All Good Places Must Come To An End

My favorite network comedy, perhaps my favorite network show, The Good Place, is going to end after its fourth season.

The show has never been huge in the ratings, so I suppose fans should be happy with what they got.  Creator Mike Schur says four seasons is what the writers always planned anyway.    Considering how fast the plot moves, and how far it's come, I can believe him.  Though I have to wonder what he'd say if NBC offered him two more seasons. (The articles about this sometimes imply ending after four seasons was Schur's decision, but that could be just be to save face.  Or let's put it another way.  Perhaps Schur decided four seasons was enough, but if he wanted more, would they have given it to him?)

They only do 13 episodes a season, so they'll have a grand total of 52.  While that's not much for a network show--you usually want at least 100 to be worthy of syndication--it's really quite a lot when you think about it.  Think of British favorites like Fawlty Towers or Black Adder, which had many fewer episodes.

When we left the fearless four, and their helpers Michael and Janet, they were beginning a new experiment in the Good Place. (I could be a lot more specific, but I'm avoiding spoilers--the show will soon be over and that's when some people will start bingeing.)  I'm sure there's a lot to resolve, but I think 13 half-hours with six characters is easier to handle that dealing with all the problem of Westeros in 6 episodes.

So I look forward to the final season.  And hope they give it a nice send-off.