Eleanor Shellstrop comes to in a pleasant office, where she is reassured that all is well, and that she's dead.

It's a low-key, offbeat opening to The Good Place, a four-season series that places Eleanor and a handful of other deceased people in a tiny, pleasant, frozen yogurt-filled neighborhood -- the eponymous "Good Place" -- where they can spend a cheerful afterlife.

The problem for Eleanor is, she quickly realizes she doesn't belong there. Somehow the files got mixed up, and she's not the saintly Eleanor Shellstrop they think she is. She is -- was, rather -- a fairly self-centered, mean-spirited young woman who died under embarrassing circumstances and has no business whatsoever being in that other Eleanor's cozy, clown-themed Good Place bungalow.

That's the set up for an imaginative, darling series that starts off whimsical and eventually delves into some fairly deep philosophical and theological questions about morality, consequences and the human spirit -- without ever losing its sense of fun.

The success of the series is partly due to its deucedly clever premise and writing. But the cast, too, is perfectly suited to pull it off.

The series is led by Kristen Bell as Eleanor and Ten Danson as Michael, the Architect behind the Good Place. Joining them in the core are William Jackson Harper as Chidi Anagonye and Jameela Jamil as Tahani Al-Jamil -- fellow inhabitants of the Good Place who, unlike Eleanor, don't realize they're not supposed to be there -- and Manny Jacinto as Jason Mendoza, a Florida ne'er-do-well who's been confused with a Buddhist monk.

And then there's D'Arcy Carden as Janet, the all-knowing artificial intelligence who is simply, well, adorable and perky, the glue that holds the Good Place together.

Other notable recurring characters include Marc Evan Jackson as the chief demon, Shawn, Tiya Sircar and Josh Siegal as subdemons Vicky and Glenn, and Maya Rudolph as the eternal Judge.

I love the show, and it only gets better -- and that's after a really good beginning, mind you -- as the series progresses. There's a completely unexpected twist at the end of the first season, and the show keeps you guessing as time passes and things change, and the true circumstances of the afterlife -- not just for our protagonists, but for all humankind -- are revealed.

Another check in the plus column is The Good Place knows when to stop. It probably could have ridden on its positive feels, clever writing and lovable heroes for a few more years, but the team ends it at the right time, on just the right note.

They left us with a series that is deeply thought-provoking. It's also joyous, funny and, at times, surprisingly poignant and sad. If the afterlife isn't the way they described it, it probably should be.