I recently watched this enjoyable comedy series consisting of eight half-hour episodes that is being streamed on Netflix. I expected it to be good because it comes with a pedigree and it did not disappoint. The series creator is Michael Schur who has had such hits as Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Parks and Recreation, and The Good Place with the last also starring Ted Danson who acts in this series.

Danson plays a retired professor of engineering who, after his wife dies after a prolonged period of dementia, falls into a lethargy that worries his daughter, his only child. She recommends that he take up some hobby and he stumbles across a classified ad in the newspaper that is looking for someone aged 75-85 who knows how to use a phone. He decides to apply and the job turns out to be with a private detective agency that has been hired by the son of a resident in an upscale retirement home in San Francisco to investigate the loss of his mother’s expensive ruby necklace. The detective agency feels that having someone pose as a resident would be a good way to solve the crime by gaining access to the all the people who live and work there. He does not tell his daughter exactly what he is up though, fearing that she might not approve or be worried.

The action takes place mostly inside the retirement home as Danson makes friends with the other residents and staff and tries to get information from them. But he quickly succumbs to the life of these places which involves hanging out, getting involved with all manner of activities, and gossip, lots of gossip, and almost forgetting that in order to be a good investigator, he needs to be dispassionate and not become friends with potential suspects.

There is a danger in a comedy show like this of making ageist jokes but the writers navigate that difficult terrain well, with the characters being funny without being made fun of just because they are old. The writers do not avoid the issue of some residents in such homes developing dementia and dying but do it tactfully. Danson’s easy charm and a good supporting cast holds it all together.

I enjoyed it and can recommend it. Of course, the description of the main character (a retired professor, living alone, who is comfortable with technology) fits me so I am definitely susceptible to such a story. But even my daughter and son-in-law who watched it with me enjoyed it. You can read another review here

If dying is easy and comedy is hard, making the years leading up to death humorous without making the people living through them into a joke takes . . . something else. Here, Schur brings the audience into the reality of what it means to keep going after much of what you’ve taken for granted fades away.

Pulling that off requires prioritizing heartfelt moments over brazen hilarity which, again, few TV storytellers do well. I’m guessing that’s because in the youth-obsessed entertainment industry, few know what it’s like to be old or conceive of that age as being a time of renewed independence and agency. “Every great thing in your life, looking back on it, feels like a miracle,” says one of its dearest figures, and he’s talking about simple moments like meeting his wife and cooking for her for the first time.
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Instead of reaching for the easy joke, or any at all, “A Man on the Inside” makes tenderness and honesty its North Star. It’s not the funniest comedy on TV, but it may be the most watchable and poignant. We can always use reasons to laugh, but the stories that remind us of our humanity and worth at any age have higher value – especially now.

Here’s the. trailer