Within just a couple of weeks of its release, A Man on the Inside is already an instant classic. The new Mike Schur comedy series follows a retired engineering professor named Charles Nieuwendyk (Ted Danson) who is especially lost and isolated after the death of his wife, Victoria. When his concerned daughter, Emily (Mary Elizabeth Ellis), suggests that Charles get a hobby or job, Charles answers an advertisement from a private investigator.

Julie Kovalenko (Lilah Richcreek Estrada) needs a man between the ages of 75-85 to go undercover at Pacific View Retirement Community, in order to investigate the whereabouts of a resident’s missing necklace. This leads to eight episodes that are truly hilarious, heartfelt, and incredibly moving. The show has a perfect balance of laughter and tears, and it should be your next watch if you haven’t seen it already. These are 10 reasons why you should watch A Man on the Inside.

10. The unique setting of Pacific View Retirement Community

Charles goes undercover at Pacific View Retirement Community with just one goal in mind: to find out what happened to the missing necklace, and then to leave once he’s done his job. Pacific View turns out to be a very different place than Charles expected, though. After just one night there, Charles compares it to high school, due to the drama, the partying, and the fun that he’s having.

Pacific View Retirement Community is the perfect setting for a comedy show. It is a small live-in community of characters with unique perspectives on the world due to their age and life experiences. This setting leaves room for many funny moments as the residents get into trouble, and as Charles tries and often fails to be a good spy. There is also a realistic grappling with what it means to live in a place like this.

9. The ensemble cast

Ted Danson shines in his role as Charles in A Man on the Inside, but he is just the beginning of what is a truly phenomenal cast. A Man on the Inside has a strong ensemble cast, made up of the staff and residents of Pacific View Retirement Community, as well as Charles’ daughter and her family, and Julie and the people that she works with and for to solve the case.

Each character in the show feels very real, and has their own growth. One of the highlights is Stephanie Beatriz as Didi Santos Cordero, the managing director of Pacific View Retirement Community. Didi is initially introduced as a kind and observant obstacle to Charles’ mission, but the show really dives into her personal struggles with this job. Every character in the show has their own goals, and it makes them all feel so real.

8. The mystery premise

Although the premise seems hilariously over-the-top, A Man on the Inside is actually based on a true story, which was detailed in the 2020 documentary, The Mole Agent. This could have been a simple comedy show about a reluctant man who moves into a retirement community, but the premise makes the show truly phenomenal. The mystery gives the first season an overarching storyline, around which the rest of the show is framed.

The mystery premise is a lot of fun to watch, leaving viewers curious to see what happened to the necklace. This is not some intense mystery show, but the mystery is still a fun way to set the rest of the plot in motion. It also puts Charles in an interesting and complicated position. As this lonely and isolated character becomes close to his fellow residents, there is always the fact of his secret identity looming over these relationships.

7. Charles’ relationship with his daughter, Emily

The primary focus of A Man on the Inside is on Charles’ experience of going undercover to investigate Pacific View Retirement Community. The show does not only take place there, though, and there is still some significant focus outside the retirement community. A lot of this is on Charles’ daughter, Emily, and their relationship. From the beginning of the show, it is clear that while they love each other and are in regular contact, these two aren’t big on emotional conversations.

As Charles spends more time at Pacific View Retirement Community, he grows as a character, slowly coming out of his grief bubble through his new friendships. This experience helped him get closer to Emily as well, and to change their relationship. There are some seriously funny and sweet scenes of the two of them investigating the case together at Pacific View, but the best moments are when the two of them are able to open up to each other, especially about the loss of Victoria.

6. Charles’ inspiring second chance at life and work

At its core, A Man on the Inside is a story about a man who gets a second chance at life through a new career and a new community of people. Charles is introduced as an isolated character who has become cut off from the world around him, both due to his retirement and the death of his wife. Charles doesn’t have much to do, so he reads the newspaper and cuts out articles to send to Emily.

