TL;DR – It’s back and it is just as clever and fun as always.

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Review –

The Good Place, what a little gem of a show this is, a real cracker. When I first watched it I had no idea what I was getting in too, and like everyone else, I was blown away by the direction the show took at the end of Season One. To the point that even now when we are still talking about Season Three I want to be coy about what that changeup was in case someone has not seen it yet. For the last two seasons, I watched it all in a binge watch session, so I am interested to see how it plays out week by week for this season. Well with that in mind, let’s come Down Under say hello and look at Australian universities with flags in every room.

So to set the scene, at the end of Season Two (see review) after finally battling across dimensions, through perturbed demons and existential crises, the Philosophy Gang of Eleanor (Kristen Bell),Chidi (William Jackson Harper), Tahani (Jameela Jamil), and Jason (Manny Jacinto), along with Janet (D’Arcy Carden) and Michael (Ted Danson), finally made it to The Judge (Maya Rudolph) so they could plead their case. It did not go well, but after some divine intervention, they decide that there could be a way for them to prove that they are worthy, and so they are sent back to Earth to the moments of their death and are given another chance. It also does not go well so at the end of last season Michael gives Eleanor a little push and then she finds herself on a plane to Sydney to find the Philosopher who was talking sense, who just so happens to be Chidi.

And in case you were wondering, yes we go get a philosophy lesson throughout the show. Image Credit: Netflix

This season we start with a double stuffed two-part episode, where a lot happened, but also not that much, which is an interesting divide. Structurally this seems very similar to the first episode of Season Two: Everything is Great! This is because what we have is an episode that is more about moving people into position getting them ready for the rest of the season than an episode where a lot happens. However, that being said to get our four leads living across the world to all end up in Australia mean that a lot of the plot threads for the rest of the season start to unravel.

One of these new plot threads that I really liked was the introduction of Simone (Kirby Howell-Baptiste). One of the ways shows use to prolong the will they/won’t they couple (more will they/won’t they than ever given Chidi is involved) is by adding roadblocks. Often times these feel clumsy and out of place like Castle going missing on his wedding day in Castle or they can build on the universe like duplicated Crichton in Farscape. With Simone, I put her in the latter category because in such a short amount of time she already feels like a completely rounded character, and that speaks to both the writing and the acting in the cast. There are also some really good tries at Australian accents that slip into more of the comedic register because I think they know what they are doing.

I am always happy when a show adds more Marc Evan Jackson. Image Credit: Netflix

With Michael jumping to Earth and back again, and again, and again, we also get to see what is likely to be one of the big problems this season, or at least the start of the season, as The Good Place tends to move at a much quicker pace than other situational comedies. This is that The Bad Place crew led by Shawn (Marc Evan Jackson) have not just been sitting back on their laurels, and soon Michael’s jumping has the side effect of allowing them to find out what The Judge is doing and place their own guy in team, Trever (Adam Scott) the worst from all the way back in Season One. Frankly, I like this just because it means we will get more Marc Evan Jackson in the show, which is always a good thing. It also leads to us getting to know The Doorman (Mike O’Malley), and if people don’t bring him back something nice and frog themed after every trip they go on this season, well there is no justice in the world.

In the end, do we recommend The Good Place: Everything is Bonzer!? Yes, yes we do. While it was an episode of moving the chess pieced into place, and then finding there was an extra couple of pieces that you were not planning on. It also gave the framework of the rest of the season, and I really liked the touch that everyone did try and better themselves after the near-death-experience. Where we go from here? Well that is the question and I can’t wait to see, no literally I can’t wait, like can I get all the episodes now, please and thank-you.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

Have you seen Season Three of The Good Place yet?, let us know what you thought in the comments below, feel free to share this review on any of the social medias and you can follow us Here. Check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day.

Trailer – Click Here to View (all trailers have heavy spoilers)
Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of The Good Place
Directed by – Dean Holland
Written by – Jen Statsky & Michael Schur
Created by – Michael Schur
Starring in Season 3 – Kristen Bell, William Jackson Harper, Jameela Jamil, Manny Jacinto, D’Arcy Carden & Ted Danson with Dominic Burgess, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Marc Evan Jackson, Mike O’Malley, Maya Rudolph & Adam Scott