"Everything Is Fine" is the series premiere of the American fantasy-comedy television series The Good Place. Written by series creator Michael Schur and directed by executive producer Drew Goddard, it aired on NBC in the United States on September 19, 2016, back-to-back with the second episode "Flying".
The series focuses on Eleanor Shellstrop (Kristen Bell), a woman who wakes up in the afterlife and is introduced by Michael (Ted Danson) to "The Good Place", a Heaven-like utopia he designed, in reward for her righteous life. Eleanor, an amoral loner, concludes that she was sent to the Good Place by mistake, and must then hide her morally imperfect behavior and try to become a better person.
In August 2015, the show was given a 13-episode straight-to-series order by NBC. Casting took place at the start of 2016, and the series was mainly filmed at The Huntington and Universal Studios Hollywood. In its original broadcast, the episode was viewed by 8.04 million viewers, becoming the most-watched comedy series premiere of the 2016–2017 television season. Critics praised the writing and Bell's and Danson's performances.
Plot
Eleanor Shellstrop (Kristen Bell) opens her eyes and finds herself in a waiting room. She is greeted by Michael (Ted Danson), who informs her she has died on Earth after a line of shopping carts caused her to fall into open traffic. Congratulating her, Michael tells Eleanor she was one of the best people on Earth, and that as a result, she has entered "The Good Place", a Heaven-like utopia.
Soon after, Michael gives Eleanor a tour of the Good Place before screening an informational video for her and other newcomers. In the video, Michael explains that their actions on Earth gave them positive or negative points which were tallied up after they died; the people with the highest scores entered the Good Place. Michael also explains that every person has a soulmate, before telling Eleanor she earned her spot in the Good Place as a lawyer defending people on death row.
After presenting Eleanor with a house designed specifically for her preferences, Michael introduces her to her soulmate, Chidi Anagonye (William Jackson Harper), a Senegalese ethics professor. When Michael leaves, Eleanor reveals to Chidi that everything Michael said about her life is wrong and she is not the person he says she is. Eleanor explains how she made a living by knowingly selling a worthless dietary supplement to the sick and elderly as an uncaring person, not recalling any good action she has ever done. Michael then introduces Eleanor and Chidi to their neighbors, Tahani Al-Jamil (Jameela Jamil), a wealthy English philanthropist, and her soulmate Jianyu Li (Manny Jacinto), a Buddhist monk who has decided to keep his vow of silence.
While attending a party hosted by Tahani and Jianyu at their mansion, Chidi begins to question whether or not to help Eleanor after she becomes drunk and insults Tahani. The next morning, Eleanor wakes up to discover that many things that represent her crass comments about her life and her insults to Tahani at the party are wreaking havoc on the Good Place. Chidi tells her that remaining in the Good Place is cause for the incident and her actions are affecting it. Eleanor then asks Chidi to help her become a better person just as Michael knocks on the door to inform them of an emergency meeting.
Production
Development
On August 13, 2015, NBC issued a press release announcing it had given the then-untitled show from Michael Schur a 13-episode order. In his pitch, Schur told the network the basic premise of the series, but concealed information about the twist in the first season's finale. In January 2016, it was announced Drew Goddard was going to direct the first episode. Goddard, a fan of Schur's previous work, said he received an invitation from the creator to simply talk, before finding out that Schur was going to pitch him an idea. After finally reading the screenplay to the premiere, Goddard told Collider he got on board to direct because "you just pick the people you believe in and you ride towards the same goal, and I knew that Mike was one of those people."