Posted in: NBC, Preview, Trailer, TV | Tagged: cable, chidi, comedy, eleanor, janet, jason, Michael, nbc, Paley Center, season 4, sitcom, streaming, tahani, television, the good place, tv

"The Good Place" Season 4: NBC, Paley Center Set Series Special for September

Can't wait for the fourth and final season of NBC's The Good Place? Neither can the cast and creative team, apparently!

NBC and the Paley Center have blessed The Good Place fans with news that a week before the season premier (that's Thursday, Sept 26, for those of you who aren't counting down), an hour-long behind the scenes special will air to honor the departing series. In this special, we're told we get interviews with the cast and creators as well as additional behind the scenes clips. Maybe even some deleted scenes? One can only hope…

Of course, the special will feature perspectives from Michael (Ted Danson), Eleanor (Kristen Bell), Chidi (William Jackson Harper), Tahani (Jameela Jamil), Jason (Manny Jacinto), and Janet (D'Arcy Carden).

We're expecting some other cast members to crop up during the special, and we do know that series creator and showrunner Michael Schur will be part of the interview crew.

NBC and the Paley Center's The Good Place special airs Thursday, September 19, at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

Here's a look at what Schur had to say about the show's departure, as well as how the decision to end the series came about:

"After 'The Good Place' was picked up for season two, the writing staff and I began to map out, as best we could, the trajectory of the show. Given the ideas we wanted to explore, and the pace at which we wanted to present those ideas, I began to feel like four seasons – just over 50 episodes – was the right lifespan. At times over the past few years we've been tempted to go beyond four seasons, but mostly because making this show is a rare, creatively fulfilling joy, and at the end of the day, we don't want to tread water just because the water is so warm and pleasant. As such, the upcoming fourth season will be our last.

"I will be forever grateful to NBC and Universal TV for letting us make 'The Good Place,' and for letting us end it on our own schedule. I will also be forever grateful to the creative team, both on-screen and off, for their hard work and dedication to a very weird idea. We ask the question very frequently, on this show, what do we owe to each other? The answer, for me, is: I owe all of you a whole lot.

We look forward to a great final season airing this fall."

For the 2018-19 season, The Good Place averaged a 1.6 rating in adults 18-49 and 4.6 million viewers overall in "Live+7" Nielsens, and more than doubled to a 3.3 rating in 18-49 after 35 days of linear and projected non-linear viewership. Since its launch in 2016, the series has won the AFI Award for Program of the Year, TCA Award for Program of the Year, a Humanitas Award and a Peabody Award. In addition, the series has been nominated for a Golden Globe Award, Writers Guild Award, Producers Guild Award and Critics' Choice Award.

From creator Michael Schur ("Brooklyn Nine-Nine," "Parks and Recreation" and "Master of None") comes a unique comedy about what makes a good person. The show follows Eleanor Shellstrop (Kristen Bell, "House of Lies," "Veronica Mars"), an ordinary woman who enters the afterlife, and thanks to some kind of error, is sent to the Good Place instead of the Bad Place (which is definitely where she belongs). While hiding in plain sight from Good Place Architect Michael (Ted Danson – "Cheers," "CSI" – in an Emmy Award-nominated performance), she's determined to shed her old way of living and earn her spot.

The first two seasons featured surprise after surprise and twist after twist, including a world-upending season one finale that threw everything up in the air. At the end of season two, Michael appeared in front of the Judge (Maya Rudolph, also Emmy nominated) to argue that the humans may have been judged unfairly, and deserve a second chance. With a snap of her fingers, the Judge sent the humans back to Earth, in a new timeline where they never died.

Also seeking redemption, along with Eleanor, are Senegalese philosopher Chidi Anagonye (William Jackson Harper, "Paterson"), who is tortured by decision-making; elegant Pakistani-British socialite Tahani Al-Jamil (Jameela Jamil, "Playing It Straight") and dance-obsessed Floridian Jason Mendoza (Manny Jacinto, "The Romeo Section"). Michael is aided by Janet (D'Arcy Carden, "Broad City"), a human-esque repository for all of the knowledge in the universe.

Along with executive producing, Schur also serves as writer and showrunner. David Miner (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, 30 Rock), Morgan Sackett (Parks and Recreation, Veep) and Drew Goddard (The Martian) also executive produce. Universal Television, Fremulon, and 3 Arts Entertainment produce.

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