The Best Show on Television for 2017: The Good Place

The Good Place

The Fall Season for 2016 gave us The Good Place, which almost got a pass by me because I was only barely a fan of the two main stars, Ted Danson and Kristen Bell.  Then I saw a trailer which described the show as a comedy about a young woman who finds herself in Heaven, or The Good Place, after her death, even though it comes as a surprise to her.  There aren't that many shows out that focus on the Afterlife, so I thought I would give it a shot.

Oh. My. God.  Within the first episode, I was hooked, and I stayed hooked to the show throughout the first season's run of 13 episodes.  Even though the two main characters, Kristen Bell as the woman who faces the dilemma of having to find a way to stay in The Good Place when all she's ever known is how to be an awful person, and Ted Dansen as the Architect, Michael, who created the portion of The Good Place where Kristen Bell is, I soon fell for a few of the other characters, like Jianyu (Manny Jacinto), a buddhist monk, and Janet (D'arcy Carden), another resident in The Good Place who is by far nothing like any other person in The Good Place.

Each episode revealed more about the characters and the many crazy things that happened to them, especially as their neighborhood begins to break down because as Michael discovers, there's someone who doesn't belong in The Good Place. The further season one went along, the more down the rabbit hole the characters and the viewers found themselves.  However, no one could have predicted how the first season would end.  It was mind-blowing.  That's all I can say.

I waited on pins and needles for the second season to arrive.  I was excited to see what the twist at the end of season one would do to the show, but I have to admit that I was nervous because what was about to happen. I was afraid that after the twist was revealed, would this be the best the show had to offer? Was it all downhill from there?

I needn't have worried because season two has been just as good as the first season, and I have found myself especially falling in love with the character of Janet.  I'm ashamed that I didn't know this actor before, but I'm certainly a fan now. I will follow her to whatever show she shows up on from now on.

I'm happy to see that many people are starting to talk about how good this show is.  If this show stays on for ten seasons or more, hey, I'm happy with that.