History Trivia / TheGoodPlace

* AuthorAppeal: Many of the seemingly minor things that can get someone sent to the Bad Place are actually the personal pet peeves of creator Michael Schur and the writing staff. These include:

** Rooting for the Yankees.
** UsefulNotes/{{Florida}} in general. Jacksonville especially (Mike Schur disparagingly compares the city to a virus or a fungus).

** William Jackson Harper, an American, plays Chidi Anagonye, who was born in Nigeria and raised in Senegal.

* HeyItsThatPlace: The set for Town Square is the Old Europe set from the Universal Studios backlot. It was previously used for such films as ''Film/Frankenstein1931'' and ''Film/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame1923''. Before it was turned into Town Square, the set was basically deteriorating from years of neglect and given a fresh coat of paint.

** Several actors that have had roles on either or both shows appear on this one in some capacity, including Creator/AdamScott (Trevor), Creator/MarcEvanJackson (Shaun), Creator/KristenBell (Eleanor), Creator/JasonMantzoukas (Derek), Maribeth Monroe (Mindy), Jama Williamson (Val), Dax Shepard (Chet), Mike O'Malley (Jeff), and and Creator/MayaRudolph (Gen). Nick Offerman plays himself in the finale.

** The finale has Michael taking guitar lessons from “Guitar Mary”, played by Creator/MarySteenburgen, Danson's real-life wife.

** Many of the bits were ad-libbed. In the gag reel, we see Manny Jacinto giving different answers for what Jason's vanity plate said, D'Arcy Carden giving many misidentifications of a basketball, Adam Scott giving variations on how he'll excrete his meal, and Jacinto giving different guesses on how he died.

** In the Season 1 finale, [[spoiler:Michael]]'s infamous evil giggle, and the petty moment where he pushes over a potted plant, were both improvised. In The Good Place Podcast, Michael Schur explains that [[spoiler:Ted Danson]] pushed over the plant on the first take, but only tried the evil laugh after Schur felt the beginning of the scene was missing something.

** Mike Schur drew a very clear line between this show and ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'', saying that the little references to ''Parks and Rec'' are just fun little in-jokes and not indicative of a shared universe. [[spoiler:Creator/NickOfferman cameos as himself and not Ron Swanson in the series finale, finally driving home the fact that the two projects are separate.]]

* AuteurLicense: Based on his past successes, Creator/{{NBC}} offered Mike Schur 13 half-hour episodes to do with as he pleased. Realizing that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Schur created a high-concept show that explores dense and complex subjects in a thoughtful manner and forces audiences to think critically of what they're watching. When the show proved to be a critical hit, NBC left Schur to his own devices, honoring his insistence on a firm 13-episode cap for each season, allowing him to give the series a definitive conclusion after just four seasons, and rearranging the schedule to let the finale run exactly the way Schur intended rather than insisting he cut or pad things out to suit the network's needs.

** UsefulNotes/{{Arizona}}, aka the "Florida of the West", according to Mike Schur.

* CastingGag: A very subtle one, but still. In Season 4 of ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'' (another Schur production), Gina has a near death experience and mentions that she met God, whom she describes as an ethnically ambiguous woman. In Season 2, the AmbiguouslyBrown Creator/MayaRudolph plays the TopGod, the All-Knowing Judge.

** Jameela Jamil, who plays Tahani, has almost the same surname as hers: Al-Jamil. This is at least partly unintentional, as Tahani's name is used as a characterization element and plot point.

* DirectedByCastmember: Creator/KristenBell directed "The Funeral to End All Funerals".

* FakeAmerican: Canadian actor Manny Jacinto plays Floridian Jianyu/Jason Mendoza.

** Kirby Howell-Baptiste, who is English, plays Simone Garnett, who is Australian.

* MoneyDearBoy: Downplayed example, but Manny Jacinto and D'Arcy Carden both admit they were "broke" as their main reasoning for taking their roles, but that the script and cast was good enough that they would have taken it regardless.

** Many of the bits were ad-libbed. In the gag reel, we see Manny giving different answers for what Jason's vanity plate said, and D'Arcy giving many misidentifications of a basketball, Adam Scott giving variations on how he'll excrete his meal, and Manny giving different guesses on how he died.