After a push from Emily, Charles ends up taking a risk that changes his life. It is really endearing and touching to see this character open up to people and build connections again, as he’s struggled to do since losing Victoria. It is also very funny and exciting to watch Charles constantly try and often fail to become a spy. The longer Charles does this job, the better he gets at it, leading him to ultimately solve the case.

5. The comedy

The premise of an undercover spy in a retirement community is one that leaves room for some more serious and emotional moments, as well as some deeply, laugh-out-loud funny ones. A Man on the Inside is first and foremost a comedy, and it is absolutely hilarious. There’s laughter to be had in details like Charles’ grandsons all breaking bones on the trampoline together, or when Ginny (Sally Struthers) convinces Florence (Margaret Avery) to splurge on a massage chair.

A Man on the Inside is full of comedic potential, due to its unique premise, quirky setting, and central fish-out-of-water story. It takes advantage of all of this, and in doing so, is extremely funny. Charles’ many slip-ups as a spy and his back-and-forth with Julie are a lot of fun to watch, as is his initially antagonistic relationship with Elliott (John Getz). Even in the show’s saddest moments, it manages to insert jokes in a way that feels organic.

4. The show’s gentle yet honest portrayal of grief

Alongside the main plotline of Charles going undercover at Pacific View Retirement Home is an underlying plotline of Charles slowly moving past his grief from Victoria’s death. Charles and Emily both described Victoria as someone who was full of life, and regularly brought Charles into the fold and serving as the glue for him and Emily. Her death leaves a massive hole in Charles’ life.

Grief plays a significant role in A Man on the Inside, not just through Charles, but through the other characters as well. Julie and Didi open up to Charles about the losses of their family members, and he and Emily ultimately have some important conversations about Victoria’s death. Charles has a lot of guilt and regret about the end of Victoria’s life when she struggled with her memory, and a lot of that comes up for him through his friendship with Gladys (Susan Ruttan).

3. The heart of the show: connecting with other people in unlikely and difficult circumstances

A Man on the Inside touches on many significant themes, but at its core, it is a show about building connections with others under the most difficult and unlikely circumstances. The residents at Pacific View have all had to move in due to their age, and some are also suffering from illnesses. In spite of this, A Man on the Inside paints Pacific View as a very communal place where many of the residents have close relationships with one another.

Charles initially only comes to Pacific View to be an undercover spy. As Julie points out to him, this is not the type of circumstance where it is a good idea to become friends with the people around him. In spite of the risk, Charles develops friendships with his fellow residents, especially Calbert, Ginny, Florence, and Gladys. He becomes attached to the people that he’s supposed to be observing, and his life changes for the better because of this.

2. Charles’ friendship with Calbert

One of the best parts of A Man on the Inside is Charles’ friendship with Calbert Graham (Stephen McKinley Henderson). Charles initially plays backgammon with Calbert in order to secretly ask him questions about one of the staff members that he’s investigating. In spite of this, Charles and Calbert become great friends. They give each other advice about their children and open up to one another about their late wives.

In “From Russian Hill with Love,” Charles and Calbert go on a day trip around San Francisco. They ride the ferry, go to a baseball game, visit the Golden Gate Bridge, see the Redwood Forest, and go out to dinner at one of Charles and Victoria’s old favorite restaurants. It is lovely to see Charles, who is typically less comfortable being emotional, open up to Calbert about Victoria.

1. Charles is easy to root for

There is a lot to love about A Man on the Inside, but the number one reason to watch this show is for its main character, Charles Nieuwendyk. Ted Danson is fantastic in this role, showing nuance in his acting as Charles slowly becomes less consumed by grief. Charles is a particularly easy character to root for because he is intentionally making changes to his life after becoming so isolated.

In spite of his own grief, Charles is an inherently kind person, going out of his way to try to help Gladys. He’s also a very funny character who is often comically bad at being covert and subtle, which makes him a very funny spy. A major part of Charles’s journey of growth is learning to become comfortable being emotional and vulnerable, especially after losing Victoria. He is the perfect main character for a show like this, and his journey as a character is incredibly moving.

A Man on the inside is available to stream on Netflix.