Now Leaving The Good Place: 6 More Ideas for 104% Perfect Viewing

When The Good Place ended, I think we all felt a bit like we were in the Bad Place...

But, have no fear, I'm here to shed a little light on what comes next.

First, let's remind ourselves of why we loved the show in the first place.

1. Big Picture Stuff

The Good Place is not your straight-forward sitcom. It might fit some of the tell-tale characteristics of, say, The Office, Friends, and Parks and Recreation, but the ‘situation’ in which the comedy happens is totally unique. No other sitcom exists in quite the same space and fills the same niche as The Good Place; and, I would argue, no other sitcom deals with such a huge tale of love, human nature, mistakes, mortality, and friendship, though these key themes often take centre-stage.

Sitcoms are windows into lives that are similar (in many ways) to our own. Things change slowly over time, often almost imperceptibly, with smaller incidents directing each episode. Compare the first and last episodes of The Office, for example, and you’ll find that every character has changed in some way and the dynamics between them have evolved, though the setting has remained the same. But, within each episode a lot arguably happens, the scale is just small; the plot is driven by Michael Scott burning his foot on a fryer, Dwight Schrute taking a fire drill too far, or Toby Flenderson finally moving abroad and leaving everyone in peace. Good riddance.

In The Good Place, however, the action in each episode is always driven by the larger narrative. At every step, the characters move closer to a conclusion; they have an overarching goal. They deal with the obstacles that stand in their way, but at no point are they standing still. In this sense, with the constantly evolving ‘situation’ of this comedy, it’s almost not a sitcom at all. There is almost too much plot. And yet, somehow, by orchestrating that all-important feeling of affection, laughter, and investment in its audience, it absolutely must be.

2. Relatability

The whole point of a sitcom is that it must be relatable. Without this fact, we would lose the relevance of the jokes, and we certainly would not be able to stick with it for the countless series that are inevitably billed as popularity grows.

But can any viewers of The Good Place relate to being stuck in a turbulent and colourful afterlife where literally anything (including shrimp raining down from the sky) is possible at any moment? I’d say it’s unlikely.

Instead, the relatability of The Good Place comes in the form of its constant humanity, warts and all. The premise of the show relies on the flaws of its characters – in fact, these flaws are the driving force of its narrative; you could even say that they are the narrative. The afterlife setting is, really, just an elaborate excuse (and a clever one at that) to interrogate what makes each one of us human, what is fair in life and what isn’t, and how precious each and every moment is, particularly with those we love.

That's what makes the show relatable.

So, the thing that really makes The Good Place different to every other sitcom out there is the undisguised magnitude of its mission and the unashamed directness with which it tackles the question: what is life all about?

The only reason The Good Place pulls off its complicated twist-and-turn of an answer is because of the size of its heart, which inevitably engulfs its viewer completely. We are pulled into the lives of Eleanor, Chidi, Tahani, and Jason so quickly and completely that, though the characters are borderline absurd in their contrasts, we see ourselves in all four of them (and, eventually, even in Michael and Janet). It is this that carries us through the bizarre plot twists and ludicrous premise.

All of this together serves to create a sitcom that affected me like no other (and believe me when I tell you I’m a big sitcom fan). Its audience tends to be passionate in its love and defense of The Good Place, which I love to see; and I believe this is due to the mix of big questions and tiny heart-warming details that make us all glad to be human.

If, like me, its bravery in tackling the big questions is why you loved The Good Place, then I would highly recommend exploring the films and series featured on this list.

I have ‘helpfully’ match up each recommendation with The Good Place using a key theme – so look for what quality you loved most about the series and see what I’d recommend!

Escaping the Finality of Death:

Black Mirror, 'San Junipero'

“You can't begin to imagine. You can't know the bond, the commitment, the boredom, the yearning, the laughter, the love of it.”

We all want an escape from our own inevitable fate... don’t we?

Recommending Black Mirror to anyone is a dangerous game. Each feature-length episode is so wildly different from the last that if you happen to pick an episode at random that isn’t to your taste, it may put you off forever. I know that ‘Metalhead’ almost had that effect on me. But, there’s one episode that I swear everyone who's watched it has enjoyed: ‘San Junipero.’

Without the dramatic irony of many of the other shows further down this list, this episode keeps the viewer out of the loop for a long time. The characters know and understand the fiction that surrounds them, while the audience has to work it out for themselves before the big reveal. Like The Good Place, San Junipero is about escaping the finality of death; it creates a much more attractive option for its characters and for the viewer, and deftly navigates the questions and difficulties that arise. What do we owe to one another? And what do we owe to our life? Ultimately, the answer is to do better, to choose happiness and fairness over everything, and to embrace those that we love; just as it is in The Good Place.

Watch on Netflix.

Family of Oddballs:

Santa Clarita Diet

“In the meantime, you and I are going to get through this toget— The f*** is that?!”

