A place where you get a personal assistant (or as the online fandom calls it – an anthropomorphized informational delivery vessel) who gives you numerous cacti when malfunctioning, a place with unlimited frozen yogurt, a place where you are matched up with a soulmate. This is Michael Schur’s idea of an afterlife, at least in the Good Place. (Confused? Don’t be. Just go ahead and watch the first episode. This show is better if you go into it without knowing much.)
Premiered in September 2016, the NBC comedy television series “The Good Place,” created and directed by Michael Schur, has since received positive reviews and is currently airing its third season.
Schur is also known for his other comedy works including, “The Office,” “Parks and Recreation,” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.” Like his other sitcoms, “The Good Place” is acclaimed for its stupid (or should I say genius) one-liners, but it’s so much more than just another comedy series.
Here are some reasons why “The Good Place” is not just another comedy:
1. Bringing boring subjects to life
A big theme the show focuses on is moral philosophy. Sounds boring, right? The show was able to deal with these seemingly bland topics in creative ways to not only hook their audience, but also highlight how relevant and prominent it is in our everyday life. The show LITERALLY brings classic philosophical cases to life (You will know what I mean if you watch the show, *wink wink*). They also managed to incorporate different ethical theories into mundane situations in life that we can all relate. In this show, we follow Eleanor, portrayed by Kristen Bell, the classic ‘I-don’t-give-a-sh*t’, ‘insults-are-my-go-to-defense’ girl’s journey from being self-centered to someone who would put others before herself – which has not been an easy path. Let’s just say the show made me want to be a better person, if not, an even better person. (You might say ew now, but trust me, you’ll be amazed.)
It was also able to approach daunting themes that are often avoided and well dreaded, such as death and other existential questions, in a light-hearted and fun way. They managed to find ways to have you be open-minded and think about these topics in a different light.
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2. Cast diversity
In recent years, people have been paying more and more attention to diversity in media, especially since Hollywood was criticized for their lack of cast diversity. “The Good Place” did a tremendous job in adopting such a diverse cast. It saddens me to say that oftentimes, people of color are cast as side characters just for the sake of creating the illusion of diversity. However, with this show, the majority of the main characters are not your typical actors. Aside from Kristen Bell, our main lead, we have William Jackson Harper, Jameela Jamil and Manny Jacinto, all with very different ethnic backgrounds. On top of that, the show accurately presented a very common stereotypical view of Asians. The character Jason Mendoza, portrayed by Manny Jacinto, brought up that countless people assumed he is Taiwanese – just because he has light skin or look like Taiwanese – when in fact he is Filipino.
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Related: 27 Hilarious Hidden Jokes That Prove “The Good Place” Is The Most Detailed Show On Television
3. Sexuality
It amazes me how television is incorporating more and more non-traditional sexuality into their shows, “The Good Place” included. This character’s (not going to be revealed in this article for semi-spoilery reasons) bisexuality plotline was cleverly executed throughout the show. It was established in a way that is very natural, something society should strive for. The character’s bisexuality was hinted in subtle ways throughout the show, in ways that I am sure are very relatable to some people. It wasn’t a big deal, there was no coming out. Nothing. Which is the way it should be. Our society is so used to heterosexuality being the default, anything other than that is automatically considered “abnormal” and there has to be this whole coming out extravaganza. The show successfully portrayed how totally normal and acceptable it is to be bisexual.
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4. Genius plot twists
Watched the first few episodes and think you know where the show is going? Well, you might want to think again. Every time you think you have it figured out, the show proves you wrong. There is so much to explore in this fictional universe, you never know which direction they’re going to head towards. This show never fails to surprise me and leaves me wanting more after every episode.
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5. One of the most detailed shows
While only being a half-hour show, the effort the creators put into the show is beyond impressive.
There are so many random details that are incredibly well crafted, they will leave you amazed and giggling,“haha, that’s clever.” There are so many hidden foreshadowing moments at the beginning of the show that would definitely leave you in awe when you look back.
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All in all, “The Good Place” is a HILARIOUS and super mind blowing journey that everyone should embark on. The characters are so relatable, it’s almost like they were pulled right out of our minds. (Chidi’s indecisiveness is too relatable). On top of that, a certain character’s fascination with humans is strangely hilarious. It’s forking amazing. *wink*