The shadowy figures working behind the scenes at Netflix HQ have a nasty habit of cancelling all of my favourite TV shows (don’t @ me, Netflix; you know I speak the truth). Naturally, then, my heart sank a little when I saw that they’d already made a decision regarding the future of Ted Danson’s A Man On The Inside, which premiered to rave reviews back in December.

Thankfully, it seems this series is here to break the cancellation curse: it’s been renewed for a second seasonthat’s set to premiere in 2025. Which means there’s plenty of time for everyone to watch the first batch of episodes, ooh, at least six or seven times before Danson’s retired professor heads out on another adventure.

As you’ve likely guessed, I’m a big fan of this one. Big. Huge! And I’m not alone in my adoration, either; A Man On The Inside has been certified ‘Fresh’ on Rotten Tomatoes, spent a cool three weeks in Netflix’s Top 10 following its release, earned a Golden Globe nomination for Danson and clocked up a lot of mentions across my WhatsApp chats – including a glowing “Would watch it forever!” review from my esteemed colleague Helen Bownass. 

But, for those who have yet to watch a single episode (hey, I’m not here to judge), you’re probably wondering what it’s all about. 

Watch the trailer for A Man On The Inside below:

The plot is deceptively simple; a retired professor – that’s Danson’s Charles – answers a classified ad from a private investigator to go undercover inside the Pacific View Retirement Home in San Francisco and solve the mystery of a stolen family heirloom. Which means, yes, there are laughs aplenty in store as he does his best to evade the suspicions of residents and staff alike.

Here’s the thing, though; a comedy series by Michael Schur (as in, the guy who brought us The Good Place and Parks And Recreation) is never just a comedy series. And this fun tale of an amateur sleuth attempting to unravel a mystery is actually a bittersweet paean to love, loss, loneliness and our universal fears around growing old.

“The point of [this show is that] a man whose life was getting very small, and he was shutting himself down and closing himself off from the world, goes on an adventure, and in doing so, meets a lot of people and has a lot of experiences that expand his world and make him feel like there is more to life than doing a crossword puzzle alone at the kitchen table,” Schur tells The Hollywood Reporter.

Perhaps the most beautiful part of the series is the complex and brittle relationship between Charles and his almost (but not quite) estranged daughter, Emily (Mary Elizabeth Ellis). She feels as if he’s unable to connect with her on an emotional level; he worries that, if he dares to do so, he’ll expose her to the sort of pain and sadness he’s fought to protect her from since her birth.

“He doesn’t want to burden her. I do get that. I get the compartmentalising – I’ve compartmentalised my life at times. I’ve experienced it recently, where a grief, a sadness, that a trauma that happened,” admits Danson. 

“I thought I could talk about it, but I hadn’t really allowed myself to fully feel that grief, and I was overwhelmed with it recently. And luckily, I was able, able to talk with the people involved and with Mary [Steenburgen, Danson’s wife], but I totally understand all of that.”

Basically, this one does it all: impossibly likeable characters, off-the-charts chemistry, plenty of humour, a tantalising mystery and a deft approach to some of life’s more heartaching truths. If you’ve ever lost anyone, watched anyone grow frailer and older before your eyes or found it difficult to connect with a parent for whatever reason, then it will absolutely make you cry. Hell, it will probably make you cry regardless – without ever losing its fun and cosy vibes. 

No wonder it’s proven so popular, eh? Thank the TV gods, then, that we’re getting more than just those tantalising eight episodes, because I, like Helen, could happily watch Danson solve low-stakes crimes forever.

The first season of A Man On The Inside is available to stream on Netflix now. The second season is confirmed for 2025.

Images: Netflix