The Good Place
NBC’sThe Good Placehas been something of a revolutionary hit for the Peacock mesh . It help regenerate the spreader ’s comedy argumentation - up and demonstrated that audiences will continue to support ( in an almost rabid manner ) unequaled , thoughtful , and funny sitcoms . The lighthearted , wind - filled afterlife sagaof a group of not all great , not totally tough masses and the daemon posing as an designer of the arrant plaza to spend eternity occupy on a reputation that near eclipsed the show itself . Over the course of three seasons , it has sneakily become consanguineous to the newLostnetworks have been clamour for since Damon Lindelof ’s TV phenomenon stop its six time of year run . It ’s a strange position for the seemingly retiring half - hour comedy to be in , one that come with its very own obsessive fan culture that will no doubt be tested as the series embarks on itsfourth and concluding season .
ThatThe Good Placeis calling it quits with season 4 is a signboard of the Peak TV times , in that more and more , imaginative show are being designed with an endpoint in mind , rather than made to extend on in perpetuity until they finally fizzle out . It ’s also a sign that what Maker Mike Schur arise when he sent Kristin Bell , William Jackson Harper , Jameela Jamil , and Manny Jacinto to meetTed Danson and D’Arcy Carden in the afterlifewas a chance for NBC to be on the cutting off edge ( or as stuffy to it as potential ) of single - camera drollery without resorting to a reboot or revival of a much - screw or much - streamed - by - millennials sitcom . As such , its end is both unfortunate and also sign that the futurity of broadcast web comedy is n’t as dire as it might seem .
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The same can be said for Eleanor Shellstrop ( Bell ) and her hereafter cohort as they begin the show ’s end run with what is perhaps the highest post story the series has yet to offer . After all , what start as a not - great young womanhood trying to con her way into stay on in an hereafter she did n’t merit has now become the story of that same not - great ( but trying to be unspoilt ) young cleaning lady as she and her friends become the last chance for manhood to once again gain entry into the real Good Place .
Though it might seem as though such a exalted premiss will distractThe Good Placefrom what ’s , well , good about the serial , it ’s quite the opposite . Over the past three time of year , Schur and his writers have put Eleanor , Chidi ( Harper ) , Tahani ( Jamil ) , and Jason ( Jacinto ) through the toller for demonstrate that people can not only switch , but they can shift for the better . time of year 3 ended with one last great twist ( though , if anyone ’s thinking there wo n’t be another before the series end , they ’re branch crazy ) that leave Eleanor in charge ofthe new ( bastard ) Good Placeand Chidi ’s retention wipe , all so the gang can rise to the Judge ( Maya Rudolph ) that the whole system of accounting adept and unfit act is messed up and needs to be completely overhauled .
With that , ‘ A Girl from Arizona , Part 1 ’ establish what ’s at stake for the gang , on both a personal and , well , far more idealistic scale . What ’s different this time around is that the plot ’s various moving office are all out in the outdoors . Sure , there ’s the usual skullduggery being committed on a regular basis by Shawn ( Marc Evan Jackson ) and the rest of the Bad Place goons , but even their shenanigans are set to be scrutinized by the Judge sooner rather than later . This frees up the show ’s initial season 4 steps to not only move at a surprisingly snappy pace , but to rivet more intently on the immense burden resting on Eleanor ’s shoulders .
The Good Placeboasts one of the finest ensembles on idiot box at the moment , but as the deed of conveyance ‘ A Girl From Arizona ’ suggest , it ’s also capable of zeroing in on a single character , without it feeling as though the other characters are make short shrift . Michael , Tahani , Jason , and Janet are all fitted with plot of land that have them dealing primarily with the task at hand , thoughThe Good Placestill find sentence for Jason and Janet ’s love story to become an issue , while Michael ’s unquiet breakdown loom large over Eleanor ’s fresh duties as designer . But , for the most part , season 4 kick things off by suffer insideEleanor ’s shrimp - bed headspace , in special how she plan to deal with her flavour for Chidi now that he no longer knows who she is .
It ’s a bold move for a show that has earn a devoted hearing by confide to a series of very bluff slash that could have end in disaster . So far , The Good Placehas proven itself capable in both the comedy and the big ideas department , which pass on it an advantage heading into its final time of year . As one of the with child shows in TV history recently proved , ending are hard . The Good Placeseems determined to show they do n’t have to be .
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The Good Placeseason 4 premieres Thursday , September 26 @9pm on NBC .
