A Man on the Inside stars Ted Danson, who has picked yet another excellent comedy role to keep us glued to our screens in half hour increments. The setup is perfect for many more seasons. I’ll be shocked if the series isn’t renewed very soon.
A Man on the Inside introduces us to Charles (Ted Danson). He lives alone. His wife died a year ago. He’s a retired engineer with all the nerdy and analytical characteristics you associate with engineers. But he’s also charming and funny and has a lot of love to give.
Charles has a daughter named Emily (Mary Elizabeth Ellis). She lives a train ride away with her husband and 3 teen boys. The series is set in San Francisco.
Julie (Lilah Richcreek Estrada) is a private detective. She and her assistant Megan (Kerry O’Malley) need a man between 75 and 85 to go undercover in a retirement home to investigate a theft. He must be adept with technology in order to communicate by phone with Julie on the outside.
Charles responds to an ad in the newspaper, and Julie has her man.
Charles will enter the retirement community and stay a month while he finds the thief. The retirement community was crammed with wonderful characters played by actors an elder like myself has watched for many years. I loved the characters there and it makes me sad that a second season (if it happens) will be in a different place with different actors.
Didi (Stephanie Beatriz) was the manager of the retirement home and she herded her crew of retired guests and younger staff with a deft touch. Stephanie Beatriz was so good in this – she was my favorite character.
Ginny (Sally Struthers) and Florence (Margaret Avery) were best friends. They were hilarious together and very interested in any men who came around. Elliott (John Getz) and Ginny had an on and off relationship, which made him instantly jealous of the tall and charming Charles who grabbed Ginny’s interest.
Susan (Lori Tan Chinn) was the President of the resident’s association and worried about security a lot. Gladys (Susan Ruttan) was a former costume designer on Broadway but she was losing her way to dementia. Calbert (Stephen McKinley Henderson) played Backgammon all day. Charles and Calbert became very good friends. There were many more colorful and interesting characters in the group.
The antics in and around the retirement home brought Charles out of the shell he’d been in since his wife died. He loved the people he met there and they loved him right back. When his daughter Emily found out what he was doing, it helped open up their relationship, too. They had been in an awkward holding pattern since the death of Charles’ wife.
Charles found the thief and solved the mystery. He moved back to his own home. The final scene of the series was Julie calling him with news of another job. Ahh, season 2 is but an approval away.
Half of the episodes were directed by women: Rebecca Asher and Anu Valia. Netflix has a winner with this one. It has humor, charm, and wonderful nuanced characters. I suggest you watch it!
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Very sweet show, loved the Ted Danson character. And it blew me away to see Margaret Avery, gorgeous person. Had to look up Lori Tan Chinn as I remembered her face from somewhere and stumbled upon a very interesting article in Time magazine.
Margaret Avery’s story made me cry. Or maybe it was the outstanding performances from the people who loved her. A perfect combination of laughter, love, and tears in this series.