A shrimp merry-go-round? The suggestion of yogurt? A cart full of cupcakes?

San Diego Comic Cons attendees found themselves transported from Gaslamp Square to smack dab in the middle of The Good Place as NBC constructed a small town inspired by the series.

“Welcome! Everything is fine,” in reassuring green print against a stark white wall, is the first thing fans see when entering the activation. They then emerge into a grassy area where their ethics are put to the test by in-character residents.

What if the group of people in the scaled demonstration of the trolly problem are actually the Guardians of the Galaxy? The mailman has a letter for you, but it’s not actually your name—do you take it? The immersive experience pulls heavily from the show—with season three set to premiere September 27—and takes the same comedic, philosophical tone.

The series stars Kristen Bell as Eleanor Shellstrop, who enters the afterlife and tries to become a better person, alongside Ted Danson as Michael, the architect of her environment. She also meets Tahani (Jameela Jamil), Jason Mendoza (Manny Jacinto) and afterlife assistant Janet (D’Arcy Carden)—who all stopped by to check out the experience.

Just as Eleanor was judged based on her actions on Earth, before entering the activation guests are asked to register by answering a few probing questions like, “Have you ever worn leggings as pants?” and “Have you ever reheated fish in the microwave?” before being given an RFID wristband.

Based on their decisions and reactions to different scenarios and temptations, residents scanned the bracelets, muttering things like ‘ah, yes, that explains it,’ in response to apparently seeing guests’ less-than-stellar scores—which are later revealed in an email after the activation is over.

For about 10 minutes everything really is fine … until there’s a fight between demons from ‘the bad place’ and chaos ensues. Popcorn goes flying. The spoon lady is having a panic attack. The mailman is suddenly shirtless. And guests are quickly ushered through portals, and out of The Good Place.

Tags: nbc sdcc 2018 the good place

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