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The Good Place season 4

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The Good Place
Season 4
Promotional poster
Starring
No. of episodes14[1]
Release
Original networkNBC
Original releaseSeptember 26, 2019 (2019-09-26) –
January 30, 2020 (2020-01-30)
Season chronology
← Previous
Season 3
List of episodes

The fourth and final season of the fantasy comedy television series The Good Place, created by Michael Schur, was ordered by NBC on December 4, 2018.[2] The season premiered on September 26, 2019, and consisted of 14 episodes. The season is produced by Fremulon, 3 Arts Entertainment, and Universal Television.

The series focuses on Eleanor Shellstrop (Kristen Bell), a deceased young woman who wakes up in the afterlife and is welcomed by Michael (Ted Danson) to "the Good Place" in reward for her righteous life; however, she eventually discovers that Michael's "Good Place" is a hoax, and she is actually in the "Bad Place", to be psychologically and emotionally tortured by her fellow afterlife residents. Eleanor and Michael claim that "the points system" for assigning humans to the Good Place or Bad Place is fundamentally flawed; in the real world, assigning a certain action as categorically Good or Bad is practically impossible due to unintended consequences. In the fourth season, they are given a chance to prove their hypothesis. They design an experiment meant to demonstrate that humans in a simulated Good Place can show moral development. One of the experiment subjects is Eleanor's boyfriend, Chidi (William Jackson Harper), who has volunteered to have his memory erased to preserve the integrity of the experiment. Jameela Jamil, Manny Jacinto, and D'Arcy Carden also star as Eleanor and Michael's friends and collaborators in the experiment. Each of the episodes is listed as "Chapter (xx)" following the opening title card; the final episode is listed as "The Final Chapter".

Cast

Main

Kristen Bell portrays series protagonist Eleanor Shellstrop and directed episode eight.
  • Kristen Bell as Eleanor Shellstrop, a deceased, selfish saleswoman from Phoenix, Arizona. She pretends to be the architect of the Good Place after Michael becomes overwhelmed and has a panic attack.[3][4]
  • William Jackson Harper as Chidi Anagonye, a deceased professor of ethics and moral philosophy from Senegal. After having his memories of the afterlife erased, Chidi serves as one of the human participants in the team's experiment.[5]
  • Jameela Jamil as Tahani Al-Jamil, a deceased, wealthy English philanthropist who believes she belongs in the Good Place. She forms an unlikely friendship with Eleanor, who initially dislikes her positive attitude, condescending way of speaking, and tendency to name drop.[6]
  • D'Arcy Carden as Janet, a programmed guide and knowledge bank who acts as the Good Place's main source of information and can provide its residents with whatever they desire. Later, Janet gains a more humanlike disposition, and begins to act differently from the way she was designed. Carden also plays various versions of Janet:
    • Bad Janet, a disrespectful version designed not to respond to residents properly. She pretended to be Good Janet after the real Good Janet was kidnapped until Jason saw through the deception. She is released by Michael and is given a manifesto about the experiment.[7]
    • Neutral Janet, an emotionless Janet who works in the neutral zone between the Good Place and the Bad Place.
    • Disco Janet. According to Michael, she was "fun, but a lot".
  • Manny Jacinto as Jason Mendoza, a deceased amateur DJ and drug dealer from Jacksonville, Florida who winds up in the Good Place by mistake. He is introduced as Jianyu Li, a Taiwanese monk who took a vow of silence. Later, Jason proves to be an immature and unintelligent, but kindhearted Jacksonville Jaguars and Blake Bortles fan.[8]
  • Ted Danson as Michael, an architect who runs the Good Place neighborhood in which Eleanor, Chidi, Tahani, and Jason reside. Michael has a deep affinity for the mundane aspects of human life, like playing with paper clips or searching for one's car keys. "Michael" is a Hebrew name meaning "who is like God?"[9]

