Advertisement
Advertisement

‘The Good Place’ cast and crew on saying goodbye after season four

Show-runner Michael Shur and star Kristen Bell praise the show’s ending as an appropriate conclusion

Share

This fall, NBC’s critically acclaimed comedy “The Good Place” will begin its final chapter, ending a four-year run that brought plenty of laughs, ethical debates and constant surprises.

But before the cast and show-runners take a final bow, they joined attendees and press at Comic-Con to discuss the final season, love and bidding a bittersweet farewell to our favorite residents of the afterlife.

“The Good Place” — created by Michael Shur, one of the co-creators of “Parks and Recreation” — is a difficult show to explain without any spoilers. But most simply it follows the story of Eleanor Shellstrop, a woman who wakes up in the afterlife and finds out surprisingly that she made it into the Good Place. Once there, she decides it’s never too late to become a better person and tries to change her ways with the help of some new friends.

The show has come a long way since the beginning, bringing huge surprises and plenty of laughs delivered by an all-star cast: Kristen Bell, Ted Danson, William Jackson Harper, D’Arcy Carden, Jameela Jamil, Manny Jacinto and Marc Evan Jackson.

After their Comic-Con panel, Shur and members of the cast spoke with the Union-Tribune and other media outlets about concluding “The Good Place” story.

Shur, the showrunner, said season four seemed like appropriate time to end the show and end it well. Since the end of season one, he was always thinking 50 episodes was probably an appropriate run for the show.

“This feels right, sadly,” Shur said. “There were various times when I was like hold up, maybe five … but consistently, as we laid the show out with the writing staff, four was the number we kept coming back to.”

Bell, who stars as Eleanor, said concluding the show was bittersweet and the “best, worst feeling” to have because she loves her cast and crew, but is so proud of the legacy the show leaves behind.

“I feel so grateful to have been a part of something that wasn’t just a fun party for me … but was also a roadmap for how to be a good person,” said Bell. “I hope when people re-watch this show, or watch it for the first time they’ll go, ‘Look at all these cool lessons about how I’m supposed to share Earth.’”

The final season of the “Good Place” premieres on NBC on Sept. 26.

Advertisement