REVIEW: A Man on the Inside
F.A.M. Certified binge-worthy TV.
What to watch next is the first-world problem of our times. This occasional series highlights what has made the grade or maybe a few that failed the test. From our couch to yours…
Starring: Ted Danson, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Stephen McKinley Henderson, and Sally Struthers
Streaming Service: Netflix
I’m not sure about the exact criteria, the name or members of the committee, or when they vote, but the time is surely coming that we officially name Ted Danson as a National Treasure.
Like Betty White, Jeff Goldblum, and Dick Van Dyke before him, Danson has that special something that puts his likability off the charts. I’m old enough to remember Cheers and his Sam Malone role. That character was so iconic that it seemed like he’d never get away from it. But somehow, he did it, first following up with eight years on Becker playing against type, and ever since popping up where you’d least expect him.
There were spots on CSI, Damages, the second season of Fargo, playing a variation of himself on Curb Your Enthusiasm and the criminally underrated HBO series Bored to Death. Danson never went away, but, it was his turn as the "architect" on the acclaimed The Good Place that really put him back in the center of popular culture.
A Man on the Inside is from Michael Schur, creator of The Good Place and the tone and style springs from that, same, well, good place. Danson stars as recent widower, falling into routine without his wife. His estranged-ish daughter tries to convince him to get back into the world, which — in a series of TV show pilot events — leads to him working for a private investigator as an undercover agent of sorts in an assisted living facility.
Setting a show in such a place is rife for comedy, but also stereotypes. Schur deftly strikes that balance, presenting funny characters while never flinching from treating the problems of aging with the dignity they deserve. A number of familiar faces inhabit the apartment complex including Sally Struthers and Stephanie Beatriz as the overworked manager of the Pacific View Retirement Community. I mention Beatriz because she was the only character on Brooklyn Nine-Nine that I didn’t like and I’ve always wondered if it was her acting or the character.
Come to find out it was the character, because — like the rest of the cast — she’s lovely in this.
The crime and the “who done it” aspect of the show is somewhat beside the point. It’s intriguing enough, but this is much more of a character study than a mystery. As we’ve come to expect, Danson absolutely shines. And while he’s gotten so iconic that there’s a certain “Ted Danson-ness” to all his characters, that doesn’t diminish the deft comedic skills and heartwarming nuance he brings to the role.
Given some of the parallels, it’s easy to draw comparisons between A Man on the Inside and Only Murderers in the Building. You could also argue that both should have been perfect little “one and done season” gifts. But, just like the trio on Murderers it’s a tough call. Even if the credulity of the story lines in subsequent season are stretched, you still crave more.
A Man on the Inside ties up the case but more than opens the door for others.
You should watch the first season, if only to help make sure that we see National Treasure Feed After Midnight designee Ted Danson work his magic in another.