A Man on the Inside: The Netflix Thriller Everyone’s Talking About

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.

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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).

4. 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.

5. 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.