When I think of an NBC sitcom, my mind — probably like most — goes to old favorites like The Office and Parks and Recreation, documentary-style sitcoms that break the fourth wall as well as your funny bone. These shows are classic and make you feel good, and definitely gave us scenes that redefined comedy. They’re anything but deep, though, and their trope is rather played out. Knowing this, when I heard NBC was producing a new show, I figured it would be one of the many I had seen before. But then I watched the first episode.
Sure, it fronts as your typical adjusted-for-cable-TV raunchy comedy, but then you get hit with a curveball when the astoundingly handsome William Jackson Harper begins teaching you ethics. And you ENJOY it — what?! Season one is essentially you, Kristen Bell, Manny Jacinto and Jameela Jamil taking a college philosophy course, joined by D’Arcy Carden and Ted Danson. If my shameless name-dropping isn’t enough to convince you to hop on the TV and start watching, then let’s talk about the unique content.
Without giving away any spoilers, this show has by far the most complex, intricate, well-thought-out plot I have ever invested my time in. All of the characters are either dead, demons or humanoid-robot-ladies. The show follows the main group of four (Bell, Harper, Jacinto and Jamil) as they learn that their time on earth has ended and they are now in the afterlife. In the show, the afterlife is loosely based on the standard ideas of heaven and hell that you may be familiar with, but with a few twists. First, every action completed by a human on Earth is assigned a positive or negative point value. Then, after someone dies, their points are totaled up and they are sent to either the Good Place or the Bad Place. The Good Place, their name for what would be “heaven,” is a collection of small neighborhoods constructed to fit the ideal conditions held by the residents who are placed within it. Ted Danson plays Michael, an architect who constructed the neighborhood that our four main characters find themselves in post-mortem. After our cast gets together, your typical hijinks ensue as Eleanor, portrayed by Bell, quickly realizes something is gravely incorrect with her new situation and enlists her new friends to help her fix the situation before she can be caught.
What makes this show so unique is that it does not simply lean on its all-star cast or gold-star writing to achieve great ratings, although it certainly could. The entire team on this show, in my opinion, goes above and beyond to make this show stand out – you learn, you laugh and you form a meaningful connection with each character as you watch them grow in the afterlife. It’s rare to see a production in which every character is dynamic and changes for the better, but The Good Place does this without a hitch! If you need a new show to binge-watch, I give this one a gold-star rating. All four seasons are now available on Netflix, so you can start at the beginning and watch until the bittersweet end. Happy streaming!