A Man on the Inside arrived on Netflix on November 21, 2024, introducing television fans to their next favorite cozy mystery-comedy. Created by Mike Schur and based on the Chilean documentary The Mole Agent, the new must-watch series is led by Ted Danson as Charles, a retired professor and widow who chooses an interesting new life path, becoming an amateur spy in a retirement home rocked by theft. After he enters Pacific View, things get complicated as he has to balance his covert investigation with his building relationships with the residents.
By the finale of the eight-episode debut season, Charles's time at Pacific View comes to an end. The same can't be said for his amateur detective career, as Schur and Danson already have plans for the series' next mystery. Here's everything we know about the potential of A Man on the Inside season 2, including whether any of season 1's stars could return for more episodes.
Has 'A Man on the Inside' been renewed for season 2?As of the series premiere, Netflix hasn't announced whether A Man on the Inside will get a season 2. The streaming giant tends to wait for at least a month of viewing figures before deciding whether or not to renew a new show, but sometimes a series will have so many views that new episodes are greenlit earlier than expected. See Netflix's recent romance series hit Nobody Wants This, which received a season 2 announcement just two weeks after it quickly rose to no. 1 on the platform. We'll have to wait and see whether A Man on the Inside has a similarly meteoric rise.
While going through his spy training, Charles (Danson) gets uncomfortably close to a farmer's market vendor.
(Image credit: Colleen E. Hayes/Netflix)
When would 'A Man on the Inside' season 2 come out?Any predictions depend on whether the season 2 announcement arrives, but we can look to season 1's production timeline for a rough idea. According to Deadline, A Man on the Inside (then titled A Classic Spy) gathered its cast in early February 2024 and began filming later that month, before its November 2024 premiere. If season 2 follows a similar timeline, new episodes could likely arrive in late fall 2025 or early 2026.
Megan (Kerry O'Malley), Julie (Lilah Richcreek Estrada), and Charles (Ted Danson) present their case to their client.
(Image credit: Courtesy of Netflix)
Who in the 'A Man on the Inside' cast will return for season 2?With A Man on the Inside being a mystery-box series, it's nearly guaranteed that the show's mystery solvers (and their families) will return for season 2, including Ted Danson (Charles), Lilah Richcreek Estrada (Julie), Mary Elizabeth Ellis (Emily), and Eugene Cordero (Joel).
Unfortunately, it's not as clear whether any of the residents or staff of Shady Pines would return since that mystery gets wrapped up nicely by the end of season 1. Hopefully one or two of Charles's new friends could pop up for a cameo, but it's more likely that A Man on the Inside would bring on an all-new cast each season, à la Only Murders in the Building.
Charles (Ted Danson) and Calbert (Stephen McKinley Henderson) sit on a bench in front of a giant redwood.
(Image credit: Colleen E. Hayes/Netflix)
What will 'A Man on the Inside' season 2 be about?Spoilers for the ending of A Man on the Inside ahead. The final moments of A Man on the Inside's season 1 finale flash forward a month after the Pacific View case ended. After getting briefed on a new case, private detective Julia says her team will have to pass because it's "impossible," before her assistant Megan (Kerry O'Malley) points out how they already know someone perfect for the job. "Oh, crap," Julie says, before calling someone and telling them, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I have another job for you."
Charles is on the other line, and has a brief, very cool moment where he answers, "Say no more," and hangs up...before quickly calling back. "Hey, sorry. I do need you to say more. But whatever it is, I'm in." Restart the guitar riff, we have a season 2 (if Netflix is also in).
Julie (Richcreek Estrada) holds a picture for Charles (Danson) to memorize.
(Image credit: Colleen E. Hayes/Netflix)
Speaking with Deadline on the day of the show's premiere in November 2024, creator Mike Schur shared his hopes for a continuation. "We’re sort of in a fingers crossed, we’ll that bridge when we come to it, kind of a deal. But I will say that there is no shortage of ideas from me and from other writers about what we might do in a future season. Fingers crossed, we’ll see," he told the outlet. Meanwhile, Danson reportedly crossed his fingers and added, "Dear Lord, yes."
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Danson admitted that his new Netflix series may be his favorite job yet and how its future could go in several directions. The star reiterated that "there's no shortage of stories to tell" in the series, and mentioned that he'd love to see some of his co-stars reappear in a second season.
"I'm so grateful that I have no idea [about season 2's plot], so I wouldn't have to pretend like I can't tell you," he said. "I know that Mike has millions of ideas. If we're so lucky, seeing how it takes place in San Francisco, it'd be nice if some of these characters [from season 1] we could bump into them on the street, because it won't take place in that retirement home. It'll be someplace else, but they all live in San Francisco, so it'd be wonderful to bump into them that way."
