Since you’re doubtless psyched to watch the final season of The Good Place – if you’re not, you’d better have a good explanation – NBC has a cool little teaser to whet your appetite further.
The network has posted a six-episode digital series, available now through the NBC app, that further sets up the premise for the actual season that launches Sept. 26.
The digital series is called The Good Place: The Selection and each episode runs between two and about two and a half minutes. It’s a lot of fun for a small commitment of time.
As fans will remember, last season ended with Michael (Ted Danson) cutting a Hail Mary deal to try saving his four seemingly doomed humans: Eleanor (Kristen Bell), Chidi (William Jackson Harper), Tahani (Jameela Jamil) and Jason (Manny Jacinto).
All four, upon their deaths, had been seemingly sent to The Good Place, when all indications pointed to their deserving The Bad Place. Only it turned out that after a complicated series of maneuvers on many sides, they were ticketed for The Bad Place after all.
Michael, their tormentor turned mentor, and now apparent protector, tried to convince the ruling powers that their behavior since their deaths had shown that humans can change and become good. Or at least better.
This assertion triggered widespread ridicule, not least because it could upset the whole afterlife system.
Nonetheless, Michael has won a one-year trial during which The Good Place Four must demonstrate that they can indeed change for the better, and thus earn their ticket to The Good Place for good.
Got all that?
We know this challenge will be challenging, and we know the main character who wants to ensure they do not succeed: Shawn (Marc Evan Jackson), leader of a literal band of demons.
The Selection has Shawn meeting with his team to find four deceased humans who had the same level of badness in their on-Earth lives as the original four. The goal is for the new recruits to enter the lives of Eleanor, Chidi, Tahani, and Jason and ensure they fail, by any necessary means of sabotage and subversion.
The six episodes revolve around this meeting.
Some of the fun comes from Shawn’s team bringing candidates and explaining why they were awful in life. Spoiler alert: Trust fund babies and boy band managers do not fare well.
Other fun comes from general banter about how inherently rotten human beings tend to be, and the bonus comes when the team decides to order dinner.
Not to spoil anything, but let’s say demons don’t order from the same takeout joints as living people.
It’s all great fun and naturally full of pop culture and sociology one-liners.
The Selection should get fans warmed up for the last lap of this race to eternity.