Ted Danson's NBC Sitcom Named Among The Best First Episodes in Television

The Peabody Awards presented a roundup of the best-ever first episodes of television, and Ted Danson’sNBCsitcomThe Good Place topped the list.

The Good Place debuted in 2016, and it gained significant attention following its Season 1 shocker—that is, the plot twist that the so-called “Good Place” was really the Bad Place all along, and that the charming, kindhearted Good Place Architect Michael (Danson) was really a demon who was torturing the main characters.

Even before that twist gained The Good Place a whole new level of attention, though, the show had many things going for it. For one, the show’s cast included not only Danson but also Kristen Bellin the leading role of Eleanor Shellstrop. Co-stars D’Arcy Carden, Jameela Jamil, Manny Jacinto and William Jackson Harper were also brilliant in their roles.

Yet, perhaps the most surprising aspect of The Good Place, and what ultimately made it such a standout, was the show’s unique focus on heavy, complex topics like morality and philosophy. What’s more, The Good Place didn’t shy away from that unusual focus; the early seeds of that larger exploration were evident from the very first episode.

That is also, in part, what the Peabody Awards’ list is praising. Per the site, “Creator Michael Schur presented a grand creative question with The Good Place: Could a sitcom show us what it means to be a good person? Yes, it turned out, especially with this killer premise.”

The post went on, “The series would take many shocking twists over its four seasons, but the first outing gave us the perfect taste of what was to come.”

Although the fourth and final season of The Good Place concluded in January of 2020, the show continues to be considered both bingeable and a great rewatch, and the stars have moved on to new projects, some of which feel like natural continuations of the work they did on The Good Place.

In particular, Danson has starred in both seasons of A Man on the Inside on Netflix, and that show has already been renewed for a third season, although an exact release date for the new season has not yet been confirmed.