Review: The Good Place S1

Have you ever wondered about what it takes to get into Heaven? The NBC comedy The Good Place looks at it and what it takes for someone who mistakenly made it there to stay there.

Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars, Forgetting Sarah Marshall) stars as Eleanor Shellstrop, a recently deceased morally questionable woman, ends up in the Good Place by mistake. After hearing about the Bad Place, Eleanor decides that she needs to learn to be a good person so she can stay.

Helping her is her soulmate Chidi, played by William Jackson Harper (The Electric Company); you see, everyone in the Good Place has their soulmate. Chidi was an ethics teacher prior to his death and reluctantly agrees to help.

Another important character is Michael, played by Ted Danson; he’s the architect of this neighborhood in the Good Place. As the architect, he’s not human and it’s fun to watch him adapt to being around real people.

The characters of the show are well written and grow as the season goes on; there is a strong supporting cast, many of whom have their own arcs.

The writing is creative too. There are very few sitcom cliche’s in the show and the season ends on a twist that will make for an interesting second season (avoid spoilers if possible). After the twist, you notice everything that showed it coming.

The show was created by Michael Schur, writer on the Office and co-creator of Parks & Recreation and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. He’s also know as one of the geniuses behind the now defunct Fire Joe Morgan baseball website, under the name Ken Tremendous.

The episodes are short (22 minutes) and the season is only 13 episodes long. It’s also available on Netflix.

The show has completed season 2 and has been renewed for a third season.