Recurring

  • Marc Evan Jackson as Shawn, Michael's wicked boss. Shawn gives Michael two chances to pull off the torture experiment, and later turns against him when he finds out about Michael's betrayal.[10]
  • Maya Rudolph as the eternal Judge who rules on interdimensional matters between the Good Place and the Bad Place.
  • Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Simone Garnett, an Australian neuroscientist and, briefly, Chidi's girlfriend. She dies and becomes the experimental Good Place's second test subject, complicating the test and causing the erasure of Chidi's memories. When she arrives, she is in complete denial of her surroundings, believing them to be hallucinations of her dying brain.
  • Tiya Sircar as Vicky, a Bad Place demon who is introduced as the "real Eleanor Shellstrop" in the first attempt of Michael's torture plan. Though Shawn subsequently encased her in a cocoon as a punishment, she was shown at the end of season 3 and beginning of season 4 to be wearing a body suit which made her identical in appearance to Michael. Shawn created the suit to enable the demons to torment the four humans upon the seemingly inevitable failure of the new experiment. She is later exploded into goo while posing as Michael during a ceremony to celebrate the skinsuits, but is brought back to redeem herself for a new experiment. Vicky later becomes in charge of the rehabilitation Bad Place.
  • Maribeth Monroe as Mindy St. Claire, a deceased corporate lawyer and cocaine addict who just barely toed the line of earning enough Good Place points before her death and thus was awarded her own private Medium Place. When Derek was sent to her during season 3, she rebooted him repeatedly, which made him smarter, more sophisticated and refined.
  • Jason Mantzoukas as Derek, a wacky artificial rebound boyfriend created by Janet who was later sent to Mindy St. Claire. Through subsequent and repeated reboots, he is shown to be evolved in his capacities, intelligence, and refinement.
  • Luke Guldan as Chris, a muscular Bad Place demon who is sent by Shawn to thwart Michael's experiment by posing as Linda Johansen (Rachel Winfree), a sweet, but boring, old lady from Norway.
  • Brandon Scott Jones as John Wheaton, the first test subject sent to the experimental Good Place. In life, he was a gossip columnist, and especially published trashy articles about Tahani.
  • Benjamin Koldyke as Brent Norwalk, the fourth test subject sent to the experimental Good Place, a privileged and entitled chauvinist.
  • Jama Williamson as Val, Shawn's secretary.
  • Bambadjan Bamba as Bambadjan, an underling for the Bad Place.
  • Josh Siegal as Glenn, an underling for the Bad Place, who later became a traitor after realizing how good humans are. He is exploded into goo by Bad Janet (who was posing as Good Janet).
  • Brad Morris as Matt, a suicidal accountant who works in a neutral office between the Good Place and the Bad Place. He is assigned as the accountant for Eleanor and Michael's experiment.
  • Joe Mande as the voice of Toddrick Hemple, a lava monster who refuses to wear a human suit.
  • Paul Scheer as Chuck, a member of the Good Place committee.

Guest

  • Timothy Olyphant as himself, dressed as his Justified character Raylan Givens, who is conjured up by Janet for the Judge.[11]
  • Lisa Kudrow as Hypatia / "Patty", one of the residents of the Good Place.
  • Nick Offerman as himself, teaching Tahani woodworking.
  • Mary Steenburgen as Michael's guitar teacher. Steenburgen is also the real-life wife of Ted Danson, who plays Michael.
  • Pamela Hieronymi as herself, attending a philosophy class held by Chidi. Hieronymi was also a philosophical advisor to the show.[12]
  • Todd May as himself, attending a philosophy class held by Chidi. May was also a philosophical advisor to the show.[12]
  • Mitch Narito as Donkey Doug, Jason's dopey father.
  • Eugene Cordero as Steven "Pillboi" Peleaz, Jason's best friend and partner in crime.
  • Angela Trimbur as Madison, Eleanor's roommate.
  • Meryl Hathaway as Brittany, Eleanor's roommate.

