70 Fun Facts About The Good Place

Who created The Good Place?

NBC ordered 13 episodes on the strength of his pitch alone, before a script existed.

Who plays Eleanor Shellstrop?

She and Ted Danson were the only actors told about the season-one twist when they signed on.

Which US city is Eleanor from?

On Earth she sold a worthless dietary supplement to the sick and elderly.

What is Chidi Anagonye's academic field?

He taught in France and Australia, and his indecision is his defining flaw.

Where is Jason Mendoza from?

He is a devoted Jaguars fan and an amateur DJ.

Under what false identity does Jason first appear in the neighborhood?

His vow of silence conveniently keeps him from being found out.

What is Tahani Al-Jamil known for doing constantly?

Jameela Jamil was a Channel 4 and BBC Radio 1 presenter in Britain before the role.

Who plays Michael, the neighborhood's architect?

He earned three Emmy nominations for the role.

What is Janet?

D'Arcy Carden also plays Bad Janet, Neutral Janet and Disco Janet across the series.

What was the big twist at the end of season one?

Michael chose the four humans specifically because they would torture each other.

Which two actors were told about the season-one twist when they signed on?

Schur said it would have been 'uncool' to tell Danson he was an angel and then reveal he was a devil.

What is the title of the season-one finale that delivers the twist?

Schur wrote and directed it himself, and Danson's sinister laugh was improvised.

What does the note that Janet hands over after the first memory wipe say?

The writers considered a Memento-style message written on her body before settling on the note.

The season-one twist echoes which Jean-Paul Sartre play?

That is the play behind the line 'hell is other people'.

How many episodes did The Good Place run in total?

Four seasons, from September 2016 to January 2020.

How does Eleanor die on Earth?

Michael later saves her from that accident when the humans are sent back to Earth.

How did Tahani die?

Michael reveals it to prove she belongs in the Bad Place too.

What is the name of Tahani's more successful younger sister?

Their verbally abusive parents Waqas and Manisha are the root of the rivalry.

In how many reboots had Eleanor figured out the truth by the episode 'Dance Dance Resolution'?

Michael later reminds her she outsmarted him about 800 times.

Who plays Shawn, Michael's demon boss?

He fronts the web spin-off The Selection, in which the demons choose the experiment's four humans.

Which actor plays the sleazy Bad Place demon Trevor?

He returns in season three posing as an overenthusiastic member of Chidi's study.

Who plays Gen, the Judge?

She was Emmy-nominated three times as guest actress for the part.

Mindy St. Claire lives in what compromise afterlife?

Everything there is mediocre and stuck in the 1980s.

Derek, the malfunctioning rebound boyfriend Janet builds, is played by whom?

He is rebooted an extreme number of times and grows slightly more competent each time.

Who plays Simone, the Australian neuroscientist who dates Chidi?

In the final experiment she assumes the whole neighborhood is a dying-brain hallucination.

Doug Forcett, whose portrait hangs in Michael's office, guessed how the afterlife works while doing what?

Michael McKean plays the older Doug, who lives miserably in Alberta trying to hoard points.

Which Canadian province is Doug Forcett found in?

He will do anything to please any creature but nothing for himself, terrified of losing points.

According to head accountant Neil, how long had it been since anyone got into the Good Place?

Stephen Merchant plays Neil; the humans' escape lands them in the Good Place mailroom.

In the season-three mid-season finale, what happens to the four humans inside the void?

D'Arcy Carden played all four; the episode won a Hugo Award.

What does IHOP stand for in the show?

It is where the group meets the Judge after leaving the Good Place mailroom.

Chidi's season-three breakdown involves cooking what into a pot of chili?

He spent $880 on them and lectured his class on virtue ethics, consequentialism, deontology and nihilism.

To which landmark does Tahani anonymously give $2 million in 'Jeremy Bearimy'?

The season is set largely in Australia after Michael saves the humans' lives.

Why does Tahani marry Jason on Earth in season three?

Larry Hemsworth, her ex-fiance, arrives just as it is done.

Tahani's Australian boyfriend Larry in season three belongs to which famous family?

He is described as an accomplished but insecure Hemsworth brother.

How long, in nonlinear afterlife time, did the group's Bad Place experience last?

Explaining it dooms the humans, since they can no longer earn points on Earth.

What is Jason's best friend and partner in crime called?

Jason persuades him to give up crime and focus on his elder-care job.

What is Jason's father called?

He treats Jason as a homie rather than a son, and their relationship is not revealed until season three.

Eleanor's mother Donna faked her death and reinvented herself as a PTA mom in which state?

