Michael Schur and Ted Danson’s A Man on the Inside Gets a Trailer and Release Date

Netflix has dropped the trailer for the upcoming comedy series A Man on the Inside, created by Michael Schur, the mind behind The Good Place and Parks & Recreation. Set to premiere on November 21st, the eight-episode series stars Ted Danson as Charles, a retired professor who finds a renewed purpose in life by becoming an undercover detective in a senior living community in San Francisco. Danson previously starred in Schur’s The Good Place as Michael, a collaboration that earned him three Emmy nominations.

Inspired by the Oscar-nominated documentary The Mole Agent, the series follows Charles as he answers an ad from a private investigator, leading him to immerse himself in the Pacific View Retirement Residence. As he navigates the intricacies of retirement life, he embarks on a mission to solve the mystery of a missing family heirloom, forging new friendships and deepening his relationship with his daughter along the way, per Netflix.

In discussing the adaptation, Schur expressed admiration for the original documentary, noting, “It’s a beautiful meditation on aging, a subject we are uniquely terrible in this country at confronting.” Schur shared that his passion for the project ignited when his producing partner suggested casting Danson in the lead role. “It became so clear that there was a way to take that story, swapping in Ted’s unique charisma,” Schur said.

Alongside Danson, the cast includes Mary Elizabeth Ellis (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) as Emily, Charles’s daughter who navigates her father’s unexpected career shift. Stephanie Beatriz (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) stars as Didi, the all-knowing managing director of Pacific View. Lilah Richcreek Estrada (Chicago Med) plays Julie, the private investigator who recruits Charles. Additional cast members include Stephen McKinley Henderson (Fences), Sally Struthers (All in the Family, Gilmore Girls), Eugene Cordero (Loki, The Good Place), and Academy Award nominee Margaret Avery (Better Things). John Getz (Reservation Dogs) will feature alongside Susan Ruttan (Mom), Lori Tan Chinn (Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens), Clyde Kusatsu (Never Have I Ever), Marc Evan Jackson (The Good Place), and Jama Williamson (Single Parents). 

The series aims to portray a thoughtful yet comedic exploration of aging, a theme Schur believes deserves more attention. “This is a multigenerational show, and it is equally important to investigate the inner lives of the people who are my age,” he remarked. “It struck me as such a good idea to adapt this because we just don’t talk about this stuff.”

Watch the trailer below; A Man on the Inside premieres on Netflix on November 21st.