** Mike Schur drew a very clear line between this show and ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'', saying that the little references to ''Parks and Rec'' are just fun little jokes and not indicative of a shared universe. [[spoiler:Creator/NickOfferman cameos as himself and not Ron Swanson in the series finale, finally driving home the fact that the two projects are separate.]]

* AuteurLicense: Based on his past successes, Creator/{{NBC}} offered Mike Schur 13 half-hour episodes to do with as he pleased. Realizing that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Schur created a high-concept show that explores dense and complex subjects in a thoughtful manner and forces audiences to think critically of what they're watching.

* TheRedStapler: Sales of T.M. Scanlon's philosophical text ''What We Owe To Each Other'' spiked after it was used as a recurring element in the show.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Creator/NickOfferman was offered the role of Shawn but turned it down.

* AuteurLicense: Based on his past successes, Creator/{{NBC}} offered Mike Schur 13 half-hour episodes to do with as he pleased. Realizing that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Schur created a high-concept show that explores dense and complex subjects in a thoughtful manner and forces audiences to think critically of what they're watching.

* DoingItForTheArt: Based on his past successes, Creator/{{NBC}} offered Mike Schur 13 half-hour episodes to do with as he pleased. Realizing that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Schur created a high-concept show that explores dense and complex subjects in a thoughtful manner and forces audiences to think critically of what they're watching.

** D'Arcy Carden normally pulls double duty as Janet and Bad Janet. This is taken UpToEleven in "Janet(s)", where all four humans take on Janet's appearance. The actual cast did several run-throughs of each scene so Carden could study all their performances. And on top of that, we are also introduced to Neutral Janet in the same episode, giving Carden ''six'' roles for that episode. Carden would go on to play ''32'' Janets in "The Funeral to End all Funerals."

** Ted Danson gets a brief but memorable shot at this in "Chidi Sees the Time Knife," where he alters his speech and body language to portray Vicky wearing a Michael suit. He gets to do more of it in "Employee of the Bearimy."

** Manny Jacinto was a competitive hip hop dancer, like his character Jason Mendoza.

* NamesTheSame: Vicky is not the first TV character [[WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents named Vicky who pretends to be a sweet and loving person but is actually a sadistic torturer.]]

** It's also suspiciously similar to ''Series/TheTwilightZone'' episode "A Nice Place To visit". The first season even has the same TwistEnding.

* TheCastShowoff: Manny Jacinto gets to show off his dance moves in the Season 3 premiere.

** Jen Statsky as the BurgerFool who immediately figures out Jason and Pillboi were trying to rob her.

** Chidi believes in soulmates, and Michael uses that to torture him. William Jackson Harper admitted that he doesn't believe in soulmates, and [[spoiler:thinks the show made the right call with Michael revealing that he made them up]].

** Jameela Jamil, who plays Tahani, has almost the same surname as hers: Al-Jamil. This is at least partly unintentional, as Tahani's name is used as a characterisation element and plot point.

** Josh Siegal as Glenn. Siegal was reading Glenn's lines during tablereads until an actor could be cast, but Michael Schur thought Siegal just suited the role.

* DirectedByCastmember: Creator/KristenBell directed the fourth season episode "The Funeral to End All Funerals".

* FakeAmerican: Canadian actor Manny Jacinto plays Floridian Jason Mendoza (aka Jianyu).

* AbilityOverAppearance: Mike Schur was hesitant to cast Creator/LisaKudrow because the show had already done a joke about ''Series/{{Friends}}'' and he wanted to avoid a CelebrityParadox. It was eventually decided that Kudrow was too good of a talent to not cast.

* HeyItsThatGuy: In addition to the show’s actors being from more well known roles like [[WesternAnimation/Frozen Anna]] and [[{{Series}}/Cheers Sam]], Chidi is Danny Rebus from [[Series/TheElectricCompany2009 The Electric Company]].

* HeyItsThatGuy: In addition to the show’s actors being from more well known roles like [[Film/Frozen Anna]] and [[LiveAction/Cheers Sam]], Chidi is Danny Rebus from [[Series/TheElectricCompany2009 The Electric Company]].

