The Good Place (2016-Present)

It was with some surprise that I realized I’ve never actually talked about The Good Place on the blog, and I’m not sure how that happened. It’s a terrific comedy, endlessly smart and delightfully absurd, and one of the best new network shows I’ve seen in years. In many ways, it feels like a spiritual successor to Pushing Daisies – in other words, I’m all about this show. This coming season will be its last, but 1) it feels like a show that knows what it’s doing/how it’s ending, so I’m okay with that, and 2) even if I’m late to be talking about it, that’s why the phrase “better late than never” exists (premise spoilers.)

Eleanor Shellstrop wakes with a hazy memory and finds herself greeted by Michael, who tells her she died and made it to “The Good Place” (as opposed to The Bad Place, natch.) Eleanor is one of the select few virtuous enough to come out ahead in the universe’s complicated point system of judging souls, and Michael, as a higher being, is there to help her and others like her get acclimated to their eternal reward. The only problem? The good deeds Eleanor is being rewarded for were done by a different Eleanor Shellstrop: she’s in the wrong place.

That’s really all I can say about the specifics of the plot. This is a twist-turny show that constantly surprises, whether it’s with dropping a big twist or simply defying expectations of how much time it’s going to spend following a particular plot thread. It’s a dynamic animal with a mind of its own – Compare any random episode from season 1 with any random episode from season 3, and it somehow feels like two completely different shows while at the same being remaining utterly cohesive.

The show comes from the mind of Michael Schur (The Office (U.S.), Parks and Rec,) and it’s a doozy. In addition to the astoundingly-intricate plot for a sitcom, it also comes armed with a repertoire of comic gags ranging from stellar sight gags to amazing food puns to comic riffs on moral philosophy. There’s so much fun to be mined from every scene, and the series trusts the audience to keep up with all the goodness it packs into its episodes.

The character work is also fabulous, both in terms of the writing and the acting. Kristen Bell’s Eleanor and Ted Dansen’s Michael are the heaviest hitters, but the whole ensemble is equal parts hilarious and affecting. I was going to say “special shoutout to…”, then realized I couldn’t single out any part of the main cast without naming them all, so that’s what I need to do. Joining Bell and Dansen are William Jackson Harper, Jameela Jamil, Manny Jacinto, and D’Arcy Carden, and they’re all wonderful. (I will, though, give a special shoutout for diversity: the show’s diverse cast is the reason I decided to check it out in the first place, and I’m so glad I did.) I love watching the characters grow and learn, seeing their relationships change, and finding out how they deal with the continuing curve balls the universe throws at them.

Warnings

Thematic elements, sexual references, drinking, some violence, and implied language (no swearing in The Good Place, so characters are forced to say things like “son of a bench.”)