Ted Danson Says ‘The Good Place’ Writers Had Ethics Professors “On Speed Dial” For Accuracy

Glenn Garner
·2-min read

Following his time on The Good Place, Ted Danson is giving it up for the show’s architects.

The 3x Golden Globe winner recently explained the lengths the NBC comedy’s writers’ room went to in order to more accurately depict its characters’ ethical dilemmas as they navigated the afterlife.

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“On speed dial, we had three or four ethics professors who would talk to the writers daily to make sure what we were talking about was right,” said Danson on his Where Everybody Knows Your Name podcast, as co-host Woody Harrelson added, “Sometimes it’s good to get a second, third opinion.”

The Michael Schur-created comedy, which ran for four seasons from 2016 to 2020, starred Kristen Bell as Eleanor Shellstrop, an ethically questionable soul who mistakenly ends up in the titular ‘Good Place’ after her unexpected death.

While attempting to conceal her secret from neighbors Tahani (Jameela Jamil) and Jason (Manny Jacinto), as well as the Good Place’s architect Michael (Danson), she seeks help from ethics and moral philosophy professor Chidi (William Jackson Harper), who himself is frequently conflicted over what is the ethical choice.

The Good Place
Kristen Bell, William Jackson Harper, Ted Danson and D’Arcy Carden on The Good Place.

“Who knew? It’s taught, The Good Place is taught in some universities as part of their ethics [programs],” said Danson, noting the University of Notre Dame offered a course in 2019.

They were joined by guests Megan Mullally and husband Nick Offerman, the latter whom starred in Schur’s Parks and Recreation, which ran for seven seasons on NBC from 2009 to 2015.

“He’s this wonderful, great-hearted guy. I think my second book, I had dedicated to him and said, ‘Thank you for showing how funny we can be while saying I love you,'” recalled Offerman. “Because that’s kind of his thing.”

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