As the days get shorter and the nights get colder, it’s the perfect time of year to snuggle up to a low-stakes, cosy comedy. ‘But Saoirse’, I hear you shouting at the screen, ‘what cosy comedy should I watch?’ Well, my friend, my current favourite is A Man on the Inside, which recently dropped on Netflix.
The show stars Ted Danson as Charles, a loveable former engineering professor who, since his wife passed away, is finding his retirement a tad dull. When Charles’ daughter Emily (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia‘s Mary Elizabeth Ellis) politely suggests he joins a class to combat his ennui (after receiving yet another newspaper article in the post from him), Charles does as he is told but not in the way Emily was expecting.
After seeing an advert in the paper, Charles gets a job as a private investigator working for no-nonsense Julie (Lilah Richcreek). His mission? To infiltrate Pacific View retirement home and find out who stole a client’s necklace. He will be her man on the inside.
Charles begins his mission, proving that you can in fact teach an old dog new tricks. What he doesn’t expect is to have so much fun doing it. He makes new friends and quickly becomes an integral resident of Pacific View. He parties, plays a lot of backgammon with new buddy Calbert (Stephen McKinley Henderson) and even gets caught up in a love triangle.
On the more heartwarming side, he helps fellow resident Gladys (Susan Ruttan) who is struggling with memory loss. He also repairs his relationship with his daughter. As the manager of Pacific View, Didi (Stephanie Beatriz) says, “For the majority of seniors, the biggest threat to their wellbeing isn’t an accident or health, it’s loneliness”. Maybe a sense of community was all Charles needed.
Written by the creator of The Good Place, Michael Schur, A Man on the Inside, effortlessly balances comedic moments with tear-jerking scenes. Danson is spectacular and elevates the already incredible show. It’s the perfect cosy winter watch and a great antidote to the many more serious shows out there that demand too much of your already limited attention.
I sat down with director Elias Demetriou to talk about his film ‘Maricel’ which follows a Filipino domestic worker in Cyprus caring for an elderly couple who have a lot of unspoken family drama.
