THE Just-As-GOOD PLACE

Article first published as THE GOOD PLACE Season 2 Premiere Review on Seat42F.

NBC’s most innovative current sitcom, THE GOOD PLACE, is back for a second season this week. The story picks up right where last year ended, with Michael resetting his world of psychological torture and starting over with his quartet of victims, who discovered they were actually in The Bad Place. Things in the premiere begin slowly, following the lead humans one by one as they re-enter Michael’s new version of hell, with only Eleanor’s confusing clue, hastily stuffed in Janet’s mouth, to guide them back to the truth. But true to form, THE GOOD PLACE doesn’t stop there, barely a pause before it jets off to something else.

What I love best about THE GOOD PLACE, besides the excellent cast, beautiful production design, imaginative spirit, direction, plot twists… OK, so I love a lot about this show. But one of the things that really stands out in the freshman year is that every time viewers think they know what’s going on, the premise takes a sharp turn in another direction, constantly keeping you on your toes. The plot doesn’t move in a straight line, zig zagging all over the place, rarely predictable.

Having watched the first four half-hours of season two, I can happily confirm this trend very much continues. Beginning the experience over again is merely a starting point, not a roadmap for the entire season. There are some very unexpected occurrences, culminating in what the ‘new normal’ becomes in episode four, which looks like it could hold steady for a bit. But the only thing I’m certain of is, that framework probably won’t last very long, either.

That doesn’t mean things are completely unfamiliar in season two. Besides the well-established personalities of Eleanor (Kristen Bell), Chidi (William Jackson Harper), Tahani (Jameela Jamil), and Jason (Manny Jacinto), we now know a lot of rules and elements that make up this world. For instance, Michael (Ted Danson) is the architect, but he answers to mean boss Shawn (Marc Evan Jackson, Thrilling Adventure Hour), who doesn’t approve of Michael’s experiment. Janet (D’Arcy Carden) is the artificial intelligence assistant to everyone, and is reset every time the participants are. Mindy St. Claire (Maribeth Monroe) exists in a space between the Good and Bad places. I don’t mention all of these just for fun; they all are part of the series’ fabric, and thus are things that can be used again without needing to slow down and explain them. Meaning the pacing picks up in this second batch, rejuggling familiar elements, while tossing in new ones.

One of the prime new things worth talking about is that the demon denizens of The Good Place are starting to develop personalities. Or, they probably always had them, but we finally get to see them. While we still don’t know ‘Real Eleanor’s (Toya Sircar) name, she is definitely more active in the proceedings than she was. Through her and others, we get more information about how Michael is viewed by his peers and underlings, and it is enlightening. I’m hopeful other recurring players will get more material in the coming weeks, too.

All of these things make for a very enjoyable experience, comfortable, yet still fresh. I don’t know for sure that the writers, led by Michael Schur, know where they’re going. But there are enough elements introduced previously paying off now that I feel there’s at least a pretty good handle on the world and its rules. As to how long this chaos can be kept up, that’s anyone’s guess. But I’m quite happy to have the show back, and bingeing four episodes back-to-back did nothing to lessen my anticipation of the next installment.

THE GOOD PLACE returns with an hour-long premiere Wednesday at 10 ET on NBC.

THE Very GOOD PLACE

Article first published as THE GOOD PLACE Review on Seat42F.

THE GOOD PLACE will be on NBC Thursdays at 8:30PM. No, I’m not saying whatever show fills that time slot is good, though in the case of THE GOOD PLACE, it’s very good. It’s the title of a new sitcom about a woman who mistakenly goes to the wrong afterlife and her attempts to stay there. No, it’s not too sacrilegious, not attacking any faith in particular nor bashing religion much. Yes, it is clever, fresh, and funny.

Kristen Bell (House of Lies, Bad Moms, Veronica Mars) stars as Eleanor Shellstrop, a former pharmaceutical salesperson who cheated old people out of their money for ineffective drugs, and who died in a very embarrassing manner. Mistaken for an altruistic woman of the same name, Eleanor finds herself in what we might call heaven, a small city with lots of frozen yogurt, no cursing, and (mostly) very large houses.

Who would build such a place? Well, that’s the work of Michael (Ted Danson, Fargo, Cheers), a brand-new architect who has just created this town as his first solo project. As such, I guess there are bound to be a few mistakes as he figures his way through.

Eleanor doesn’t want Michael to find out about this particular mistake, though, because that would mean she has to go someplace worse. So what we’ve got is a bad person taking advantage of a bunch of good people. I mean, the other tact to take would be to become a good person herself, and I won’t say that Eleanor won’t try to do that, but it seems much more likely she’ll take the easy path as much as possible, given what we know about her.

One of the first things Eleanor does is drag in an accomplice, Chidi (William Jackson Harper, True Story, The Electric Company), the other Eleanor’s soulmate. Right away, that tells us something about her and how she’ll handle the situation, which makes absolute sense as we learn the type of person she was.

I feel like there might be something going on in THE GOOD PLACE that isn’t immediately obvious. Is the whole thing a test for Eleanor? Is this her purgatory? Is this place not as ideal as it seems? Do the architects make mistakes so often? Is Chidi really this Eleanor’s soul-mate, both forced to grow through interacting with one another?

Or is this a story about two screw ups, Eleanor and Michael, who are in a bit over their heads and have to find their way? That could certainly be equally compelling, and is the more straight-forward way to take the premise.

For either of those two theories to be fully realized, THE GOOD PLACE must get multiple seasons on the air. I adore Bell and Danson, and these two characters are terrific for them, allowing them each a showcase to shine. I thoroughly enjoyed the first episode, both in terms of premise and cast, the latter of which also includes Jameela Jamil (the DJ and writer), Manny Jacinto (The Romeo Section), and D’Arcy Carden (Broad City). I am very excited to watch more of it.

But I do worry it’ll be too high-concept for broadcast network audiences. It reminds me a little of The Neighbors in that we’re seeing a bit of hyper-reality and characters we can’t necessarily relate to. This doesn’t make the series any less entertaining, and in fact, is a good sign in my book. But viewers can be fickle, and I worry THE GOOD PLACE won’t catch on the way that it should. I’m hoping the two very recognizable leads (who are also very talented, but that’s less important in the context of this point) will draw people in to at least give it a try. As long as its potential audience is aware of it, I think it’ll succeed.

THE GOOD PLACE premieres Monday, September 19^th at 10/9c, before settling in its normal timeslot Thursdays at 8:30/7:30c.