The Martian writer Drew Goddard will direct the opening episode of Good Place, NBC’s 13-episode straight-to-series comedy series from Parks & Recreation and Brooklyn Nine-Nine co-creator Mike Schur. Helming the project, starring Kristen Bell and Ted Danson, marks Goddard TV directing debut.

It also marks a return to television for Goddard who started his career as a TV writer, working on such shows as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Alias and Lost before taking the leap to features with J.J. Abrams’ Cloverfield. His sole previous directing credit is the 2012 horror feature The Cabin In the Woods, which he co-wrote with Joss Wheden. In TV, Goddard most recently created Netflix’s Daredevil, which had feature origins, before departing to work on the feature Sinister Six.

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Good Place, which NBC ordered to series last summer based on a pitch, centers on Eleanor (Bell), a woman from New Jersey who comes to realize that she hasn’t been a very good person. She decides to turn over a new leaf by learning what it actually means to be “good” or “bad,” and then trying to make up for her past behavior. Danson plays Michael, who, through an unlikely set of circumstances, comes to be Eleanor’s guide through her self-designed self-improvement course. Good Place is produced by Universal Television, where Schur is under an overall deal, 3 Arts and Fremulon. Schur executive produces with David Miner.