Episodes

No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateU.S. viewers
(millions)
401"A Girl from Arizona" (Part 1)Drew GoddardAndrew Law & Kassia MillerSeptember 26, 2019 (2019-09-26)2.42[13]
412"A Girl from Arizona" (Part 2)Drew GoddardAndrew Law & Kassia MillerOctober 3, 2019 (2019-10-03)2.11[14]
423"Chillaxing"Anya AdamsAisha MuharrarOctober 10, 2019 (2019-10-10)1.92[15]
434"Tinker, Tailor, Demon, Spy"Morgan SackettCord JeffersonOctober 17, 2019 (2019-10-17)2.02[16]
445"Employee of the Bearimy"Beth McCarthy-MillerJoe MandeOctober 24, 2019 (2019-10-24)1.91[17]
456"A Chip Driver Mystery"Steve DayLizzy PaceOctober 31, 2019 (2019-10-31)2.21[18]
467"Help Is Other People"Beth McCarthy-MillerDave KingNovember 7, 2019 (2019-11-07)1.98[19]
478"The Funeral to End All Funerals"Kristen BellJosh Siegal & Dylan MorganNovember 14, 2019 (2019-11-14)2.06[20]
489"The Answer"Valeria Migliassi CollinsDan SchofieldNovember 21, 2019 (2019-11-21)2.05[21]
4910"You've Changed, Man"Rebecca AsherMatt MurrayJanuary 9, 2020 (2020-01-09)2.08[22]
5011"Mondays, Am I Right?"Rebecca AsherJen StatskyJanuary 16, 2020 (2020-01-16)1.93[23]
5112"Patty"Morgan SackettMegan AmramJanuary 23, 2020 (2020-01-23)2.12[24]
52
53		13
14		"Whenever You're Ready"Michael SchurMichael SchurJanuary 30, 2020 (2020-01-30)2.32[25]

Specials

An hour-long retrospective, The Paley Center Salutes The Good Place, aired on September 19, 2019, featuring interviews with cast members and series creator Michael Schur;[26] the special received 1.25 million viewers.[27] A special featuring the six main cast members and hosted by Seth Meyers followed the 75 minute series finale on January 30, 2020;[28] the special received 1.93 million viewers.[25]

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the fourth season has a rating of 100%, based on 25 reviews, with an average rating of 8.3/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "A wild philosophical ride to the very end, The Good Place brings it home with a forking good final season."[29]

Accolades

See also: List of awards and nominations received by The Good Place

At the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards, the series received six nominations–Outstanding Comedy Series, Ted Danson for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, D'Arcy Carden for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, William Jackson Harper for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, Maya Rudolph for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series, and Michael Schur for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for the series finale "Whenever You're Ready".[30]

"The Answer" won the 2020 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form.[31]

Ratings

Viewership and ratings per episode of The Good Place season 4
No. Title Air date Rating/share
(18–49)		 Viewers
(millions)		 DVR
(18–49)		 DVR viewers
(millions)		 Total
(18–49)		 Total viewers
(millions)
1 "A Girl from Arizona (Part 1)" September 26, 2019 0.7/3 2.42[13] 0.6 1.58 1.3 4.01[32]
2 "A Girl from Arizona (Part 2)" October 3, 2019 0.6/3 2.11[14] 0.6 1.49 1.2 3.60[33]
3 "Chillaxing" October 10, 2019 0.6/3 1.92[15] 0.6 1.43 1.2 3.36[34]
4 "Tinker, Tailor, Demon, Spy" October 17, 2019 0.6/3 2.02[16] 0.7 1.55 1.3 3.57[35]
5 "Employee of the Bearimy" October 24, 2019 0.6/3 1.91[17] 0.6 1.45 1.2 3.37[36]
6 "A Chip Driver Mystery" October 31, 2019 0.6/3 2.21[18] 0.7 1.46 1.3 3.58[37]
7 "Help Is Other People" November 7, 2019 0.6/3 1.98[19] 0.6 1.42 1.2 3.41[38]
8 "The Funeral to End All Funerals" November 14, 2019 0.6/3 2.06[20] 0.6 1.44 1.2 3.51[39]
9 "The Answer" November 21, 2019 0.6/3 2.05[21] 0.6 1.39 1.2 3.44[40]
10 "You've Changed, Man" January 9, 2020 0.6/3 2.08[22] 0.6 1.54 1.3 3.63[41]
11 "Mondays, Am I Right?" January 16, 2020 0.5/3 1.93[23] 0.6 1.45 1.1 3.38[42]
12 "Patty" January 23, 2020 0.6/3 2.12[24] 0.6 1.40 1.2 3.52[43]
13 "Whenever You're Ready" January 30, 2020 0.7/4 2.32[25] 0.6 1.38 1.3 3.71[44]

