In the opening seconds of Netflix ‘s new sitcom A Man on the Inside , the legendary Ted Danson greets us with an unintentional jump scare. With a CGI’ed face and a black mop of hair to shave 50 years off his 76, engineering professor Charles Nieuwendyk appears giving a tender wedding speech to unseen wife, Victoria. Danson’s one of the most recognisable comedy actors in history thanks to his iconic roles in Cheers , Three Men and a Baby and The Good Place , but something feels off.
In fact, that’s a pretty apt summary of the whole series. Based on a true story (already told in Oscar-nominated documentary The Mole Agent) of a pensioner going undercover at a care home, we fast forward from the opening scene to Charles a year after Victoria’s death. He’s now retired, and his daughter ( It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia ’s Mary Elizabeth Ellis) urges him to start a new hobby to keep busy.
Charles takes the challenge with gusto by answering a mysterious ad for an “investigative assistant – male 75/85 – must have phone”. Private investigator Julie (Lilah Richcreek Estrada) has been hired by a man to track down his mother’s stolen – and pricey – ruby necklace, and tasks Charles with gathering intel by moving into Pacific View Residential Home. He embraces his mission with a charming childish giddiness, but soon finds the home a constant reminder of his own mortality, and of Victoria’s final years after succumbing to Alzheimer’s .
Pacific View’s re.
