The Good Place season 3 exclusive first look photos

01 of 09

The Good Place season 3 first look: Where on Earth?

Things are about to get very Good around here: The Good Place returns to twisty action on Sept. 27. The second-season finale cliffhanger of NBC's beloved afterlife comedy revealed that Judge Jen (Maya Rudolph) had allowed a do-over of sorts, sending our foursome of souls back to Earth for a second chance. Here, we sneak a peek at what's in store for season 3, with the help of Good Place creator Mike Schur.

02 of 09

A very important door

As you know, Michael (Ted Danson) is meddling in this do-over Earth test. Here, he encounters the Doorman, played by guest-star Mike O'Malley, who guards the door that connects the afterlife to Earth. Why the frog key? "He just likes frogs," explains Schur. "He describes himself as a frog guy. Although that weirdly does become important at a certain moment."

03 of 09

These doors seem important, too

Tahani (Jameela Jamil) will be making some changes in her overprivileged life, and these doors that she passes through in a sense "lead directly to the rest of her life," says Schur.

04 of 09

Down Under — and down and out

At a low point in her (second chance at) life, Eleanor (Kristen Bell) meets Michael in a bar, who plants those "What do we owe each other?" seeds in her brain, which ultimately leads to her flying halfway across the globe to meet Chidi. "She obviously showed up in Australia on a whim," says Schur. "She's putting a lot of eggs in the basket of 'This guy I've never met before is going to help me.'"

05 of 09

Back to (lots of) books

In what should come as extremely unsuprising news, Chidi (William Jackson Harper) is in emotional turmoil. Look for the professor who's living in Australia to seek comfort/help in the written word. "When Chidi doesn’t know what to do, he goes to the library — that’s basically his move," says Schur. "He's a person who is pretty sure that the answers to the questions that plague him can be found in books. So, at one point he goes to a library and he takes out, like, 12,000 books, and one of them is 'Chocolate Rain' singer Tay Zonday's book, Chocolate Book. It’s one of our favorite jokes from the premiere."

06 of 09

Jumpin' Jason

Jason (Manny Jacinto) may not be the brightest bulb, but... well, there really is no but. Nonetheless, his second chance prompts self-reflection — and more dance moves. "When he almost dies he comes to question whether or not anything he’s done really matters," says Schur. "What are his accomplishments?"

07 of 09

Janet jumps in deeper

Janet (D'Arcy Carden) will face a number of problems in season 3. "Number one is she has cast her lot with Michael," says Schur, "and is as invested in the four humans as he is."

08 of 09

Meeting of the minds

Introducing Simone (Kirby Howell-Baptiste), a brilliant neuroscientist and fellow academic whose expertise Chidi seeks when he becomes convinced that his brain is broken. Here, Eleanor meets Chidi's "colleague of sorts," says Schur. "It’s rife with irony," he adds, "because in the moment that they meet, Eleanor and Chidi have known each for three weeks, as far as they know, but in reality have known each other for three hundred years."

09 of 09