Netflix ‘A Man on the Inside’ Season 2 Review - Still Charming, Still Entertaining

The first season of A Man on the Inside murmured, "Hey, old age homes are nice. Don't be afraid and check in!" The second season, more or less, repeats the same thing, but this time, the main lesson is, "Hey, college professors are nice. Appreciate what they do for the students as well as their contribution in the field of academics." From the snugly confines of Pacific View Retirement Community, our intrepid private detective/ex-professor of engineering, Charles (Ted Danson), now enters the warm, friendly campus of Wheeler College to solve another mystery. The case in Season 2 again deals with a theft: a laptop belonging to the president of Wheeler College, Jack Beringer (Max Greenfield). Why can't Jack just buy another computer? Because the stolen device contains sensitive documents about a $400 million donation from billionaire Brad Vinnick (Gary Cole). This simple case of robbery, as expected, opens a larger can of worms that soon threatens to swallow both the college and its faculty. 

With the second season, A Man on the Inside continues its tradition of being fun, light, and charming. In tone, it resembles other TV comedies, such as Only Murders in the Building. One of the main ingredients that makes these shows so bingeable, so endearing, is the actors' expressions, which can only be described as "sweet." The cast is effortlessly amusing, filling the viewer with a strong desire to walk into the screen to be friends with the people they are watching. Just look at this list: Danson, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Lilah Richcreek Estrada, Stephanie Beatriz, Kerry O'Malley, and Stephen McKinley Henderson! To watch each of them in A Man on the Inside is to be reminded that you need people like them in your life. This is why casting directors Emily Buntyn and Allison Jones are the real heroes of this series. In Season 2, they do something more incredible by selecting Mary Steenburgen, Danson's real wife. She plays Mona Margadoff, Charles's love interest, and the flirtatious chemistry between the actors is winsome, cute, and satisfying. Someone refers to Mona as "a force of nature," and they are absolutely right (she has a quirk where she tunes out in the middle of conversations, but the show drops this trait after Episode 1). Steenburgen clearly had a great time on set, which is reflected in her relaxed performance and energetic presence. She could have been entertaining guests in her living room while throwing a party. 

Michael Schur throws in some nice jokes, such as when there is confusion between hummus and paint, or when Charles gets distracted by Mona's nude paintings during the investigation. Two scenes, though, stand out in this second season. One of them is set at a selfie exhibition, and the other involves an "indecent proposal." That's all I will say, as these jokes deserve to be experienced fresh. Also, the size of a computer file is labeled "kind of large," which is an amusing little detail. Still, Season 2, to some extent, feels insubstantial — frustrating even. The cause of this annoyance is its hints towards a deeper layer where A Man on the Inside exists as a serious, sharp affair. In the Thanksgiving episode, Charles expresses his disappointment with Mona, feeling she ignored his basic Thanksgiving requirement. But there are no further discussions regarding this matter. The conflict is dismissed as trivial, so Charles' feelings become unimportant. The (probably unintended?) implication: Mona actually didn't do anything wrong by disrupting her boyfriend's plans. In another scene, Vanessa (Constance Marie) accuses Julie (Richcreek Estrada) of conveniently using her for her "con services," even though this very trait—her swindling nature—had caused a rift between them and was something Julie repeatedly invoked to distance herself from accepting Vanessa as a mother. The moment is charged; the drama is potent. Yet the sharp edges are softened, disappointingly, by a brief burst of sentimental exchanges. If Schur didn't want us to feel uncomfortable, he shouldn't have hinted at those sour spaces in the first place.

Still, it's impossible to hate A Man on the Inside, as I mentioned in my review of the first season. When the jokes land, they wrap around you like a warm hug, and even when they don't, you keep watching because of the cast and their irresistibly expressive performances. So despite my reservations, I'll still be eagerly awaiting a third season.

Final Score- [5.5/10]
Reviewed by - Vikas Yadav
Follow @vikasonorous on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times