologue.
What new project did Joe Pera announce in 2026?
On February 18, 2026, it was announced that Adult Swim had picked up a new series created by Pera and Dan Licata called My Two Cars.
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Same comedic style, across countries
