Kristen Bell Explains the Upside of The Good Place Ending

There is certainly no shortage of TV shows that are meeting their end next season, but the fourth and final season of The Good Place is already hitting fans hard. But according to series star Kristen Bell, the series’ conclusion is a bit of a blessing in disguise. ComicBook.com got to chat with Bell during last weekend’s San Diego Comic-Con, where she spoke about how the decision to end the NBC sitcom came about.

“You know, there’s a lot of great things about having an extremely ethical showrunner like Mike Schur, and then there’s a couple… downfalls,” Bell revealed in our interview, which you can check out above. “One of them is that he… He waited for the story to tell him when it ended. He didn’t want to get in a situation where it was like ‘oh, they’re still trying to — insert-plot-line-here,’ you know?”

“He didn’t want anyone to get fatigued about this journey, because the statements he’s making in this show come from his soul, about what it means to be a good person,” Bell continued. “‘Why is philosophy important?’ ‘How are we supposed to share earth?’ They were important enough to him that he felt like this journey deserved to have a little bit of an end, and he wrote something that I think is so beautiful and powerful, I think. Though people may be sad that it’s ending, I think it will be worth it.”

The beloved series follows Eleanor (Bell), Chidi (William Jackson Harper) Tahani (Jameela Jamil), and Jason Mendoza (Manny Jacinto), four strangers whose time in the afterlife has gotten increasingly complicated. Since debuting in 2016, the series has spawned countless memes and an outpouring of love from fans — but it sounds like the decision to wrap things up was across the board.

“I could do this show for decades.” Jackson Harper recently shared. “I mean, it’s a great group of people and I really have a good time. We have a vibe. There are no assholes on set, that’s sort of our thing. So, it’s a lot of fun. But I do feel like it’s the right thing.”

“We’re trying to make a story and be honest with ourselves, and be honest with the folks that are invested so much in watch the show.” Jackson Harper continued. “That we want them to see the story that we wanted them to see, rather than we’re out of ideas, and now we’re just treading water until people are tired of us and the story that we’re trying to tell is no longer relevant.”

Are you sad to see The Good Place come to an end? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!