40 The Good Place
NBC 2016-20
This metaphysical comedy from Parks and Recreation co-creator Michael Schur makes several big assertions as part of its premise: Heaven is irreparably broken. The universe is without meaning.
Life is just a series of petty little tortures. Are you laughing yet? Somehow, The Good Place finds hilarity in every corner of its version of hell, which has just admitted four new arrivals — Kristen Bell’s unrepentant con woman, Eleanor Shellstrop; William Jackson Harper’s anxious philosopher, Chidi Anagonye; Jameela Jamil’s narcissistic do-gooder, Tahani Al-Jamil; and Manny Jacinto’s deeply stupid Florida man, Jason Mendoza — as part of a plan by demon-in-disguise Michael (Ted Danson, having the time of his life) to emotionally hurt people rather than using the traditional fire-and-brimstone approach. As Eleanor and the other dum-dums figure out that they are really in the Bad Place, and begin (with help from D’Arcy Carden’s all-powerful Janet, who is both not a robot and not a girl) journeying back and forth among death, life, and various cosmic realms, The Good Place taps endless reserves of silliness in its debates about the purpose of existence, along with a stubbornly optimistic belief that the world we know, and the people in it, can all be better. Humor and special effects can be a dangerous mix, but The Good Place strikes a healthy balance between the two. It is a comedy bursting with imagination and heart, all the way to the surprisingly profound use of “Take it sleazy” in its final scene.