As long as Netflix continues with A Man on the Inside, you can count on Kristen Bell making an appearance, whether she’s in on it or not.

**Spoilers ahead for Season 2 Episode 8, “Final Exams,” of A Man on the Inside**

Although Kristen Bell’s presence in the Season 1 finale of the septuagenarian detective series was subtle—she donned her iconic Eleanor Shellstrop sweater from The Good Place in a lecture led by Ted Danson’s character—her return in Season 2 is more noticeable. This time, viewers see Bell’s face clearly as Julie (Lilah Richcreek Estrada) and Vanessa (Constance Marie) enjoy an episode of Veronica Mars in their living room.

Mike Schur revealed that the decision to include their former colleague was made during the first season when she appeared momentarily, just before another cameo by Good Place alum D’Arcy Carden.

“After she stopped by the set [in Season 1] and did a quick cameo with her back to the camera, we decided that as long as this series continues, she’ll make an appearance in each season,” the series creator shared.

To that, Danson — who spent the most amount of time on screen with Bell in The Good Place — chimed in to say that her cameos will continue to be “unpaid,” exclusively.  It’s hard to believe it’s been five years since the NBC comedy — which also starred Jameela Jamil, Manny Jacinto, and William Jackson Harper — wrapped after four seasons and 13 Emmy nominations.

Additionally, while Bell — who ostensibly was busy filming her own Netflix series at the time that A Man on the Inside Season 2 was in progress in Los Angeles  —  knew she would be featured in the new block of episodes, the “how” wasn’t made known to her until the new season dropped. 

“She doesn’t know how she’s in the [show]. I told her she’s in this season, but she doesn’t know how because I didn’t tell her. But when the show drops, she’ll get to see how she fits in,” Schur explained.

Perhaps this conversation happened at the 2025 Emmys, where the gang was reunited as Schur and Bell took the stage to present this year’s Bob Hope Humanitarian Award to Danson and Mary Steenburgen, his real-life wife and A Man on the Inside Season 2 love interest.

Of course, Bell’s appearance isn’t the only nod to the show that started the family-like relationship between the actors and producer. One episode from Season 2 features Winnie Holzman playing a moral philosophy professor who is tormented with a hypothetical question, a direct nod to Chidi Anagonye, William Jackson Harper’s character in The Good Place.

“It was very fun,” Schur told DECIDER of throwing in little Easter eggs for the fans. “There are a lot of little hat tips and nods that we put into the show in the last two seasons.”

The first two seasons of A Man on the Inside are now streaming on Netflix.

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