The late-night talk show scene is one of the most crowded aspects of the television landscape. It's filled to the brim with comedians interviewing celebrities from behind a desk while a band plays them on stage. With that in mind, Disney+ and The Jim Henson Company have found a way to carve out their own niche in a crowded sector of the entertainment industry with Earth to Ned.
Ned is a member of an alien species who's sole goal is conquering other worlds. Ned's father is a high ranking member of the military who sent his son to Earth to conquer it, but that just wasn't his style. Ned quickly fell in love with the planet, deciding to become a late-night talk show host. Broadcasting from his ship deep beneath the Earth's surface, the would-be conqueror is trying to bring more comedy to Earth with the help of his friends.
In addition to Ned, Cornelius is an equally brilliant character and an important source of comedy on the show. A member of a race already conquered by Ned's people, Cornelius is the second-in-command on the ship and Ned's co-host. He introduces the guests, participates in the interviews and gets sent on away missions to Earth to further research the show's topic, often in the most absurd way possible.
Beyond the hosting duo, the ship's artificial intelligence BETI gets in on the action. While she seems relatively happy to abduct celebrities for the show, she doesn't seem entirely supportive of it. Even the CLODs, a group of carnivorous cloned mini monsters, like to play along, primarily by frightening the guests and putting on elaborate costumes. They seem to enjoy diving into each episode's topic, sometimes expressing them through fire.
When looking at the late-night talk show format, there's a pretty consistent formula. The host sits behind a desk with a couch or chairs nearby and a live band with a leader the host interacts with. Sometimes, there's a co-host, though it's more common these days that the bandleader also fills that role. Then, there is a mix of sketches, celebrity interviews, live music and stand-up comedy sketches. Earth to Ned maintains some of that but also makes the format its own.
Ned has a desk, couch and co-host, as well as a band that got fired partway through the first episode -- that's what you get when you hire CLODs as your in-house band. All of those familiar elements are there, keeping in mind that said elements are housed on an alien spaceship. However, what Ned's show does completely differently is its approach to putting those elements together, and that's all about the host and how he perceives humanity.
The world Ned comes from is much different than Earth. Based on his descriptions of it, his home doesn't have concepts like comedy, fashion and art. As such, all of Earth's attributes is new, different and fascinating to Ned, who uses his talk show to explore these concepts. While his original mission was to conquer and possibly destroy the planet, that has fallen by the wayside as he seeks to understand more about humanity.
Because of this, the conversations on Earth to Ned are more interesting than most other talk shows. Interviews conducted by Ned are free-flowing as one would expect on any talk show. But because he's asking about such huge concepts like art, celebrities get to engage in a real conversation about a significant topic rather than spewing pithy anecdote while the host feigns laughter. Despite being hosted by a Muppet alien, the conversations feel more real than what a viewer would normally get on a talk show.
More than the setting or the Muppet aliens, what sets Earth to Ned apart from other talk shows is the sense of wonder Ned brings to each interview. He comes across as being fascinated by the entire conversation every time. Everyone involved is having fun talking about topics they care about with a cool Muppet alien. To put it simply, Earth to Ned is positive and funny, which isn't something all late-night shows can achieve.