The Good Place, Says Goodbye at Comic-Con 2019

It was an emotional outing for the cast of “The Good Place” at San Diego Comic-Con this past weekend. The NBC show stars Kristin Bell, Ted Danson, Jameela Jamil, D’Arcy Carden, and William Jackson Harper. The news of the shows fourth and final season came last month from creator/executive producer Michael Schur who said “ Four seasons just feels right; we don’t want to tread water because the water is so warm and pleasant. "As such, the upcoming fourth season will be our last, he stated. This came as a bit of a shock to its adoring fans, not to mention the cast, who are just not ready for it to end.

Kristin Bell said in an interview that “It’s the best/worst feeling to have because we all have a really fun time together and I'm going to miss working with these people so much, but I feel so grateful to have been apart of this show, and not because it was just a fun party for me, because it was! I was able to meet some of my dearest friends now, but also because it gave people a roadmap on how to be a good person. And I hope that when people go back and watch this show or watch it for the first time, they say to themselves, Oh my god, look at all of these cool lessons about how we’re all supposed to share earth, because being human is hard, right? And were talking about really hard stuff and I just feel really grateful to be apart of it.”

When we caught up with Schur and a few other cast members, gratitude was the common theme amongst them all.

What are you going to miss most about working on this show?

Schur: Oh man, I get regular calls from Ted Danson, that’s pretty cool! The cast in general. I've known Kristin for a long time, but I met everyone else from doing the show. I feel very strongly that they are wonderful people and they are all really my friends. A lot of the writers on the show I have worked with before, but this is the first time I have ever worked with any of the cast before, besides Kristin, we worked on “Parks and Recreation” together. But I am going to miss them a tremendous amount. To be able to write dialogue for people and imagine exactly how good you think it’s going to be and then they do it and it’s even better than you thought it was going to be, is a rare and special thing.

So, this is a show that re-events itself just about every episode, and even though we are going into an endgame this season, do you think that's going to continue?

Schur: Well, the seasons are usually broken into 3 pieces. And I would say at least the first part of this season will continue that trend. But there does come a point where there are "no more surprises." There is sort of a final, this is how everybody ends up, phase, and then from that point on there are no more twists and turns.

How excited were you to find out that “The Good Place” was nominated for best comedy at the Emmys?

Schur: I was very happy! I was very happy for Ted, I was morally and righteously outraged on behalf of Kristin and D’Arcy, as well as everybody else in the cast. But the show getting nominated is nice because everybody gets to share it, like the mood is very happy, and there is a lot of celebrating and people bringing doughnuts to set. So, it’s nice that there’s something like that that everybody feels like they have a piece of, so that was great.

Next-up we were able to chat with the wonderful Jameela Jamil, who said “she was sad as f---’ that “The Good Place” is ending.

So, season 4, how are you feeling?

Jameela: Sad! Sad as f--k! But really, really proud! I think this was the right way to end it, right time to end it, and we are serving our fans well, I think. And the guest stars are SOOO cool! Jameela gushed. This season is perfect. I am the luckiest person in the world, I can’t believe this was my first acting job, after this I’m basically going to have to retire.

Now you’ve hinted that you don’t have anything else lined-up after this, but you must have something.

Jameela: Well, I have so many non-acting things lined-up. Like, I've launched a movement called “I weigh” and I’m turning it into a company for young women to make sure they feel recognized, I also have a book coming out, and I also have a game show, a very disgusting comedy game show coming out with the impractical jokers. And I'm looking at scripts but how do I match this? How do you go anywhere further from this, I feel like I've peaked, and too soon! So seriously guys, where do I go from here?

I’ll tell you where you go, to steal something from the set, what's that one thing going to be?

Jameela: Ted Danson, can I have Ted Danson?

I think anybody who has ever watched this show has laughed and cried a number of times. Were there any scenes over the last few seasons that were particularly emotional for you?

Jameela: Yes, when I had to reconcile with my sister that was really emotional, and she’s an incredible actress, Rebecca, and it felt like I was telling a lot of people’s stories, in that moment. A lot of people resonate with that, I resonate with that and it is unbelievable the impact your parents can have on the rest of your life, far beyond childhood and you know, we spend our lives undoing that or absorbing it, depending on if you had good parents or bad parents growing up.

How are you preparing for the final table read?

Jameela: Oh no, I can’t. I don’t know how stoned I might have to be to get through it! This show means the world to us; we are a real team and a real family. It hasn’t really sunk in that this is it. I still feel like I'm going to be seeing them all next summer, but I won't and its very weird.

Can you tease anything about the final season or final episode?

Jameela: No, I can’t. I can tell you that the guest stars are amazing, the show is really cool, and because we have known about it since last October, we have been working on it for a very long time, so I think everyone will get the ending they want.

After Jameela, we briefly got to speak with Ted Danson and D’Arcy Carden who was very excited about her bright yellow high-heels. She said, “Did you guys see my heels?” as she sat down with Ted Danson following behind her.

So, as an old school actor, what is it like to be here at Comic-Con?

Ted: Well, at first, I wanted to dismiss it, it’s not something that I really wanted to do. But then we all came together, and you are meeting 1800 fans in a room that have watched the show, loved it, and are there to tell the cast, writers, and the rest of the crew how much they appreciate it. It's a very moving thing and a real treat.

D’Arcy: Yes, it really is.

Were there any scenes over the last few seasons that were particularly emotional for you both?

D’Arcy: Absolutely, most of them were with this guy (she points to Danson). The writing is so good on the show, sometimes you don’t even mean to be emotional and as you say the words it just happens. I can think of three different scenes where, the point was not to produce tears, at all; in fact, Janet probably shouldn’t but once I started saying the words the tears would just come out. What if I started crying right now? Carden jokes.

As for Danson, it was the episode where Janet (D’Arcys character) and Michael (Teds character) declare their friendship.

Ted: That was very sweet.

It’s your final season, what have you done on the show that you are most proud of?

Ted: Not mess up the show! Danson, chuckles. Mikes writing is so good that every morning you are really hoping you can live up to the words.

D’Arcy: That is truly it, we are delivered these scripts and in our opinion and then you get on set, and the hope is that you make them proud.

Ted: And everyone is bringing their A-game so you always want to make sure you rise to that level.

Danson, said at the end of their final panel on Saturday that “We are all so honored to be part of this show that Mike created. We’re so honored that it fills a room for people who love it as well … We are so blessed and we thank you so much.”

The end of “The Good Place” is rapidly approaching...and although it is sad; it’s also a good thing because the show did not get cut or cancelled. Instead, it is ending because the creators think it is the right time. Not many television shows anymore are able to end on a good note because of that reason. At the panel on Saturday, the audience was told by Michael Schur that “The finale script is complete, and we read it on Monday”. Schur and the rest of the cast received a standing ovation at the end of their last panel.

Season four of “The Good Place is set to premiere September 26, 2019 on NBC. Make sure to tune in and watch!