47/40

A remake of El agente topo (2020)

Chronology

Charles, a retired man, gets a new lease on life when he answers an ad from a private detective and becomes a mole in an undercover investigation at a nursing home. Michael Schur was inspired to create “A Man On the Inside” after watching the Chilean documentary “Agent the Mole.” He says, “Agent the Mole” is a powerful documentary because it makes people feel something remarkably similar, regardless of age, ethnicity, or gender, and I would describe that feeling in a very reduced way as “I need to call my mom.” In our show, we tried to do something similar with the tone: In general, does our show contribute to that feeling that makes us want to call our moms?. Ted Danson, around 76, plays Charles, around 76, a retired engineering professor living in San Francisco. He is also the producer of this series, which stands out from most by avoiding the all-too-common foul language.

He is healthy, but perhaps bored with his daily life

It is actually very clean and more enjoyable as a result. In the story, his wife died perhaps a year ago from the effects of Alzheimer’s disease. He has a habit of reading periodicals and newspapers and often cuts out interesting ones to send to his married daughter in Sacramento. One day, through a cut-out, he glimpses a small, brief advertisement.

Charles will be the key

It is looking for a person between the ages of 75 and 85 for a specific job. This leads him to a private investigator hired by a man whose mother is in a luxury nursing home in San Francisco, some significant jewelry has been stolen, and the son wants the thief caught. So he is hired to check out the place and watch and report as the person to uncover what is going on. Ted Danson is just perfect in this role, which he plays with a lot of humor.

My wife and I loved it

It quickly becomes less about who the thief was and more about the relationships. The actors are played by a group of excellent actors, many of them old favorites that we have known for the last 50 years. After watching the first three episodes in one night, we watched the last five episodes in one sitting after our usual Saturday night steak and wine dinner. The ending is shaping up for a sequel, I hope they pull it off.

One of the most enjoyable we have ever watched