A Man on the Inside

Septuagenarians are having a moment, given the success of Only Murders in the Building, starring Martin Short and Steve Martin, and Matlock, starring Kathy Bates.

Add 76-year-old Ted Danson to the list of 70-somethings who are saving some of their best work for their latter years. In A Man on the Inside, Danson, a bundle of frenetic charm, physical comedy, and the ability to break your heart and heal it, stars as lonely and adrift widower Charles, who gets a new lease on life when he gets an unexpected gig that changes his life.

Missing his late wife terribly and pining for purpose, Charles jumps at the chance to be the “man on the inside,” a spy hired to infiltrate a retirement community after one of the residents has an expensive necklace gone missing.

Pacific View Retirement Community is like your grandma’s assisted living home on steroids. Loaded with amenities such as a beauty salon and a gorgeous view of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, the fancy facility still holds several residents aching for their former lives and mourning the losses of spouses and friends. We know going in that Charles’ tender heart won’t be able to withstand the tug to care for his fellow seniors; he relates to them all too well. Soon Charles finds the community he has been looking for, even though it is established on pretenses. How will his new friends react when they find out he has been spying on them?

Danson carries the show deftly. He’s still got it—the magic that made him a star when he was Sam on Cheers. Reunited here with Michael Shur, his showrunner from his last hit series, The Good Place, Danson has a winsome way of making us laugh while pondering themes of aging, autonomy, and end of life. The creators of the show also worked on Parks and Rec and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, but this show is not as laugh-out-loud funny. It’s every bit as good, though.

Speaking of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Stephanie Beatriz’s tough, sarcastic character Rosa from that show is nowhere to be found in her character here. She shines as Didi, the facility manager who pours her all into caring for her residents. I also loved Jama Williamson’s Beatrice, who plays the loving and mega-enthusiastic activities director who isn’t going to let a little thing like a massive trust fund stop her from contributing worthy work into the world (she volunteers full time). Lilah Richcreek Estrada as Julie, Charles’ droll millennial spy boss, is also fun to watch. She might remind viewers of Selena Gomez’s Mabel on Only Murders in the Building—disaffected but totally affected at the same time.

Anyone who has ever loved an aging parent or anyone else at the end of life will be won over by Charles and all the residents of Pacific View. God imbues his image bearers with worth until the end of time, and certainly until the end of their time on earth. A Man on the Inside highlights that truth with wit and grace. (Netflix)