For “Good Place” fans that may be upset the NBC comedy is ending after only four seasons and just over 50 episodes, Mike Schur says to blame “Breaking Bad.”
“There have been a number of shows in the recent past that had benefited from shorter orders and from a lot of narrative propulsion, like ‘Breaking Bad,'” Schur said on Thursday during the Television Critics Association press tour. He mentioned that the AMC series was wrapping up its celebrated run right about the time he was coming up with the idea of for his NBC afterlife comedy.
“It felt like ‘Breaking Bad’ had been on for like 15 years, as it was such a part of all our lives… it was like 60 episodes.” Schur was almost right. “Breaking Bad” ended in 2013 after 62 episodes and five seasons.
“From the moment I pitched the show to Universal and NBC, baked into it was: We’re going to move really fast,” Schur continued.
That was made apparent during the first season of the show, which blew up the premise in the final episode (spoiler alert: They were actually in The Bad Place the whole time). In the two seasons since then, the narrative has been upended consistently after just a few episodes. Schur argued there would no way to do a show like that if it was a typical network sitcom, with 22 or 24-episode seasons.
“I think it was exactly the right number of episodes for the seasons,” he said. “We got exactly the story that we wanted to tell in under the wire.”
“The Good Place” returns for its fourth and final season Thursday, Sept. 26 on NBC at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
11 Most Memorable 'Beverly Hills, 90210' Moments: From the Dress Incident to Donna and David's Wedding (Photos)
The meta-revival of "Beverly Hills, 90210" -- dubbed "BH90210" -- premieres Wednesday on Fox. The limited series will see original cast members Tori Spelling (Donna Martin), Brian Austin Green (David Silver), Shannen Doherty (Brenda Walsh), Jason Priestley (Brandon Walsh), Jennie Garth (Kelly Taylor), Ian Ziering (Steve Sanders) and Gabrielle Carteris (Andrea Zuckerman) all return to play fictionalized versions of themselves — “with a healthy dose of irreverence” — as they try to get a revival of their old show off the ground. And because "BH90210" is about bringing back "90210," TheWrap thought the best way to mark the occasion was to remind you of some of the most memorable moments from the original series, including those with the late Luke Perry (Dylan McKay). Click through our gallery to reminisce about the gang who used to hang at the Peach Pit.
When Brenda and Kelly wore the SAME dress to the spring formal. And we got this iconic line: "Brenda, how could you?"
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When everyone makes sure Donna gets to graduate. The school board wasn't going to let her after she got drunk at prom, but the gang didn't stand for that.
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When Valerie replaced Brenda. The show said goodbye to Shannen Doherty and hello to Tiffani Thiessen, who immediately proved she was bad by smoking a joint in the Walshes house.
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David's weird condom jingle. Actually, maybe you don't remember this -- and that's a good thing.
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When Toni dies in the same episode that she marries Dylan. Might be one of the most heartbreaking moments of the entire series.
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David's heartbreaking speech about Scott. David has a break down after his childhood best friend Scott accidentally kills himself and the whole thing is broadcast over the school radio. David says he doesn't care, as he shames himself over the guilt he feels for abandoning his buddy for the cooler crowd.
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When Dylan didn't "do cameras." And made this very clear to David, who was trying to record him.
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When Kelly chooses herself over Dylan and Brandon. And literally says "I choose me," while reminding them she'll always love them both.
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Dylan's dad unexpectedly dies. In the episode titled "Dead End," Dylan's dad, Jack, dies in a car explosion, leading to blood-curdling scream session from a guy who is usually incapable of losing his cool.
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When David walks in on Kelly. A horrifyingly embarrassing moment between on-screen friends if ever there was one.
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Donna and David's wedding. The "90210" series finale gave us these long-awaited nuptials and reunited members of the original cast who came back to celebrate the end of the show -- or what they then thought was the end.
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”Brenda, how could you?!?“
The meta-revival of "Beverly Hills, 90210" -- dubbed "BH90210" -- premieres Wednesday on Fox. The limited series will see original cast members Tori Spelling (Donna Martin), Brian Austin Green (David Silver), Shannen Doherty (Brenda Walsh), Jason Priestley (Brandon Walsh), Jennie Garth (Kelly Taylor), Ian Ziering (Steve Sanders) and Gabrielle Carteris (Andrea Zuckerman) all return to play fictionalized versions of themselves — “with a healthy dose of irreverence” — as they try to get a revival of their old show off the ground. And because "BH90210" is about bringing back "90210," TheWrap thought the best way to mark the occasion was to remind you of some of the most memorable moments from the original series, including those with the late Luke Perry (Dylan McKay). Click through our gallery to reminisce about the gang who used to hang at the Peach Pit.
Fox
Fox
