Is Netflix’s A Man on the Inside based on a true story? Explained
The iconic duo of Michael Schur and Ted Danson have brought another Netflix comedy series to our screens this November, A Man on the Inside. The show follows Charles (Ted Danson), a retired professor and widower, who takes on the role of a private investigator and goes undercover in a senior living facility to catch a thief.
The eight-episode series premiered on Netflix on November 21, 2024. It draws its inspiration from an Oscar-nominated documentary called The Mole Agent by Chilean producer and director, Maite Alberdi.
The show features Ted Danson, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Lilah Richcreek Estrada, and Stephanie Beatriz in titular roles. It currently has a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 16 critic reviews.
What is Netflix’s A Man on the Inside based on?
As stated, A Man on the Inside is based on the 2020 Chilean documentary The Mole Agent, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. The film received widespread critical acclaim upon its release and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
The story follows an 83-year-old man named Sergio, who is hired by a private investigator to go undercover in a nursing home in Chile. A client of the investigator suspects that her mother is being abused by the staff at the facility, and Sergio’s mission is to find evidence of the same.
As Sergio starts posing as a new resident of the nursing home, the investigation takes a deeper dive into the lives of the elderly residents. Instead of just focusing on the alleged abuse, the documentary delves into themes of loneliness, aging, and the need for human connection.
The documentary was a massive success and after that, Sergio landed roles in Netflix's Heart of Stone and Amazon Prime's Perra Vida, along with several commercials.
Additional details about A Man on the Inside
Michael Schur's producing partner Morgan Sackett initially got the idea to develop The Mole Agent into a series and cast Ted Danson in the role of Sergio. In an interview with Variety, Alberdi talked about her experience of working with Schur and Sackett, saying:
“From the first meeting, they were very understanding of the sense of the film in a very profound way, their goal was to be respectful, and to work in the same tone, with the same topics that we have.”
The documentary's producer Marcela Santibañez added:
“When we were approached by them, I thought this is perfect. And then when they said that Ted Danson was gonna be Sergio, it was like, wow. That’s a dream come true. Like, who could be better than Ted Danson?”
Cast and production
The cast of A Man on the Inside features -
- Ted Danson as Charles Nieuwendyk
- Mary Elizabeth Ellis as Emily
- Lilah Richcreek Estrada as Julie
- Stephanie Beatriz as Didi
- Eugene Cordero as Joel Piñero
- Sally Struthers as Virginia Foldau
- Marc Evan Jackson as Evan Cubbler
- Margaret Avery as Florance Joanne Whistbrook
- John Getz as Elliott Haverhill
- Susan Ruttan as Gladys Montrose
- Clyde Kusatsu as Grant Yokohama
- Stephen McKinley Henderson as Calbert Graham
- Lori Tan Chinn as Susan Yang
- Jama Williamson as Beatrice Vanbeck
The executive producers of A Man on the Inside are Michael Schur, Morgan Sackett, David Miner, Maite Alberdi, Christopher Clements, Julie Goldman, and Marcela Santibañez. The series contains eight episodes of nearly 30 minutes, all available to stream on Netflix.
Catch A Man on the Inside on Netflix.
