good casting

The Good Place Cast an Iconic Comedian to Be the ‘Eternal Judge’

The Good Place. Photo: Colleen Hayes/NBC

Spoilers ahead for this week’s episode of The Good Place.

“What are you guys looking at?” So was the very first line uttered by The Good Place’s Eternal Judge in Thursday night’s episode, “The Burrito,” when Eleanor and her merry gang of friends finally make it through a portal to plead their case to ascend to the Good Place. After weeks of fun speculation, the NBC sitcom pulled no punches by revealing the long-awaited character almost immediately — after some requisite banter about burritos, of course — and this lady of the cosmic law is played by none other than comedy veteran Maya Rudolph.

“What’s up, guys?! Yeah. I did not think I had a case today,” Rudolph’s Judge says with cheeky aplomb, before spiking her aforementioned burrito with “lust” sauce. “The paperwork should’ve shown up by now, unless you guys came here. Wait, did you guys just come here? Oh my God, you guys are bad.”

We won’t give the entire episode away for you, but let’s just say the Judge forces the quartet to undergo a series of tests to prove they’re indeed worthy of the Good Place, and those tests don’t exactly unwind according to plan. Also, what else is the Judge supposed to do? She hasn’t tried a case in 30 years, and she’s not sure if she should get into Bloodline or not. (“I don’t know, I just don’t feel like I can see Kyle Chandler as anyone else but Coach Taylor.”) We feel ya, sister.

The Good Place Got the Perfect Comedian As the Eternal Judge