After three years on NBC, The Good Place creator Michael Schur announced Friday that the show will come to an end next year—but not because of low ratings or behind-the-scenes conflict.
In an exclusive interview with The Hollywood Reporter published on Saturday, Schur explained the decision to make the upcoming fourth season of the NBC hit its final one, saying The Good Place “isn’t a typical show where the goal is to do it as long as we can and as many episodes as we can.”
Schur, who was also the co-creator, alongside Greg Daniels, of Parks and Recreation, said he knew “pretty quickly” that it would take four seasons to tell the story of Eleanor (Kristen Bell), Chidi (William Jackson Harper), Michael (Ted Danson), Tahani (Jameela Jamil), Jason (Manny Jacinto) and Janet (D’Arcy Carden).
However, he said he needed to make sure that four was the definitive number of seasons the show would span before telling the actors, network and studio.
“I wanted until I was 100 percent sure, which was toward the end of shooting season three,” said Schur. “I called Ted and Kristen and said this was the plan. The other thing was that I wanted to be fair to actors. They want to work and I wanted them to know a year out that we would be winding things down here and if they wanted to plan their lives, they would have enough time.”
The show has already earned the prestigious Peabody Award, along with nominations for Emmy and Golden Globe awards.
Schur added that announcing the comedy series’ finale isn’t a creative surprise —the biggest shocks to the audience will come from the internal plot.
“The nice thing about TV shows nowadays is it’s not a forced marathon,” he explained. “You can let the idea dictate the number of episodes that you actually do, which is great for creativity.”
After announcing the show’s endgame at a For Your Consideration event, Schur took a moment to thank the people who made the series possible from the beginning.
“I will be forever grateful to NBC and Universal TV for letting us make ‘The Good Place,’ and for letting us end it on our own schedule. 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 said, according to Indiewire.
Some of the show’s cast and crew has already expressed their sadness—and graciousness—for the news that Season 4 will be the end of the road.
“Mike Schur is the classiest motherforkingshirtball ever and wanted to leave you at the right time in the right way,” tweeted Jamil, along with a gif of her character tossing back an endless loop of shots to deal with the news.
“Writing for #TheGoodPlace has been the most fulfilling professional experience I’ve ever had INCLUDING the summer I worked at Nordstrom in Oregon,” tweeted writer Megan Amram. “Thank you for watching and I hope you like season 4”
Manny Jacinto only tweeted a crying emoji in response to the announcement, but we know that he probably also let out a stifled “Bortles!” when he heard.
The Good Place joins NBC’s Blindspot, ABC’s Modern Family, CBS’ Criminal Minds, Fox’s Empire and The CW’s Supernatural and Arrow as broadcast series that will end their runs in the 2019-2020 season.
Colleen Hayes/NBC
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