The cast and producers of NBC’s newest comedy, The Good Place took the stage at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con for the first time on Thursday (July 21), where the shed some light as to what we can expect from the brand new series.
Set to premiere in the fall, The Good Place stars Kristen Bell as the seemingly ordinary Eleanor Shellstrop. It isn’t until Eleanor enters an afterlife intended for good people however, that she realizes she may not have been the best person while she was alive. Together with the help of her soul mate/afterlife mentor (William Jackson Harper), she sets off on a quest to get in touch with the decent person she knows resides within herself.
Joining Kristen Bell and Ted Danson at the panel were creator Michael Schur (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Parks & Rec) and producer Drew Goddard (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Cabin in the Woods).
Check out some of the most interesting tidbits from The Good Place panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2016:
1. Expect every episode to end on a ‘huge, twisty cliffhanger.’
Those in attendance at The Good Place panel at SDCC were treated to a screening of the hilarious pilot. If the reaction in the room is anything to go by, it seems as though the most disappointing part of the the screening was the fact that there wasn’t more. Thanks to a strategically placed cliffhanger, everyone was left wondering about what’s set to come next.
According to creator Michael Schur, leaving each episode on a cliffhanger is part of the serialized design they always envisioned for the series.
“Part of the deal with the show is it’s extremely serialized.The second episode literally picks up at the end of the pilot,” explained Schur. “It’s part of the idea of the show…every episode has a huge twisty cliffhanger thing at the end.”
As you might expect, ending each episode in such a way requires careful planning, but it’s definitely worth it as far as the show runners are concerned.
2. Kristen Bell played a huge part in why Ted Danson deiced to sign on.
Danson may be impressed by creator Michale Schur’s resume, but it was in fact Kristen Bell’s involvement in The Good Place that drew Danson to say yes to the part.
According to Danson, he had heard that Bell was about to sign on and that was motivation enough for him to say yes to the part.
“Literally, it was that,” said Danson. “There was no script— none of us saw a script.”
Later Danson continued by saying that his philosophy for deciding on upcoming projects comes down to this: “You gotta find the most creative people in the room and ask them very nicely if you can be part of it,” said Danson.
3. Director Drew Goddard made sure to ‘keep everyone in line’ during filming.
If you ask Goddard, directing both Danson and Bell was as easy as pointing the camera at the duo and letting them run with the script.
Bell, on the other hand revealed that Goddard was pivotal in making sure that she stayed “on track” in terms of her character during filming.
“It’s a very fine line that I have to ride to stay likable when I’m the unlikable protagonist,” explained Bell. “To find the moments that were meant to be funny, and also to find the moments that were meant to be sincere…[Goddard] helped me ride that fine line gracefully.”
4. Look out for some fun guest stars as the series progresses!
The Good Place may have put together a fun cast, but there’s still room for others to join in on the fun!
According to Schur, as the series progresses, we’ll see a few guest stars join in on the afterlife fun. Unfortunately, the show runners are keeping tight lipped about who may show up in the Good Place!
“Part of the fun of the show is the exciting twists and turns,” explained Schur. “There will be guest stars later, but trying to explain how they get [to The Good Place] and who they are [would be hard.”
The Good Place premieres Monday, September 19 at 10 p.m.
Check out the official trailer for the series below:
