‘The Good Place’ to End With Season 4, According to Creator

NBC has given The Good Place creator Michael Schur free rein on the show, so it seems only fair he should be able to end the critically acclaimed show on his own terms. Schur announced Friday night the series will end with four seasons.

“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,” Schur explained during a panel at the Television Academy in North Hollywood, according to a statement released by NBC. “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.”

Schur said they had been “tempted” to take the show beyond four seasons, but ultimately decided against it.

“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,” he explained.

Schur went on to thank the executives at NBC and series studio Universal Television for their support, even though the show was never a big hit in the ratings.

“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,” Schur, who also co-created Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Parks and Recreation, continued. “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.”

The Good Place started with Eleanor Shellstrop (Kristen Bell) finding out she was dead and went to the “Good Place.” Over time though, she discovered the truth of her situation and the show evolved from there. Each season, the show seemed to reinvent itself as the story continued taking surprising turns. Unlike other network sitcoms, The Good Place is highly serialized, making it a little difficult to jump in at any random point during the show’s run.

The series also stars Ted Danson as the demon Michael, William Jackson Harper as Chidi, Jameela Jamil as Tahani, Manny Jacinto as Jason Mendoza and D’Arcy Carden as the artificial intelligence Janet.

The series was nominated for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy at the 2019 Golden Globes. Danson was also nominated for a Golden Globe and Emmy, while Maya Rudolph was nominated for an Emmy for her guest role as Judge Gen.

The Good Place‘s fourth and final season will debut this fall. The first three seasons are available on Netflix.

Photo credit: NBC