ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Joseph Perry writes for the film websites Gruesome Magazine, The Scariest Things, Horror Fuel, The Good, the Bad and the Verdict and Diabolique Magazine; for the film magazines Phantom of the Movies’ VideoScope and Drive-In Asylum; and for the pop culture websites When It Was Cool and Uphill Both Ways. He is also one of the hosts of When It Was Cool’s exclusive Uphill Both Ways podcast and can occasionally be heard as a cohost on Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror: The Classic Era podcast.

Official synopsis: Marine Cargo Insurance Claims Adjuster William J. Sterbenz, a creature of habit worn down by the daily grind and lonely suburban living, feels helpless against his fate of climbing the corporate ladder. But when a sudden brush with death lights a fire under his ass, Will realizes that he has free will and decides to finally use it, charting a new course for himself as he meanders through new experiences, from Bigfoot hunting to out-of-body time travel – and even coming face to face with his personal guardian angel.

 Writer/director/editor Edward Bursch’s episodic dramedy series The Human, Will is a gentle, philosophical, quirky character study of everyman Will (William J. Sterbenz), who asks for a job demotion and tries to get the most out of life after the sudden unexpected death of his pet fish. He is guided on his journey by his guardian angel (slow-talking comedian Joe Pera, perfectly cast in a mostly narration performance).

The pacing is leisurely, and even unanticipated from-out-of-nowhere occurrences startle in a subtle manner. The comedy is often whimsical, and goes for knowing nods with a smile rather than for belly-laughs. 

The emotional factor is high, though. An episode in which a young Will confronts the adult Will hit me where it counts and caused a pensive trip down nostalgia lane. Another episode involving the hunt for a skunk ape appealed to my cryptozoology interests in a decidedly more fun manner.

Bursch and company deliver a fine series with The Human, Will. Go along with Will on his existential journey and you’ll be treated to an offbeat exploration of what some might consider normalcy.

The first episode of The Human, Will screened at Slamdance, which ran February 24–March 6, 2026 in Los Angeles.