After years apart, high school best friends Tiff and Pete reconnect in New York City only to discover they may not know each other as well as they used to. Tiff has a little secret: she is one of New York City's top dominatrixes. Knowing that Pete, a struggling standup comic, is in need of cash, she makes him an offer he can't refuse: to become a dominatrix's assistant.

The series focuses on Eleanor Shellstrop (Kristen Bell), who wakes up in the afterlife and is introduced to "The Good Place", a highly selective Heaven-like utopia, as a reward for her righteous life. However, she realizes that she was sent there by mistake and must hide her morally imperfect behavior while trying to become a better and more ethical person.