Remake of El agente topo (2020)
Line of Events
Charles, a retired man, gets a new lease on life when he answers an ad for a private detective and becomes a mole in an undercover investigation of a nursing home. Michael Schur was inspired to create “A Man On the Inside.” after watching the Chilean documentary “The Mole Agent.” He says: “The documentary “The Mole Agent” is powerful because it makes people feel something surprisingly similar, regardless of age, ethnicity, or gender, and I would describe that feeling in a very simplistic way: “I need to call my mom.” In our show, we tried to do something similar with the tone: basically, does our show contribute to that feeling of wanting to call our moms? Writing a review of this program requires knowledge of the context and content.
Having three parents struggling with the challenges of assisted living made it more enjoyable and emotional
Ted Danson stars as an octogenarian widower (Charles) struggling to establish a new routine after his wife dies of dementia-related health issues. Through a series of classic sitcom plot devices, Charles lands a job as an undercover detective at an assisted living facility (formerly known as a “nursing home”) to solve a jewelry heist. His boss, Lilah Richcreek Estrada as Julia, is a black-and-white, whatever-is-appropriate-to-solve-the-case kind-of-hand, sarcastic counterpoint to the good, honest Charles Danson.
Also funny are the jokes and commentary about assisted living and the things that go on there
The two quickly clash with the facility’s director (played well by Stephanie Beatriz as Didi), Charles’ daughter Emily (Mary Elizabeth Ellis), and the various residents and their many silly problems. There are some poorly conceived gimmicks centered around horny older women that don’t fit with the rest of the story, and Charles’ daughter’s three extremely rude (and interchangeable) teenage sons are distracting and irrelevant. The best parts are Charles slowly settling into his new community with some social interactions with the other residents, especially Caleb, played by Stephen McKinley Henderson.
The awkward exchange between Charles and Julie’s boss is hilarious
And while Emily’s daughter’s home life isn’t particularly interesting, there are some great scenes between her and Charles in the later episodes. The plot isn’t particularly hard to understand (who stole what and what happens to Charles), but the sentimental aspects of Charles waking up again and coming to terms with his wife’s death are very worthwhile. The show features small roles played by old stars (Sally Struthers, Veronica Cartwright) that might bring a smile to the faces of older viewers, but they are mostly wasted on unnecessary jokes about old people and sex.