‘The Good Place’ Star Ted Danson On What Makes The Show Work

“The Good Place” lead actor Ted Danson opened up about why he thinks a lot of people love the NBC afterlife comedy.

During an appearance on Variety’s “Remote Controlled” podcast, Danson revealed the formula that makes the show works. “[It’s a show that’s] about something,” the three-time Golden Globe winner said of the Michael Schur-created series about ethics. “Everything you do has consequences,” the actor added. “That’s a really good thing to put out into the world. And do it in a funny way.”

“It’s about what it means to be a good person, but it’s wrapped in this 9-year-old boy sense of humor,” continued Danson, who plays demon Michael on the show. “And it has visual magic. So the medicine goes down, delightfully.”

At the end of the Season 2 finale, humans Eleanor (Kristin Bell), Chidi (William Jackson Harper), Tahani (Jameela Jamil), and Jason (Manny Jacinto) were all sent back to Earth for a second chance to live a kinder life, while Michael and Janet (D’Arcy Carden) monitor their every move.

Plot details about Season 3 are being kept under wraps, but Bell told the Los Angeles Times that the “next season is about how you can play chess with people who don’t know you’re playing with them and doing so in a way that doesn’t affect the greater universe.”

“Because our characters don’t know there’s a greater mission, we’re meandering on Earth,” Bell continued. “So now we are all left on Earth separately. And what we learned from the first two seasons is that our strengths come when we’re together. But can Michael and Janet tamper with us without affecting the universe?”

Without giving any spoilers away, Jamil also shared that the scripts they have read so far are “even funnier” and “slightly filthier.

In related news, Entertainment Weekly reported earlier this week that a “Good Place” podcast, hosted by Marc Evan Jackson, will debut on NBC’s own podcast network on June 1. “The Good Place – The Podcast” will find Jackson, aka all-powerful Eternal Judge Shawn on the comedy, debriefing the series with the help of various co-hosts and special guests involved with the show.

“The Good Place” Season 3 is expected to premiere this fall on NBC.