Kristen Bell ends up in heaven by mistake in 'The Good Place'

When you find yourself loving The Good Place this fall, remember to thank Lost alum Damon Lindelof.

Of course, you should spare some thanks for creator Micheal Schur (Parks and Recreation, The Office, Brooklyn Nine-Nine) as well, but in a panel discussion at Comic-Con for the show Thursday afternoon, Schur explained that it was Lindelofs' encouragement of his idea that really made him think, “Ok, I can try and pull this off.”

The Good Place is NBC's forthcoming sitcom starring Kristen Bell and Ted Danson. It's about a woman who dies and is then taken to "The Good Place" (as opposed to "The Bad Place"). Only problem? She quickly realizes there has been a mistake and she isn’t supposed to be there. Also, she can't swear anymore. It's bad news all around. “[This show] combined my two favorite things on the planet: comedy and what it means to be a good person,” Bell explained. Danson noted: “It’s about how choices you make in life have a ripple effect. It’s fun to be funny but to also hang your hat on something, it’s important."

Fans of Schur’s other projects will be happy to know that the pilot episode of the serialized show has lots of rapid-fire, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it jokes. The biggest laughs of the first episode centered on the point system people accumulate through life, with assigned values to all kinds of random everyday occurrences, from cutting someone off in traffic to gracefully ending a conversation about the weather. The writers probably came up with 500 specific examples, Schur noted.

But the show's not just about the jokes. “Each moment on the show and each episode delves into some ethical dilemma or some great philosopher's thinking so you’re also learning a little bit while you’re laughing,” Bell shared.

When it came time for the audience Q&A, naturally fans were wondering what former characters played by the stars might make it to "The Good Place." Veronica Mars? Totally. Sam Malone? Maybe not.

And never fear. “Leslie Knope has a pretty good shot,” Schur concluded with a laugh.