A group of lovable (and weird) characters live with the most unique problem…

On the surface, Santa Clarita Diet is a zombie comedy. But, running beneath the surface is a wholesome, affectionately-made commentary on modern family life. We see a family band together against a totally bizarre obstacle: their mum is turning into a zombie. Unique, contrasting characters work in unison to tackle a seemingly impossible problem, making us laugh along the way. Sound familiar? It does to me too. The Good Place ticks those boxes too. And, of course, both deal with the possibility of death not quite being totally final, albeit in completely different ways.

Watch on Netflix.

Quirky Characterisation:

Pushing Daisies

"Candy might be sweet, but it's a travelling carnival blowing through Town. Pie is home. People always come home”

Snappy dialogue, over-the-top characters, and an intense love triangle...

This might be one of the lesser-known recommendations on this list. I know it has a bit of a cult following because of its kooky weirdness, beautiful cinematography, and short run-time, but I’d like to open it up to a wider audience so everyone can enjoy it.

If you loved the quirkiness of The Good Place, you’ll love Pushing Daisies. The premise: Ned can bring things back to life by touching them (with no nasty zombie-style side-effects). The twist: if he touches them again, they’ll go back to being dead. Permanently. It’s convenient for running his pie shop, because he can make use of all that wasted rotten fruit (a big tick for the eco-conscious viewer!). And honestly, the whole thing sounds pretty great if you want to restock the world’s oceans or work as a vet, but not great if the girl you love has just died and you can’t keep your hands to yourself. Ned cannot touch newly-resurrected Chuck (Anna Friel) or she will die again. Cue lots of interesting ideas involving cling-film. But, of course, running deeper than the gags and the awkward love triangle with baker Olive, is the question of what you would do to be with the person you love.

Watch on Amazon Prime.

Discussions About the Soul:

Cloud Atlas (2012)

“Souls cross ages like clouds cross skies”

The endless story of humanity, traced through millennia...

Now, this has long been my favourite book. So, when they announced that it was going to make its way over to the silver screen to become a feature-length film, I was ecstatic. However, I do think that to truly appreciate this film, you have to read the book. Going in cold would be to rob yourself of at least 50% of its power. I realise that this makes this particular recommendation a little tricky, but trust me when I say you won’t regret it. The book did, admittedly, leave an unprecedented amount of ground for the film to cover, which is why you need to seek out and enjoy all the little details.

But, even as a standalone, this film quite literally traverses the journey of the soul, before, during, and after life; cleverly reflected by the fact that many actors play more than one part. Cloud Atlas is a beautiful story of the relationship of one human to another, the free will of each individual, and how humanity can overcome its own self-destructive nature. As in The Good Place, there is an incredible sense of hope. Everyone has the power to improve their own lives and the lives of those to come, and the ability to fight against those that try to bring us down. A heads-up – I’m not recommending this film for its comedy, though it has its moments (mainly thanks to Jim Broadbent); but, rest assured that every other box will be ticked. Follow the path of a few souls as they move through the bodies of Halle Berry, Tom Hanks, Jim Sturgess and more, all the way from the 19th century to a simultaneously primitive and post-apocalyptic future.

Watch on Amazon Prime.

Distorted Reality:

The Truman Show (1998)

“You were real... that's what make you so good to watch.”

Aren’t all our lives, deep down, constructions?

I’m inclined to believe that anyone reading a list of film and TV recommendations has probably watched this iconic film. It’s a bit of a stock recommendation for movie buffs, and should feature in everybody’s DVD/online film collection. But, if you’re new to this film (where have you been?!), its central character is Truman, a man who believes himself to be living a normal life; but, in actuality, he is the unwitting star of a reality show broadcast to the world outside his neighbourhood.

There are moments of humour and of solidarity between humans, but most poignant is the great sense of futility and ‘trapped-ness’ (I am making that a new word). Just like Eleanor, Chidi, Tahani, and Jason in Series 1 of The Good Place, Truman is oblivious to the falseness of the life he is living, and the only way he can reach his freedom is to escape the fiction that surrounds him. Dramatic irony abounds.

Watch on Netflix.

What am I watching next?

Mystery, Comedy, Romance:

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My friend pitched this series to me just a few days ago. I don’t use Prime Video very often, so I’d only heard of it by name and knew very little about the storyline. But as she described it to me, I begun to see that this series is exactly the kind of follow-up to The Good Place that I’d been looking for (having burned through my own list a few times over!); there’s romance, there’s comedy, there are the perils of an afterlife no one truly understands, and there’s a mystery to be solved. What’s not to love?

Watch on Amazon Prime.

Of course, these categories may not be the reasons you loved The Good Place. And, honestly, there are so many great things about it that who could really blame you? There’s romance, comedy, a melting pot of character development, a lovable band of misfits, some great dialogue... the list goes on.

If you haven’t watched the classics I’ve recommended here, then I suggest you close your current tab and get on it immediately. There’s not a second to lose. This train departs from The Good Place in less than 2 minutes. Where next?

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