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The Good Place

NBC’s The Good Place aired its fall finale last week, and with it, one of the best new shows of the fall season left things off on a bit of a cliff. Eleanor (Kristen Bell), who died and ended up in The Good Place by mistake, came clean, and as a result, the envoy of The Bad Place, Trevor (Adam Scott) came to fetch her. But at episode’s end, Michael (Ted Danson), the architect of The Good Place, steps up to fight for Eleanor to stay, setting the stage for an arbitrated showdown, where Michael and Trevor will argue their cases in front of the final judge of things: Sean.

When The Good Place returns for the final four episodes of its first season on January 5th, we’ll get to meet Sean, a figure who inspires at least some degree of fear or intimidation on the part of both Michael and Trevor. In an interview with EW.com, series creator Michael Schur gave some clues about Sean.

“Sean is cranky,” Schur said. “Sean does not like being roused out of slumber to come have to rule on matters like this. The backstory is that there have been very few of them, because the system is pretty orderly, and it takes care of itself. But on the rare occasions when Sean does have to show up, Sean is not super psyched about having to do it. So no one likes dealing with Sean.”

And when pressed on who will play Sean, Schur said, “I would say that if you’re fairly intimately familiar with the other shows that I’ve worked on in the recent past and currently, it might be an actor you will recognize.”

Schur has in the past worked on The Office, Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and Master of None. And we know that Sean is a male, a judge, and cranky. Those are some leads! So let’s figure out who this might be. We’ve narrowed it down to five likely suspects.

Rob Lowe

Pros: The last we saw Lowe on a Mike Schur production, he was playing ultimate nice-guy Chris Traeger on Parks and Recreation. His charisma and persona would be a fun counter to the idea of a stern and fearsome eternal judge.

Cons: After setting up Adam Scott as Trevor, adding a second nice-guy from Parks and Rec to play against type might seem like gimmickry or overkill.

Steve Carell

Pros: Pulling in the head honcho from The Office to play the ultimate functionary of the afterlife would be pretty great; plus Carell’s star power would be just the boost that a freshman show could use.

Cons: Carell is basically a movie star now. He might not be so keen on dipping back into TV. Carell’s personality seems less suited to “cranky old judge” than some of the others on this list.

Andre Braugher

Pros: There may not be anyone who better embodies the idea of a judge who does not appreciate being roused to rule on a dispute between two of his underlings.

Cons: Honestly? No cons. Maybe FOX wouldn’t be keen on one of their Brooklyn Nine-Nine stars crossing networks for a guest spot? It doesn’t seem like TV networks care about that kind of thing anymore.

Billy Eichner

Pros: Cranky? Check. Intimidating? Check. Able to deliver binding judgments with lightning-quick speed? Check.

Cons: As phenomenal as Eichner is on Billy on the Street and as wonderful as he’s been on Difficult People, Eichner was always a degree or two too intense for a show like Parks and Recreation. Would he be a better fit in The Good Place universe?

Nick Offerman

Pros: Nick “Ron Swanson” Offerman playing a cranky, easily irritated judge on a Michael Schur show is indescribably perfect, and probably too much of a fan-servicey crowd-pleaser to pass up.

Cons: He’s almost too perfect for the role? Like, the role of Afterlife Ron Swanson might be a bit on the nose, from Schur’s perspective.