I mean, yes, "great" applies -- The Good Place is one of my top five shows of the past ten years, and probably one of my top ten of all time.
"Last Great on Network TV" -- time will tell, but it's sadly possible. We're in the process of cutting our cable, and the decision to do so has gotten nothing but easier over the past couple of years. Network TV is increasingly sad.
But "Sitcom"? No. A sitcom doesn't *go* anywhere. That's "situation comedy", and the "situation" in a sitcom is more or less immutable: fine details might evolve a little, but the general framing never does.
The most delightful thing about The Good Place is that you're never quite clear on the details of what's going on until pretty close to the end, and the situation changes practically every episode. It's almost the inverse of a sitcom: I have literally never seen a show where I had so little idea of how they were going to upend the story next.
And the best part is, from the very beginning, there was a clear sense of plan and purpose, even when we didn't know what that plan was. You really don't know what the show is *about* until fairly late, but in retrospect it's a magnificently tightly-designed novel about Life, the Universe, and Everything.
Many shows claim to have a pre-designed arc. This is one of the rare examples where it clearly did, pretty much from the outset, and it's one of the finest must-sees as a result.
(I really need to write up a review of the series...)
The Good Place Is the Last Great Sitcom on Network TV
I mean, yes, "great" applies -- The Good Place is one of my top five shows of the past ten years, and probably one of my top ten of all time.
"Last Great on Network TV" -- time will tell, but it's sadly possible. We're in the process of cutting our cable, and the decision to do so has gotten nothing but easier over the past couple of years. Network TV is increasingly sad.
But "Sitcom"? No. A sitcom doesn't *go* anywhere. That's "situation comedy", and the "situation" in a sitcom is more or less immutable: fine details might evolve a little, but the general framing never does.
The most delightful thing about The Good Place is that you're never quite clear on the details of what's going on until pretty close to the end, and the situation changes practically every episode. It's almost the inverse of a sitcom: I have literally never seen a show where I had so little idea of how they were going to upend the story next.
And the best part is, from the very beginning, there was a clear sense of plan and purpose, even when we didn't know what that plan was. You really don't know what the show is *about* until fairly late, but in retrospect it's a magnificently tightly-designed novel about Life, the Universe, and Everything.
Many shows claim to have a pre-designed arc. This is one of the rare examples where it clearly did, pretty much from the outset, and it's one of the finest must-sees as a result.
(I really need to write up a review of the series...)