Joe Pera Talks You To Sleep is video NyQuil for the restless soul

Animation is generally thought of as a frantic, sensory-assaulting medium marked by slapstick action and wild, over-the-top sight gags. Cartoon characters tend to do a lot of shouting, and their shows often feature loud music and exaggerated sound effects. The intention is to get viewers amped up. This is especially true for the shows traditionally featured during Cartoon Network’s late-night Adult Swim programming block, including such nerve-jangling favorites as Metalocalypse and Aqua Teen Hunger Force. But what if there were an Adult Swim show that were designed to put viewers’ minds at ease, allowing them to get some much-needed sleep after a stressful day? That is the odd but compelling premise of Joe Pera Talks You To Sleep, an extremely laid-back animated showcase (billed as an “infomercial”) for laconic, Buffalo-based stand-up comic Joseph Pera. Adult Swim is scheduling the series at 4am all this week, exactly the time of day when insomniacs might need some extra help.