TV Review: "A Man on the Inside"
The new Netflix sitcom from TV maestro Michael Schur proves to be a powerful showcase for Ten Danson's talents, and it shows that life doesn't end just because one enters one's twilight years.
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I think it’s safe to say that Michael Schur is one of the most talented people working with the sitcom form today. From The Office to Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn Nine-Nine to The Good Place, he’s been quite the maestro when it comes to creating shows that find the right balance between comedy and pathos, between laugh-out-loud hilarity and incisive commentary on life, politics, the afterlife, and a little bit of everything else. The fact that he is able to do all of this within the genre of the sitcom is nothing short of miraculous, and we owe him a lot for keeping that genre going when its death has been proclaimed so many times.
All of which brings us to A Man on the Inside, the newest Schur production, which stars Ted Danson as Charles, a widower who, in an effort to break out of his routine (and contend with his grief over his late wife, who died of Alzheimer’s Disease), takes a job with a private investigator to try to discover the culprit of a series of thefts in a retirement home. Once there, however, he finds himself making some unexpected friendships with the staff and the residents, even though he never quite forgets that his real purpose in being there is to find out who’s been doing all the stealing.
Given that I’m a fan of The Golden Girls, it probably won’t surprise you to find me loving a show that’s all about senior citizens and their various adventures and misadventures, their joys and sorrows, the ways they grapple with the ever-present specter of death and the end of life. Indeed, one of the things I appreciated the most about this series was the way that it dealt forthrightly with mortality, and even though it’s only eight episodes both Charles and the other characters have to contend with death, absentee children, and cancer. Through it all, though, they manage to keep going and find their own little islands of happiness because, when it comes right down to it, that’s all they can do.
In the tradition of many of Schur’s other comedies, particularly The Good Place, A Man on the Inside really excels at deftly balancing moments of absolute hilarity with poignant pathos. Thus, we get all of the zaniness one expects from a Schur comedy–Charles’ sparring and feud with another cranky resident of the community, Sally Struthers doing her usual zany thing, Veronica Cartwright portraying a wacky resident who likes to go to virtual confessional in the dining room–but also moments of great sadness. This is particularly true when it comes to Gladys (Susan Ruttan), a former costume designer who suffers from dementia. Anyone who has ever had to live through a loved one suffering from dementia will recognize Charles’ desperate desire to fight back against the fog that is slowly enveloping their mind, leaving a shell behind. And, as it turns out, it’s precisely her dementia that proves key to the solving of the mysterious thefts.
While there are many sad moments in A Man on the Inside, there’s also boat-loads of joy. Some of this comes from Danson himself, who is clearly in his element as Charles. Though he begins as a rather staid and boring retired professor type, his time at the retirement home shows him that there is a whole new horizon of life to be had and that his grief for his late wife, no matter how acute it might be, doesn’t have to be all-encompassing. It’s a whole lot of fun to watch Danson sharing the screen with Stephen McKinley Harrison’s Calbert Graham, particularly once their friendship really hits its stride. There’s something innately pleasurable about two screen greats just having a great time together, and both Danson and Harrison more than deliver.
Fortunately, Danson is joined by a robust cast of both regular and recurring members, all of whom bring their own little bit of magic. Sally Struthers is perfectly cast as the deliciously daffy and effervescent Virginia Foldau, and it’s so lovely seeing her back in a sitcom that I would have watched it for her alone, even without the rest of the cast. As I’ve already mentioned, Veronica Cartwright is likewise a delight as Beverly Bankl (I really hope we get to see more of her in the second season in some form).
Also of particular note is Stephanie Beatriz, arguably best-known for her previous collaboration with Schur, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, in which she played the taciturn and very badass Rosa Diaz. Here she has a softer side, though her Didi is still quite ruthless when it comes to making sure that she protects the residents in her care. As she always does in her live-action roles, Diaz brings a remarkable complexity to what could in less capable hands have been little more than a stock sitcom figure. Like the residents she has grief to deal with, but she doesn’t let that keep her down. Like many other Schur characters she’s a genuinely good person doing the best she can to make the world, or at least her little corner of it, a better place.
I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention Mary Elizabeth Ellis, who shows some real maturity as an actress in her role as Emily, Charles’ daughter. While she is known to those of us who are fans of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia–in which she plays the long-suffering love interest of dysfunctional Charlie, known simply as “The Waitress.” This role allows her to stretch her wings a bit, and I particularly enjoyed the scenes she shares with Danson, because it allows these two comedic talents to bring out new depths. It quickly becomes clear that father and daughter have a lot of work to do
Suffice it to say that A Man on the Inside hits all of the right notes when it comes to making sitcom magic. It manages to be both hilariously funny and deeply profound, offering us a vision of senior citizenship that is remarkably optimistic. Entering the twilight of one’s life can be frightening–and the series does not shy away from that–but it can also be filled with a lot of fun. Let’s just hope that the series gets a second season, so we can see more of Danson and, one can hope, the other members of the cast, as well.