Manny Jacinto talks Jason’s growth on The Good Place, delivering comedy with heart
Ahead of The Good Place season 4 premiere, Manny Jacinto talks Jason’s growth across the series, doing comedy with heart, and what happens when he meets a fan from Jacksonville.
The Good Place Season 4 premieres this week on NBC for its final season, and we recently sat down with Manny Jacinto, who plays the lovable Jason Mendoza on the comedy series, to learn more about Jason’s journey in the final episodes.
The Good Place is a unique, stand-out comedy adored by its fans, and Jacinto commented on why he thinks the show’s story separates it from other comedies — and his answer focused on series creator Mike Schur. “It’s not about the jokes,” Jacinto said, talking of characters on Schur’s past series like The Office and Parks and Rec. “They really are finding the characters, what their motivations are… Some of them are jerks, some of them are pretentious… but a lot of them all the time have heart.”
Similarly with The Good Place, Jacinto says that it’s the heart found within the comedy and storylines that contribute to the show’s success. “As we go through season 1, 2, 3, 4, all of these relationships and all the emotions tend to come out,” he shared. “I think that’s what we all look forward to each season is exploring kind of not just the jokes and getting to tell these jokes, but also that the emotional relationship between all these characters. And I think that’s kind of what makes it such a well rounded cast and just show.”
More from NBC
- It’s Thanksgiving Eve! Tune into the SNL Thanksgiving special to get into the spirit of the holiday
- Final season, release date set for La Brea season 3: Everything we know so far
- Law and Order: Organized Crime season 4 release date revealed!: Everything we know about the new season
- QUIZ: Finish these Friends quotes from “The One With All the Thanksgivings”
- Is Quantum Leap on tonight? (November 22, 2023)
Jacinto went on to say that during the first season of shooting The Good Place, the rhythm of how Jason Mendoza told jokes got an extra ingredient added to the mix. Jacinto explained that jokes are often told as a “One, two, punch line, one, two, punch line.
Jacinto recalled that finding the perfect rhythmic timing as a cast came easily for them. But when Schur started working with the cast on set, he facilitated a new element to the written punch-lines: to be truthful. “You can say the joke, it can be a laugh, but I think what’s more important is for the joke to come true,” Jacinto said.
Watch our full interview with Manny Jacinto ahead of The Good Place Season 4 premiere to see more of what he had to say — and to find out what it’s like when he meets a fan of the show from Jacksonville, Florida.
Watch the interview with Manny Jacinto from The Good Place below:
The Good Place returns to NBC for its fourth and final season on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019. Check back with Hidden Remote for more interviews with the cast leading up to the premiere!