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'The Good Place' star Kristen Bell on if we're actually in the Bad Place: 'We might be'

Kristen Bell has spent enough time on the NBC comedy “The Good Place” exploring various levels of the afterlife – complete with moral dilemmas, final judgment, frozen yogurt shops and raining shrimp – that she’s practically an authority on the subject.

So considering our crazy real world and insane political climate, are we actually in the Bad Place? “Oh, wow. We might be,” Bell confesses to USA TODAY. “I’ve definitely contemplated that recently. Either we’re in the Bad Place or Earth is just in a very bad meeting.”

Still, the star of "Frozen" and "Teen Titans GO! to the Movies" (in theaters Friday) is keeping hope alive. "As frustrated and angry as I can get about everything, I'm slack-jawed but there's a part of me that is still very much Anna of Arendelle and says, 'Just believe. We're going to get it back. Goodness will win.' I remind myself every day of the Glennon Doyle quote: 'Turn your collective heartache into a festive action.' So that's how I'm coping with this current state of affairs."

Bell is finishing up filming on the 13-episode third season of “The Good Place” (premiering Sept. 27) and the last time we saw her not-very-good-but-getting-better Eleanor (Bell), ethics professor Chidi (William Jackson Harper), hoity-toity socialite Tahani (Jameela Jamil) and lovable nitwit Jason (Manny Jacinto), they were all sent back to Earth for remedial work on their lives so they could one day go to heaven, aka the Good Place.

In the upcoming season, afterlife architect Michael (Ted Danson) and all-knowing guide Janet (D'Arcy Carden) understand that “what makes these people successful is being together, which is a very acute, beautiful observation about humanity in that your tribe creates your vibe,” Bell says. “You can become a better or worse person based on who you’re friends with. And because Janet and Michael have realized that, their goal is obviously to bring the four of us together now that we’re on Earth. The catch is, how much can you meddle from the afterlife with things on Earth before you mess up the entire system? How many strings can you pull?”

It’s all positive for Bell on “The Good Place” because of executive producer Mike Schur's “no jerks” policy: “Every single person on our set is a really good hang,” she says. Bell also applies a “for every negative thing, you have to think or do 10 positive things” rule for her and her daughters, like when 5-year-old Lincoln was complaining about having a bad day recently.

“I made her name 40 things to counteract the four negatives she said,” Bell recalls. “We did it in rapid fire, like ‘I have great poise’ (and) ‘We saw 'The Incredibles',' and it worked! She was in a much better mood.”

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