References

  1. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (June 7, 2019). "'The Good Place' to End With Season 4 on NBC (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 15, 2020. We've gotten to do for 53 episodes — because we're doing 14 episodes this season and doing an hourlong series finale.
  2. ^ Nemetz, Dave (December 4, 2018). "The Good Place Renewed for Season 4". TVLine. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
  3. ^ NBC press release (January 12, 2016). "Ted Danson and Kristen Bell Join Cast of Michael Schur's New NBC Comedy "Good Place"". The Futon Critic. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  4. ^ Pearce, Tilly (September 29, 2018). "The Good Place's Eleanor is 'super bisexual' and a romance with Tahani is not off the table". Metro. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  5. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (February 11, 2016). "'Good Place' NBC Comedy Series Casts William Jackson Harper". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  6. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (February 25, 2016). "'Good Place': British Presenter Jameela Jamil Cast in Mike Schur NBC Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  7. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (March 14, 2016). "'Good Place': UCB Performer D'Arcy Carden Cast in Mike Schur NBC Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  8. ^ Petski, Denise (March 3, 2016). "'Good Place' NBC Comedy Series Casts Manny Jacinto; Julie Goldman Joins ABC's Weeks/Mackay Project". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  9. ^ Marilla Thomas, Leah (September 29, 2016). "The Character Names On 'The Good Place' Could Provide Important Clues". Bustle. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
  10. ^ Rogers, Adam (July 27, 2018). "The Good Place's Podcasters Are Smart Motherforkers". Wired. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  11. ^ Nemetz, Dave (January 9, 2020). "The Good Place Boss Tells All About That Surprise Cameo: 'It's Just So Fun to See That Guy Back Again'". TVLine. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  12. ^ a b VanDerWerff, Emily Todd (January 31, 2020). "The Good Place was groundbreaking TV. Did its finale measure up?". Vox. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
  13. ^ a b Rejent, Joseph (September 27, 2019). "'Young Sheldon' adjusts up, 'A Million Little Things' and 'Evil' adjust down: Thursday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on September 28, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
  14. ^ a b Rejent, Joseph (October 4, 2019). "Thursday Night Football adjusts up, 'A Million Little Things' adjusts down: Thursday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on October 5, 2019. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  15. ^ a b Rejent, Joseph (October 11, 2019). "'Grey's Anatomy' and 'Evil' adjust up: Thursday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on October 11, 2019. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  16. ^ a b Rejent, Joseph (October 18, 2019). "'Young Sheldon' and 'Legacies' adjust up, 'How to Get Away with Murder' adjusts down: Thursday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on October 18, 2019. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
  17. ^ a b Rejent, Joseph (October 25, 2019). "'Law & Order: SVU' adjusts down: Thursday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on October 25, 2019. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  18. ^ a b Rejent, Joseph (November 1, 2019). "NFL adjusts up, 'The Good Place' adjusts down: Thursday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on November 1, 2019. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  19. ^ a b Rejent, Joseph (November 8, 2019). "Chargers vs. Raiders adjusts up: Thursday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on November 8, 2019. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
  20. ^ a b Rejent, Joseph (November 15, 2019). "Thursday Night Football and 'Superstore' adjust up: Thursday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on November 15, 2019. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  21. ^ a b Rejent, Joseph (November 22, 2019). "'Grey's Anatomy,' 'Legacies,' and 'Law & Order: SVU' adjust up: Thursday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on November 22, 2019. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  22. ^ a b Welch, Alex (January 10, 2020). "'Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time,' 'Young Sheldon,' all others hold: Thursday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on January 10, 2020. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  23. ^ a b Welch, Alex (January 17, 2020). "'Evil' adjusts down: Thursday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on January 18, 2020. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
