What To Know
- A Man on the Inside‘s Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen, Mike Schur, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, and Lilah Richcreek Estrada break down Season 2’s big moments.
- Real-life couple Danson and Steenburgen discuss reuniting onscreen for the Netflix comedy.
- Plus, they tease what could be next if the series is picked up for Season 3.
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for A Man on the Inside Season 2.]
Michael Schur‘s charming Netflix comedy A Man on the Inside has returned with Ted Danson reprising his role as retiree and undercover investigator Charles Niuewendyk. This time around, he’s tackling the education system as he looks into an academic scheme at a floundering liberal arts school, Wheeler College.
But as Charles tries to uncover who is responsible for sabotaging an ongoing deal with a wealthy alum, he finds himself distracted by music professor Mona (Mary Steenburgen). “This was our best working experience of our lives,” Steenburgen gushes to TV Insider of working alongside her husband onscreen.
Mona is a free spirit in comparison to the overly prepared Charles, who went undercover as a professor at the school in Season 2. Their relationship complicated the mission as she was briefly considered a suspect, but ultimately, her involvement in the crime was ruled out, allowing their relationship to flourish.
Colleen E. Hayes / Netflix
“Every day was joyful,” Steenburgen continues. “We were in love with the material that we had, with the relationship, with the challenges of it. The writing is so spectacular…That writing room is just the most talented, funny people. And it was a privilege every day.” As fans of Danson and Steenburgen may recall, the pair have played together onscreen in HBO‘s former comedy Curb Your Enthusiasm.
And when it came to reuniting onscreen, Danson remarks, “I don’t think we ever stepped in front of the camera, taking anything for granted.”
“No, not once,” Steenburgen confirms.
“We would make sure that we were in each other’s eyes and connected every time we stepped in front of the camera, whether it’s good or not, that’s something else,” Danson continues, to which Steenburgen responds, “The effort was there.”
Schur echoes that sentiment, adding, “The effort was good.”
“C’mon, I tried to be good,” Danson jokingly whines. While A Man on the Inside‘s second season continues to mesh Charles’ work and personal life, fans get the ultimate gathering in Season 2’s Thanksgiving installment. That includes Charles’ daughter Emily (Mary Elizabeth Ellis) and boss Julie (Lilah Richcreek Estrada), who begin to build a sisterly bond this time around.
“I think whether Julie likes it or not, Emily is going to make sure that they’re close,” Estrada tells TV Insider. “I feel like she definitely wants it, and she’s gonna make it happen.” And it seems like Julie will have to accept that, especially after Charles earns his official Private Investigator certification.
As for potential Season 3 (which hasn’t been ordered yet) cases following Season 1’s retirement community, and Season 2’s liberal arts college, Ellis tells TV Insider, “Mike hits those things, like he’s so good at taking a giant idea and turning it into something that’s actionable, and I think he’s really interested in just exploring the city of San Francisco.”
See what else the team is sharing in the full video interview above as they break down Season 2, and let us know what you thought of the show’s latest twists and turns in the comments section below.
A Man on the Inside, Season 2, Streaming now, Netflix
