The series premiered on September 19, , and concluded on January 30, , after four seasons consisting of 53 episodes. Although the plot evolves significantly over the course of the series, the initial premise of the series follows Eleanor Shellstrop Kristen Bell , a dead woman who is placed in a Heaven -esque utopian afterlife designed and supervised by afterlife "architect" Michael Ted Danson.
However, Eleanor knows she did not deserve to get into the Good Place, as she had lived a dishonorable life. To avoid being found out and sent to the Bad Place , Eleanor attempts to hide her morally imperfect past behavior while trying to become a more ethical person.
The Good Place received critical acclaim for its originality, writing, acting, setting, and tone. The first season's twist ending and the show's exploration and creative use of ethics and philosophy were specifically praised. The series is centered on an afterlife in which humans are sent to "the Good Place" or "the Bad Place" after death. All humans are assigned a numerical score based on the morality of their conduct in life, and only those with the very highest scores are sent to the Good Place, where they enjoy eternal happiness with their every wish granted, guided by an artificial intelligence named Janet; all others experience an eternity of torture in the Bad Place.
In the first season , amoral loner Eleanor and small-time criminal Jason believe that they have been sent to the Good Place incorrectly. Eleanor's assigned soulmate , Chidi, a moral philosopher , attempts to teach them ethics so they can earn their presence there. Jason's soulmate, wealthy socialite Tahani, attempts to help Michael, the kindly designer of their neighborhood, deal with the chaos apparently caused by Eleanor and Jason's presence.
In the twist ending of the first season finale, Eleanor realizes that the four humans have actually been in an experimental section of the Bad Place all along, selected by Michael a demon to torture each other emotionally and psychologically for eternity. In the second season , Michael repeatedly erases the humans' memories to try to restart their psychological torture, but they figure out the truth each time.
