On Earth as it Is on Television

First contact stories have never been as intoxicating and fun as in Emily Jane’s novel of the sudden arrival—and equally sudden departure—of spaceships above Earth.

In On Earth as it Is on Television—a rollicking paean to what it means to be alive in the twenty-first century—the fleeting presence of alien vessels, and the certainty that humans are not alone in the universe, sparks intense uncertainty as to our place within it.

The arrival of spaceships can bring up a lot of big questions:

What does it mean that we’re not alone?

Why did aliens come here?

Who knew beforehand?

Where…. are the aliens going?

Wait… They can’t just leave! Without inviting us into their galactic federation—or at the very least obliterating us!

Inside On Earth as it Is on Television

When spaceships arrive and then depart suddenly without a word, the certainty that we are not alone in the universe turns to intense uncertainty as to our place within it.

Since long before the spaceships’ fleeting presence, Blaine has been content to go along with the whims of his supermom wife and half-feral, television-addicted children. But when the kids blithely ponder skinning people to see if they’re aliens, and his wife drags them all on a surprise road trip to Disney World, even steady Blaine begins to crack.

Half a continent away, Heather floats in a Malibu pool and watches the massive ships hover overhead. Maybe her life is finally going to start. For her, the arrival heralds a quest to understand herself, her accomplished (and oh-so-annoying) stepfamily, and why she feels so alone in a universe teeming with life.

Suddenly conscious and alert after twenty catatonic years, Oliver struggles to piece together his fragmented, disco-infused memories and make sense of his desire to follow a strange cat on a westward journey.

Embracing the strangeness that is life in the twenty-first century, On Earth as It Is on Television is a rollicking, heartfelt tale of first contact that practically leaps off the planet.

“Heartfelt, witty, and secretly romantic, On Earth as It Is on Television is a delightful and poignant story about what it is to be human, and what we owe each other.”

—CHRISTINA LAUREN, New York Times bestselling author of Something Wilder

“Both contemporary and fantastical, Emily Jane’s story utterly charmed me. I hope when the aliens come, they’re just like the Malorts.”

—MAUREEN KILMER, author of Suburban Hell

“A painful and hopeful examination of first contact and second chances on the third rock from the sun—a poignant narrative tapestry of an unraveling world.”

—VALERIE VALDES, author of Chilling Effect

“Weird and sweet, On Earth as It Is on Television is like a 2020s White Noise: loud and colorful Americana with a sprinkle of apocalyptic doom—plus cats. It takes aliens (or an Emily Jane) to help us see our society for the bizarre, sugary, microplastic-poisoned dream it is.”

—EDGAR CANTERO, New York Times bestselling author of Meddling Kids