NBC lands a great show in ‘Good Place’
Easily fall’s best broadcast network comedy pilot, NBC’s “The Good Place” (10-11 p.m. Monday before moving to its 8:30 p.m. Thursday time slot next week, WPXI) offers a clever high-concept premise that’s complemented with intelligent, sometimes absurdist humor.
Created by Michael Schur, cocreator of NBC’s “Parks and Recreation,” “The Good Place” is a highly serialized series that’s essentially set in heaven.
Kristen Bell (“Veronica Mars,” “House of Lies”) stars as Eleanor Shellstrop, who dies an embarrassing death involving shopping carts and a truck advertising an erectile dysfunction medication. She wakes in “the good place,” which her guide, Michael (1972 Carnegie Mellon University grad Ted Danson, “Cheers”), tells her is not “the heaven or hell idea you were raised with,” and most religions get about 5 percent of the afterlife correct in their conception of it.
But it turns out there’s been an error, and shallow, selfish Eleanor is not the person Michael thinks she is. She’s not a good person who could have accumulated enough points based on her actions during life to merit a ticket to the good place. For now, that secret is kept between Eleanor and her “soul mate,” Chidi (William Jackson Harper), who is instantly uncomfortable with Eleanor’s deception.
NBC made five episodes of “The Good Place” available for review, and the show not only holds up, but also it improves, deepening characters that initially feel one-note and frequently leaving viewers guessing with cliffhanger endings to many of the episodes.
In addition to Eleanor and Chidi, “The Good Place” introduces Michael’s virtual assistant, Janet (D’Arcy Carden), and Eleanor’s neighbors, the annoyingly perfect Tahani (Jameela Jamil) and her soul mate, the mute Jianyu (Manny Jacinto). Future episodes explore all of the formerly human characters through flashbacks that inform their behaviors in the Good Place.
The combination of snappy dialogue and winning but flawed characters makes “The Good Place” a great bet for fans of smart TV comedy.
‘Downward Dog’ casting
Midseason ABC comedy “Downward Dog” is seeking “trendy extras” ages 21-45 for an upscale cocktail party scene shooting Sept. 28. The pay is $8 per hour for the first eight hours and time-and-a-half after that (a typical shoot day is 12-14 hours).
An open casting call will be held today, from 5-9 p.m., at Olive or Twist, 140 Sixth St., Downtown, or visit mossercasting.com to create a profile under the Talent Registration link.