TERRY GROSS, HOST:
This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross. My guest, Michael Schur, is one of the people behind some of the most beloved TV comedy series of the recent past. He wrote for "The Office," cocreated and wrote for "Parks And Recreation" and "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," and created and wrote for "The Good Place." He created the new comedy series "A Man On The Inside." All eight episodes just started streaming on Netflix.
Before we hear from him, our TV critic David Bianculli is going to review the series. David says there's a couple of things that "A Man On The Inside" has in common with "The Good Place." They both star Ted Danson, who became a star playing the bartender on "Cheers," and both shows are entertaining and surprisingly philosophical. Here's David's review.
DAVID BIANCULLI, BYLINE: In "The Good Place," series creator Michael Schur put an awful lot of trust in Ted Danson, not only in his audience appeal, but also in his acting ability. That series was about a woman, played by Kristen Bell, who awakens in the afterlife with Ted Danson as her guide. Its brilliant twist, revealed after a full season, was that Danson's character wasn't who he pretended to be. It required the actor to switch gears significantly in midstream, and Danson was great at it. And in "A Man On The Inside," the new Netflix TV show reteaming Schur as series creator with Danson as star, the story starts with him pretending once again.
Improbably but charmingly, this new eight-episode comedy series is based on a documentary from Chile called "The Mole Agent" and also available now on Netflix. It was nominated for an Oscar in 2021 and shown on the PBS series "POV" that same year. It told the true story of an elderly man hired by a detective agency to go undercover in a nursing home. The client's mother, a resident of the home, complained of the theft of a family heirloom, so the detective agency advertised for an elderly man, hoping to place him in the home temporarily to find the culprit.
Inspired by this story, Michael Schur starts his version by introducing us to Ted Danson's character of Charles in a home movie flashback from his wedding day many decades ago. Then it cuts to Charles in the present day in Oakland, California. He's a widower, a retired professor. And even though his daughter and her husband and kids live nearby, has a rigid and solitary daily routine. That routine is interrupted one day by a suggestion from that daughter, Emily, played by Mary Elizabeth Ellis.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "A MAN ON THE INSIDE")
MARY ELIZABETH ELLIS: (As Emily) Look. I know that you don't like to talk about Mom, so we don't have to. But you know that she would've wanted you to be a person, live your life. OK, do you remember when I was little and you would give me Charles challenges, like find 10 out of state license plates or read 20 books before Christmas? I'm giving you a Charles challenge. Find a project or a hobby, just something that excites you.
TED DANSON: (As Charles) OK, it's a good challenge. I accept.
BIANCULLI: To widen his horizons, Charles answers a classified ad in the newspaper, which had been placed by a private investigator named Julie, played by Lilah Richcreek Estrada. It listed a job offer for a male 75 and 85. Because he could use a cellphone, Charles is hired by Julie to infiltrate the nursing home for a month or so, a mission Charles feels more optimistic about than his employer.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "A MAN ON THE INSIDE")
LILAH RICHCREEK ESTRADA: (As Julie) OK, we are meeting with Debra Santos Cordero (ph). She goes by Didi. She's the executive director. The whole staff reports to her. I am your loving daughter Emily.
DANSON: (As Charles) Why can't you be Julie?
ESTRADA: (As Julie) Well, you're online in a bunch of places as having a daughter named Emily. But there aren't any pictures of her linked to you, so the name is all that matters. Plus, it's just better to keep your cover story as simple as possible.
DANSON: (As Charles, laughter) Cover story?
ESTRADA: (As Julie) Yes, cover story. Keep it together, man. You ready?
DANSON: (As Charles) Well, I don't know, but it hardly matters. What matters is you think I'm ready.
ESTRADA: (As Julie) Oh, I don't think that at all. You're not remotely ready. But we ran out of time.
DANSON: (As Charles) Be that as it may, you put your faith in me, and that gives me confidence.
ESTRADA: (As Julie) I think you are the best option in a sea of not very good options.
DANSON: (As Charles) That's all I needed to hear.
BIANCULLI: Once Charles crosses into San Francisco and moves into the nursing home, "A Man On The Inside" really comes alive. Stephanie Beatriz plays Didi, the director who oversees things, and she's as clever as she is caring. The roles of some of the residents are filled by some long-familiar actors. Sally Struthers from "All In The Family" is one, and Susan Ruttan from "L.A. Law" is another. It's nice to see so many older actors given so much to do in a TV comedy. And it may be the first time it's been done, at least so successfully, since "The Golden Girls." But "A Man On The Inside" isn't just in it for the laughs. It's a comedy, but it's also much more. It uses music very poetically - and poetry, too. And as with "The Good Place," there's a lot of talk about life and death, and the importance and difficulties and treasures along the way.
Alzheimer's is treated here at length and with dignity. And one reason it all works so well is because Ted Danson is as good at drama as he is at comedy. You can watch all of "A Man On The Inside" in one self-contained binge, and that's not a bad way to go. It's one of the sweetest TV series since "Ted Lasso," and the mystery Danson's Charles is hired to crack is neatly wrapped up by the end. But there's a hint that, as with Sherlock Holmes or those podcasters of "Only Murders In The Building," there may soon be other cases afoot. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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