  24. ^ a b Welch, Alex (January 27, 2020). "'A Million Little Things' adjusts down: Thursday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on January 27, 2020. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  25. ^ a b c Welch, Alex (January 31, 2020). "'The Good Place' special adjusts down: Thursday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on January 31, 2020. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  26. ^ Ausiello, Michael (August 22, 2019). "The Good Place: NBC to Kick Off Final Season With Hour-Long Retrospective". TVLine. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
  27. ^ Rejent, Joseph (September 20, 2019). "MLB Baseball, 'The Outpost' adjust down: Thursday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on September 20, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  28. ^ Petski, Denise (November 8, 2019). "'The Good Place' Will Say Goodbye With 90-Minute Series Finale & Post-Show Special Hosted By Seth Meyers". Deadline. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
  29. ^ "The Good Place: Season 4". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
  30. ^ Hipes, Patrick (July 28, 2020). "Emmy Awards Nominations: The Complete List". Deadline. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  31. ^ Muncy, Julie (August 2, 2020). "Here Are the 2020 Hugo Award Winners". io9. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  32. ^ Pucci, Douglas (October 8, 2019). "Live+7 Weekly Ratings: 'Stumptown' Tops Freshman Series Premieres in Overall Raw Gains". Programming Insider. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  33. ^ Pucci, Douglas (October 15, 2019). "Live+7 Weekly Ratings: 'Emergence' Leads Broadcast Network Telecasts in Viewer Percentage Gains". Programming Insider. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
  34. ^ Thorne, Will (October 22, 2019). "Live+7 Ratings for Week of Oct. 7: 'This Is Us' Overtakes 'Masked Singer'". Variety. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  35. ^ Pucci, Douglas (October 30, 2019). "Live+7 Weekly Ratings: 'Nancy Drew' and 'Riverdale' Top Broadcast Network Telecasts in Adults 18-49 Percentage Gains". Programming Insider. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  36. ^ Pucci, Douglas (November 6, 2019). "Live+7 Weekly Ratings: 'Supergirl' Leads Broadcast Network Entries in Adults 18-49 Percentage Lifts". Programming Insider. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  37. ^ Pucci, Douglas (November 13, 2019). "Live+7 Weekly Ratings: 'This Is Us' Tops All in Raw Viewer and Demo Gains". Programming Insider. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  38. ^ Pucci, Douglas (November 19, 2019). "Live+7 Weekly Ratings: 'The Little Mermaid Live!' Ranks in Top Ten of Adults 18-49 Raw Gainers". Programming Insider. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  39. ^ Pucci, Douglas (November 26, 2019). "Live+7 Weekly Ratings: 'CMA Awards' Among Top 25 Broadcast Network Total Viewer Raw Gainers". Programming Insider. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  40. ^ Pucci, Douglas (December 4, 2019). "Live+7 Weekly Ratings: 'How to Get Away with Murder' Fall Finale Tops Broadcast Network Telecasts in Adults 18-49 Percentage Gains". Programming Insider. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  41. ^ Pucci, Douglas (January 22, 2020). "Live+7 Weekly Ratings: 'Chicago PD' Leads in Overall Raw Gains". Programming Insider. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  42. ^ Pucci, Douglas (January 29, 2020). "Live+7 Weekly Ratings: Sixteen Broadcast Network Dramas Lead in Raw Gains Among Total Viewers, Topped by 'The Good Doctor'". Programming Insider. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  43. ^ Pucci, Douglas (February 5, 2020). "Live+7 Weekly Ratings: 'A Million Little Things' Winter Premiere Ranks in Top 5 of Adults 18-49 Raw Gainers". Programming Insider. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  44. ^ Pucci, Douglas (February 11, 2020). "Live+7 Weekly Ratings: 'The Good Place' Series Finale Ranks Third Among Comedies in Raw Adults 18-49 Gains". Programming Insider. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
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