Last fall, NBC debuted a comedy called The Good Place. The premise of the show is about a woman named Eleanor Shellstrop, played by Kristen Bell, who wakes up in The Good Place (basically a perfect utopia or heaven) after her untimely death by mistake. Eleanor was very much not a good person in her life on Earth, and the show deals with the consequences of her mistaken placement in The Good Place. Saying anything about the plot beyond that would be way too many spoilers, and you need to catch up on season one on Netflix before season two premieres on Wednesday, September 20th, at 10 p.m. on NBC. The show is full of plot twists, comedy, lovable characters, and just enough drama to make it totally binge-worthy. Without spoiling too much, here’s how the main characters are all different types of college students.
(Earth) Eleanor Shellstrop is the roommate of nightmares
In her life on Earth, Eleanor represents all of us on our bad days. She’s cranky, sloppy, and doesn’t pay attention to anyone but herself. Eleanor can’t even stop for someone trying to talk to her about the environment, and she may or may not have been a really bad petsitter. In short, you would not want to be randomly paired with Eleanor and left to deal with her as a roommate for a whole year.
Chidi Anagonye is the indecisive study-buddy
Oh, sweet Chidi. This deceased ethics professors’ biggest qualities is his inability to make a decision. He can spend whole episodes debating a simple ‘yes or no’ question, enough to drive anyone crazy. But sometimes making decisions is hard, and that’s how you end up debating if you should go to Chick-fil-a or Zaxby’s for so long that you give up and order pizza.
Tahani Al-Jamil (gif) is the put-together club president
Tahani’s name literally translates (or so the show claims) to “Congratulations Beautiful.” Tahani is always perfectly dressed and never appears out of sorts, she’s a natural leader, and she loves planning events for the residents of The Good Place. However, something always goes a little bit wrong to make Tahani feel like nothing she ever does is good enough. This is what it can be like for students trying to put on the best events possible on campus.
Janet is the class know-it-all
Janet is not technically a human, but a robot who was designed to know literally everything and aid the residents of The Good Place and it’s creator. She’s like if Siri came out of our phone as a fully grown human woman who had no concept of emotions but could produce any fact ever. She’s similar to the kid in the first row of your least favorite class who tries to question the professor and makes everything more difficult for everyone.
Trevor is the guy you wish you didn’t know
Trevor is from The Bad Place, if you can be distracted from the fact that it’s the same actor who played Ben Wyatt from Parks & Recreation. Trevor has terrible manners and no sense of boundaries. He’s the guy you hear bragging uncomfortably loud with food in his mouth near you at the dining hall, and whenever you see him on campus you feel just a bit uncomfortable. How could someone have such poor upbringing?!
Jason Mendoza (gif) is in the club supporting marijuana legalization
On Earth, Jason was not “failed” DJ, but a “pre-successful” DJ. He tells incredibly long and winding stories that often are no help to the other characters. Jason is the student who totally falls asleep during class and is high more often than not, so while he’s not an attentive classmate, he’s good for a laugh or two.
BONUS: Michael (gif) is an evil professor
While Michael appears friendly at first, his RateMyProfessor profile would warn you of the danger to come. There’s absolutely no extra credit, and your grade will be based on two cumulative tests, of course.