Ted Danson, the Hollywood icon who achieved stardom for his portrayal of Sam Malone on the hit sitcom Cheers and has garnered success with his offbeat and comedic projects in recent years, officially returned to our television screens.
This time, he stars as Charles Nieuwendyk in Michael Schur‘s new Netflix series, A Man on the Inside, which debuted November 21 and immediately shot to the top of the streaming platform’s “Top 10 TV Shows” list.
The last time Danson and Schur joined forces resulted in NBC’s The Good Place.
Based on the Oscar-nominated documentary The Mole Agent, A Man on the Inside follows Charles, a retired and widowed professor whose newly inactive life has left him deeply unsatisfied. However, everything changes once he answers an ad placed by a private detective and becomes a mole in a secret investigation at the Pacific View Retirement Community in San Francisco, in order to locate a valuable piece of jewelry.
Although the show puts Danson’s unique mesh of refined gravitas and an ability to convey childlike whimsy to excellent use, in keeping with the spirit of The Mole Agent, Schur views A Man on the Inside as an opportunity to examine the frequently ignored topic of aging from a comedic yet heartfelt angle.
In addition to Danson, A Man on the Inside also stars Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Lilah Richcreek Estrada, Stephanie Beatriz, and Stephen McKinley Henderson.
Instinct recently caught up with Schur to dive more into his inspiration for adapting The Mole Agent into a comedy series, while Danson, Ellis, and Estrada shared their reasons for joining the show, their hopes for what audiences will take away from it, and how A Man on the Inside masterfully blends humor with heartfelt themes like aging.
Check out the full video interviews below.
Michael Schur & Ted Danson…
Mary Elizabeth Ellis & Lilah Richcreek Estrada…
HIghly recommend “A Man on the Inside.” Great story (touching moments and laugh out loud humor), great acting all around and filmed in the great backdrop of San Francisco. More please! (Season 2?)