A Man on the Inside Season 1 (??.??.??)

 

Everyone needs a hobby. Some people collect stamps, some people dabble in petty theft. Some, like Ted Danson's character in A Man on the Inside, check into a retirement home in order to help a private investigator catch someone who’s hobby is dabbling in petty theft. Since Ted Danson and Michael Schur (creator of Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, etc.) are involved in this particular set-up you might suspect hilarity, and because Schur also created The Good Place you might further think there would be a good amount of sweetness and sad moments in this new television show as well. If you thought either of these things then congratulations! You might just have the makings of a great detective, because you are correct.  

A Man on the Inside didn’t click for me right away; there are a few lazy jokes in the first couple of episodes that make trite observations such as “older people are generally not great at technology” and “those darn teenagers are always on the internet,” stale takes that don’t exactly speak to good writing. But a rhythm is eventually found, and it’s one that is hard not to dance to. The pacing of the jokes isn’t terribly dense—it's not the kind of show that has a high laughs-per-minute ratio—but they do eventually become more reliable as the plot gets underway and we get to know the characters a bit better.

What A Man on the Inside does particularly well is mix in these funny moments with satisfying emotional ones, be they sanguine, melancholy, or a combination of the two. Michael Schur’s last project, The Good Place, was about death and ultimately being a better person. A Man on the Inside is similarly comfortable going to places that most sitcoms wouldn’t ever want to explore, fearlessly tackling tough subjects such as loneliness, cancer, and dementia. It’s a potent cocktail, and I’m sure it’s not for everyone; A Man on the Inside is not for people that aren’t in the headspace to confront certain sad facts of life in their television.

Don’t get me wrong, the show isn’t a downer by any means. The sadness is always levied by a message that it’s never too late to find joy, and that is something to be appreciated. Ted Danson and his supporting cast (which includes Mary Elizabeth Ellis of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Stephanie Beatriz of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and Sally Struthers of All in the Family and Gilmore Girls) bring to life some truly hilarious moments, yet they never feel like one-dimensional caricatures that only exist when the camera is on them.  The espionage/crime plot that is central to the show is intriguing as well, its low-stake nature being a refreshing flip side of the heavier emotional themes.

A Man on the Inside ultimately makes for a potent emotional cocktail that would make Sam Malone proud. I wonder what that guy is up to these days?

A Man on the Inside season 1 is now available on Netflix.