Nasim Pedrad Cast For TBS Comedy, People of Earth

Saturday Night Live alum Nasim Pedrad (Scream Queens, New Girl) has joined TBS's hit comedy People of Earth as a series regular, beginning this summer with the show's second season.

People of Earth centers on a group of alien abductees – or "experiencers" – living in the small town of Beacon, N.Y. The series is executive-produced by Emmy® winners Conan O'Brien and Greg Daniels, along with creator David Jenkins and showrunner Norm Hiscock

In her new People of Earth role, Pedrad joins a stellar ensemble cast that includes Wyatt Cenac, Ana Gasteyer, Oscar Nuñez, Michael Cassidy, Alice Wetterlund, Luka Jones, Brian Huskey, Nancy Lenehan, Tracee Chimo, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Björn Gustafsson and Ken Hall. She will play Special Agent Alex Foster, a smart, dedicated FBI investigator getting a second chance after recently being disgraced. Alex comes to Beacon on the hunt for local newspaper owner Jonathan Walsh (Cassidy), who is wanted for white-collar crimes.

Pedrad is a comedian and actress best known for her work on Saturday Night Live, where she spent five years as a cast member. Pedrad joined the cast of SNL in the 2009 season from The Groundlings Theater in Los Angeles. Her more recent credits include the FOX series Scream Queens and New Girl. Originally from Tehran, Iran, Pedrad was raised in Irvine, Calif., and graduated from UCLA's School of Theater.

In its first season, People of Earth averaged 4.2 million viewers per episode across multiple platforms and ranked as one of cable's Top 10 new comedies among adults 18-49 for 2016.

The series has earned a 92% Fresh rating from RottenTomatoes.com, with critics praising it as "sweet, smart, quirky, story-strong and funny all at the same time" (The Hollywood Reporter); "clever and thought-provoking" (Vulture); "initially silly, then sublime" (Newsday); "easy to love and laugh at" (We Got This Covered); "gently funny, but also endearing" (Boston Globe); and "a funny, bizarre high-concept comedy" (Pittsburgh Post Gazette).

People of Earth is produced by Conan O'Brien's Conaco LLC, in association with Warner Horizon Television and Turner's Studio T.