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PORTSIDE CULTURE

TED DANSON’S ‘A MAN ON THE INSIDE’ IS BASED ON A TRUE STORY
THAT WILL TUG AT YOUR HEARTSTRINGS  
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Conor McShane
November 30, 2024
MovieWeb
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_ A Man on the Inside is clearly meant to be a comedy, but it
explores some harsh truths around aging in America and the importance
of human connection. _

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Hearing the premise of _A MAN ON THE INSIDE
[[link removed]], _the new
Netflix sitcom starring Ted Danson, it's easy to assume the whole
thing was cooked up by sitcom writers. But as it turns out, the
series created by 
[[link removed]]_The
Good Place
[[link removed]] _and _Parks
and Recreation _showrunner Michael Schur actually has roots in the
real world. Not only that, but the whole event was made into a
documentary back in 2020.

The sitcom follows A RECENTLY WIDOWED RETIREE NAMED CHARLES (DANSON),
WHO IS HIRED BY A PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR NAMED JULIE (LILAH RICHCREEK
ESTRADA) TO POSE AS A NEW RESIDENT OF AN ELDER CARE FACILITY IN ORDER
TO COVERTLY LOOK INTO A CLIENT'S CONCERN THAT A PRIZED PIECE OF FAMILY
JEWELRY WAS STOLEN. Being an outgoing and approachable type, Charles
doesn't make for the most covert spy, but he quickly befriends many of
the residents and learns that what they're really missing is human
connection.

The whole "undercover nursing home spy" angle sounds pretty wacky,
but THE SERIES IS ACTUALLY LOOSELY BASED ON THE 2020 CHILEAN
DOCUMENTARY _THE MOLE AGENT,_ directed by Maite Alberdi, in which an
elderly man goes undercover to investigate allegations of mistreatment
in an old folks home. The film received widespread acclaim, and was
nominated for an Academy Award for best documentary feature
[[link removed]] in
2021. While _A Man On the Inside _mostly just borrows the
documentary's original conceit, it proves to be the kind of premise
that's so crazy it has to be true.

[man-on-the-inside-tv-show-poster.jpg]

A Man on the Inside
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Comedy

Crime

RELEASE DATE
November 21, 2024

CAST
Ted Danson [[link removed]] , Mary
Elizabeth Ellis [[link removed]] ,
Lilah Richcreek Estrada , Stephanie Beatriz
[[link removed]] , Sally Struthers ,
John Getz , Miles Fowler , Clyde Kusatsu , Stephen McKinley Henderson
, Lori Tan Chinn , Kerry O'Malley , Wyatt Yang , Susan Ruttan ,
Veronica Cartwright , Catherine Leong , Eugene Cordero

SEASONS
1

Expand

The Mole Agent

_THE MOLE AGENT _CONCERNS AN OCTOGENARIAN NAMED SERGIO, WHO IS HIRED
BY A PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR NAMED RÓMULO to move into a nursing home
in El Monte, Chile, outside the country's capitol city, Santiago. HIS
MISSION: TO LOOK INTO HIS CLIENT'S ALLEGATIONS THAT HER MOTHER, SONIA,
IS BEING ABUSED BY THE STAFF. Sergio tries to keep a low profile and
observe the goings-on, but the presence of a new person in the
facility proves too exciting for some of the residents, and he quickly
becomes a beloved and trusted member of the community. He also can't
help but draw the eye of more than one woman in the home, who fall
head over heels [[link removed]] for the
well-dressed gentleman.

While Sergio takes his investigation seriously, in the end he isn't
able to turn up any evidence of abuse or neglect. WHAT HE FINDS
INSTEAD IS A GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO STRUGGLE WITH LONELINESS AND
ISOLATION, left to spend their final years in a facility that tries
its best to care for them, but can't do much about family members that
don't visit or a lack of contact with the outside world. It's a
warm-hearted, frequently funny, poignant documentary that shines a
necessary light on the plight of aging people, not just in Chile, but
around the globe.

_A Man on the Inside _is far from a direct adaptation of the
documentary, but rather takes its basic conceit and uses it to tell
its own story, one that covers similar thematic and emotional ground
but with a more broad, comic tone.

The Plight of the Aging

While it turns out that neither Sonia nor any of the other residents
in _The Mole Agent _are facing mistreatment, the family's concerns
certainly aren't unfounded. ELDER ABUSE IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM AROUND
THE WORLD, WITH OLDER PEOPLE FREQUENTLY TARGETED FOR MANIPULATION,
THEFT, AND EVEN ASSAULT. While elder protection laws in the US have
improved in recent decades, it was only after years of horrific
reports of abuse at nursing homes and memory care facilities around
the country, and it's certainly far from completely solved.Related

Beyond the criminal abuses, the elderly face discrimination
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ways, from ageism that assumes them to be less capable, to a more
benign form of societal neglect. IN MANY WESTERN COUNTRIES, INCLUDING
THE US, THE ELDERLY ARE FREQUENTLY SEEN AS A PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED,
MOVED OUT OF THEIR HOMES AND INTO FACILITIES THAT ARE CHRONICALLY
UNDER-FUNDED, PARTICULARLY FOR THOSE WHO CAN'T AFFORD DAILY IN-HOME
CARE OR HOUSING IN A PREMIUM FACILITY.

While abuses do sometimes happen, most nursing home staff try their
best to work with what they have and give people an acceptable quality
of life, but often deal with staffing issues and budget cuts that
prevent them from providing ideal care. And with more people living
longer than ever
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it's an issue that can be expected to get bigger in the coming years.

_A MAN ON THE INSIDE _IS CLEARLY MEANT TO BE A COMEDY, BUT IT
EXPLORES SOME HARSH TRUTHS AROUND AGING IN AMERICA AND THE IMPORTANCE
OF HUMAN CONNECTION. As the COVID-19 pandemic proved, loneliness and
isolation can be just as dangerous as disease
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particularly for vulnerable populations like the elderly.
Hopefully _A Man on the Inside, _like _The Mole Agent _before it,
can make audiences think a little more about their elders, and maybe
take a more active role in the lives of their aging loved ones.

* A Man On the Inside
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* NETFLIX
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* elder abuse
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* aging
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* nursing home care
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