Why It Fell Short of Season 1’s Impact

Netflix’s A Man on the Inside, starring Ted Danson, just returned for season 2, and while this new season was still plenty of fun, it wasn’t as good as its debut season. A Man on the Inside was an immediate hit in season 1, in part because it was so linked to one of Netflix’s best shows, The Good Place.

While it isn’t a sequel, the two are so linked that some even wondered whether A Man on the Inside and The Good Place share a universe. After all, Michael Schur is at the helm, and many familiar faces from The Good Place appear in the show’s two seasons—not just Danson, but D’Arcy Carden, Jason Mantzoukas, and others.

Despite this solid start, A Man on the Inside season 2 was lacking some of season 1’s magic, and I believe there’s one key reason why.

A Man On The Inside Season 2 Didn’t Have The Same Impact

Ted Danson with magnifying glass in A Man on the Inside season 2

In classic Michael Schur fashion, A Man on the Inside seems like a fun-filled, lighthearted show from a distance, but upon closer look, it becomes clear that this story is actually incredibly deep and about so much more. In this case, that means main character Charles going on a journey of self-discovery.

Following the death of his wife, Charles had begun to live a life without much color or excitement; he had simply accepted that, in his older age, he was going to have a quiet, fairly isolated existence. However, that changed when he was hired as a private investigator to find a jewel thief in a retirement community.

While there, Charles had to confront questions of mortality, aging, disease, and how someone should prioritize their later years. That resulted in a show that was equal parts hilarious and touching. Unfortunately, season 2 didn’t quite live up to the same standards as season 1.

What this new season specifically lost was the depth seen in season 1. There were still affecting moments, of course, but there just wasn’t that same profound reflection upon life, death, and aging (or anything equivalent) in this new season. This wasn’t an acting issue or writing issue, in my opinion. Instead, it came down to source material.

A Man On The Inside Season 1’s True Story May Have Been The Secret Sauce

Charles does chair exercises with other people in A Man on the Inside

While a man infiltrating a retirement community and going undercover as a resident to investigate a crime may sound far-fetched, A Man on the Inside is based on a true story. Specifically, the show pulls from The Mole Agent, a documentary about Sergio Chamy, a man who investigated alleged mistreatment of a retirement community’s residents.

Granted, the show altered the story in that regard, by making the subject less heavy (a jewel thief rather than elder abuse), but the show being based on a true story of someone now seen as a local hero gave it an inherent meaningfulness—and that may have been a key element of A Man on the Inside’s success.

Without that source material available, A Man on the Inside season 2 pivoted to an arc wherein Charles was investigating a blackmailing threat within a college. While it was still great fun to see Danson in this role, and the show was still hilarious, A Man on the Inside season 2 just didn’t land the same.