There is so much to watch on television these days. Too much, when you factor in all of the great streaming options available with a Netflix subscription, the Marvel and Star Wars options with your Disney+ sub, or all the great action and sci-fi that’s at your fingertips thanks to Amazon Prime Video. Because the streaming landscape can be a sea of choice, anytime I get a recommendation from someone I trust, I tend to swim towards it. And more than enough people had recommended the great A Man On The Inside, available through Netflix. I tried it. I absolutely adored it. And today, Netflix gave me the best news possible.
Despite the fact that A Man On The Inside ended with a very deliberate tease for a second season, Netflix held off on renewing the comedy, for some odd reason. Until this morning. It has been reported that A Man on the Inside Season 2 will arrive on the streaming service in 2025. The show’s creator and executive produce Michael Schur said in a statement:
We are thrilled to make another season of A Man on the Inside, starring young up-and-comer Ted Danson. From our partners at Netflix and Universal TV to the writers, cast, and crew, it's a truly exceptional team of talented and lovely people, with one notable exception (young up-and-comer Ted Danson, who's kind of a nightmare).
Now that you have good reason to dive into A Man On The Inside Season 1 (in preparation for the next story), let me explain to you why I think this is the best new show available, and a complete and total delight.
Ted Danson is a consummate pro who has mastered the sitcom format.
Obviously, we know Ted Danson from numerous sitcoms over the years, starting with Cheers and following all the way up to A Good Place, which he made with A Man On The Inside creator Michael Schur. And watching Danson in A Man On The Inside makes it abundantly clear how much this gifted actor understands the ins and outs of the 26-minute sitcom. He knows when to bring the humor, and he knows when it’s time to push the right emotional buttons. Danson rarely gives too much, or too little. And his restraint allows Schur and his writers the freedom to take the show to unexpected but logical places, as dictated by the story.
Season 1 of A Man on the Inside begins as a whodunit mystery involving stolen jewelry in a retirement home. But it gradually becomes a devastatingly hornets conversation about loneliness and the elderly. And Danson keeps both subjects flowing beautifully. He really is a pro’s pro, and I’m thrilled he’ll get to keep doing it in A Man on the Inside Season 2.
The next season can (and should) be something totally different.
The first season of A Man on the Inside found Ted Danson’s character, Charles, working for a private investigator named Julie (Lilah Richcreek Estrada). Charles is a widower who agreed to pose as a retiree so he could investigate a series of thefts that were happening inside of the Pacific View Retirement Community in San Francisco. Naturally, Charles grew close to the residents, specifically the magnificent Stephen McKinley Henderson, a lonely man named Calbert who enjoyed playing backgammon.
As Season 1 drew to a close, Julie was offered another case. We learn nothing about it, though she begrudgingly realizes that the ideal candidate to help her solve this next case is Charles. He accepts, but we don’t know what his case is.
My hope is that A Man on the Inside Season 2 is something drastically different than the retirement community. There are several other aspects of Charles that make him a unique lead. He was a professor of architecture. He has a daughter and three hilarious grandchildren. There are really good situations that one can drop Charles into, and still be amusing, emotional, and fun. That’s not to say we can’t bring Stephen McKinley Henderson back. Charles and Calbert undercover makes me laugh just typing that. Figure out some way for the characters of Season 1 to play along, when it’s appropriate.
I think the formula of this show is ripe for multiple seasons of exploration. And I can’t wait to see where Julie takes Charles next, because Danson is delightful in the role, and Michael Schur knows exactly how to write to his actors’ strengths. Bring on A Man on the Inside Season 2. Bring our favorite spy back in from the cold.