* HeyItsThatGuy: In addition to the show’s actors from more well known roles like [[ Film/Frozen Anna ]] and [[ LiveAction/Cheers Sam, ]] Chidi is Danny Rebus from [[Series/TheElectricCompany2009 The Electric Company]].
* HideYourPregnancy: Maribeth Monroe was pregnant during Season 3, which is why Mindy St Clair only appears in one scene in [[Recap/TheGoodPlaceS3E11ChidiSeestheTimeKnife "Chidi Sees the Time-Knife"]]. Luckily Mindy's 80s wardrobe includes a boxy jacket that disguises her belly.

* AbilityOverAppearance: Mike Schur was hesitant to cast Creator/LisaKudrow because the show had already done a joke about ''Series/{{Friends}}'' and he wanted to avoid CelebrityParadox. It was eventually decided that Kudrow was too good of a talent to not cast.

* HeyItsThatGuy: In addition to the show’s actors from more well known roles like [[Film/Frozen Anna]] and [[LiveAction/Cheers Sam,]] Chidi is Danny Rebus from [[Series/TheElectricCompany2009]].

* TheCastShowoff: Manny Jacinto gets to show off his dance moves in the season 3 premiere.
* CastingGag: A very subtle one, but still. In season 4 of ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'' (another Schur production), Gina has a near death experience and mentions that she met God, whom she describes as an ethnically ambiguous woman. In season 2, the AmbiguouslyBrown Creator/MayaRudolph plays the TopGod, the All-Knowing Judge.

* MeanCharacterNiceActor: Shawn is the closest thing the Good Place universe has to a devil; he is mean, petty, cruel, and delights in torturing the main six in particular. His actor, Marc Evan Jackson, on the other hand, is kind and humble, quick to throw praise on his costars, hosts the podcast about the show where he highlights the work of all the cast and crew, and organized a special edition of the podcast to talk to, encourage, and cheer up fans of the show in the months after the finale during the COVID-19 pandemic.

* OutdatedByCanon: Fics of Vicky returning, usually because Michael [[SympathyForTheDevil felt sorry for her]], became outdated with her reappearance in season 3.

* SpiritualAdaptation: The events of the Season 1 finale turn the first season into one of ''[[spoiler:Theatre/NoExit]]'', which was cited as an inspiration for the series.

** In the Season One finale, [[spoiler:Michael]]'s infamous evil giggle, and the petty moment where he pushes over a potted plant, were both improvised. In The Good Place Podcast, Michael Schur explains that [[spoiler:Ted Danson]] pushed over the plant on the first take, but only tried the evil laugh after Schur felt the beginning of the scene was missing something.

* Mean Character, Nice Actor: Shawn is the closest thing the Good Place universe has to a devil; he is mean, petty, cruel, and delights in torturing the main six in particular. His actor, Marc Evan Jackson, on the other hand, is kind and humble, quick to throw praise on his costars, hosts the podcast about the show where he highlights the work of all the cast and crew, and organized a special edition of the podcast to talk to, encourage, and cheer up fans of the show in the months after the finale during the COVID-19 pandemic.

* AbilityOverAppearance: Mike Schur was hesitant to cast Creator/LisaKudrow because the show had already done a joke about ''Series/{{Friends}}'' and he wanted to avoid CelebrityParadox. It was eventually decided that Kudrow was too good of a talent to not to cast.

** In the Season One finale, [[spoiler:Michael]]'s infamous evil giggle, and the petty moment where he pushes over a potted plant, were both improvised. In Podcast/TheGoodPlacePodcast, Michael Schur explains that [[spoiler:Ted Danson]] pushed over the plant on the first take, but only tried the evil laugh after Schur felt the beginning of the scene was missing something.

** Kirby Howell-Baptiste, who is English, plays Simone Garnett who is Australian.

* MoneyDearBoy: Downplayed example, but Manny Jacinto and D'Arcy Carden both admit they were "broke" as their main reasoning for taking their roles, but that the script and cast was good enough that they would have taken it regardless

** The finale has Michael dating a woman played by Creator/MarySteenburgen, Danson's real-life wife.