She goes by 'Diana Tremaine' and had been dodging a drunken charity-auction bid.

What kind of animal is Jeff the Doorman obsessed with?

Mike O'Malley plays the gatekeeper between the afterlife and Earth.

Which philosopher's book does Schur say 'forms the spine of the entire show'?

Its contractualism holds that acting morally means following principles no one could reasonably reject.

Chidi's unreadable 4,000-page treatise was inspired by which real book?

Schur admitted he could not finish reading it.

Which two philosophy professors served as consultants and cameoed in the finale?

Hieronymi teaches at UCLA and May at Clemson.

Which TV drama did Schur model the show's cliffhanger structure on?

He took Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof to lunch to play 'is this anything?'

The neighborhood exteriors were shot at which California location?

Schur said the setting already felt like a pastiche of different cultures.

D'Arcy Carden's casting was announced with a hoax character description. What was it?

Writer Megan Amram later admitted 'Janet Della-Denunzio' was invented to hide the premise.

Chidi's character was originally announced under what name?

Jameela Jamil's character was likewise first announced as Tessa.

How many Hugo Awards did the show win for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form?

The winning episodes were 'The Trolley Problem', 'Janet(s)', 'The Answer' and 'Whenever You're Ready'.

How many Primetime Emmy nominations did The Good Place receive in total?

It was nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series for its last two seasons but never won.

Which prestigious broadcasting honour did the show receive in 2019?

The AFI had already named it one of the top ten programs of 2017.

What is the title of the six-part web spin-off released before season four?

It follows Shawn and his underlings choosing the four humans for Michael's new neighborhood.

Which Ancient Greek philosopher does Chidi meet in the real Good Place?

Lisa Kudrow plays her, and she reveals that eternal perfection has turned everyone's brains to mush.

What solution does Eleanor propose for the boredom of the real Good Place?

Knowing eternity can end makes residents appreciate it again.

In the finale, Jason realizes he is ready to leave after doing what?

He then waits eons in the woods for Janet, living almost like a monk.

What does Tahani choose to do rather than walk through the final door?

It was unprecedented for a human, so Michael arranges for her to work her way up.

What surname does the architect take when he finally becomes a human on Earth?

The Judge grants Eleanor's request to make him mortal after the door will not work on an immortal.

What does Chidi's note to himself say when he finally opens it in season four?

He had entrusted the note to Janet before his memory was wiped for the experiment.

Which actor makes a cameo helping present the new afterlife plan in 'You've Changed, Man'?

Shawn only accepts because torturing humans has become mundane and the fight has been fun.

Where does Eleanor take Chidi in the finale to try to keep him from leaving?

She recalls What We Owe to Each Other and realizes she is making selfish rules to keep him.

Who directed the pilot episode 'Everything Is Fine'?

He also created Daredevil for Netflix and wrote The Martian screenplay.

The show's creator previously played which character on The Office?

He co-created Parks and Recreation and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

Michael's actor first became a star playing which sitcom bartender?

Cheers won him two Emmys; TV Guide called him arguably the greatest sitcom actor of all time.

Manny Jacinto later played the mysterious Qimir in which Star Wars series?

He was born in Manila and raised in British Columbia, and also had a role in Top Gun: Maverick.

William Jackson Harper says he was considering doing what before landing the role of Chidi?

He was later Emmy-nominated for the role and wrote the play Travisville.

Before acting, D'Arcy Carden trained at which improv theatre?

She has also played Natalie on Barry and Greta in A League of Their Own.

On what basis did NBC order the then-untitled show for 13 episodes in August 2015?

The afterlife premise was kept quiet until NBC unveiled its 2016-17 season the following May.

Under what placeholder name was Jameela Jamil's character announced when she was cast?

The character became Tahani; William Jackson Harper's Chidi was likewise first announced as Chris.

Which 1960s surreal series have critics compared The Good Place to for its rule-bound setting?

Patrick McGoohan's show trapped its hero in an idyllic, inescapable Village much as Eleanor is trapped in Michael's neighborhood.

On what date did The Good Place air its series finale?

The decision to end with season four had been announced in June 2019, giving the writers a planned farewell.

How many Emmy guest-actress nominations did Maya Rudolph earn for playing the Judge?

Harper, Jamil, Carden and Adam Scott also picked up award nominations for their work on the series.

The web series The Selection is set during an ellipsis in which episode?

Directed by Eric Kissack, the six shorts follow Shawn and his demons choosing the four humans for Michael's new neighborhood late in season 3.