How Ted Danson’s ‘A Man on the Inside’ Was Adapted From ‘The Mole Agent’ — and Why the Country of Chile Is Rooting for It

Oh, what a delightful read! As someone who has spent a good portion of my life immersed in the world of storytelling, I found myself deeply moved by this beautiful blend of reality and fiction. The journey of transforming a documentary into a series is no easy feat, but Mike Schur and his team have managed to capture the essence of “The Mole Agent” while adding their own unique charm.

It’s significant for the entire nation of Chile that Ted Danson‘s new Netflix comedy, titled “A Man on the Inside,” thrives. In this series, Danson portrays Charles, a former widower who responds to a job advertisement, eventually getting hired by a detective to infiltrate a retirement community and surreptitiously observe both residents and staff.

A Man on the Inside,” airing on Universal Television, draws inspiration from the 2020 Chilean documentary “The Mole Agent” that won an Oscar nomination. The main character portrayed by Danson is modeled after the film’s leading figure, Sergio Chamy, who has since gained significant recognition in his native country.

In my own words, I’d say: “I’m thrilled to report that our leading actor has earned the title of ‘rock star.’ His face graces every commercial on television, he’s worked with Amazon on a film project, and now, the excitement is palpable as Ted Danson takes on the role in our production.

According to “The Mole Agent” producer Marcela Santibañez, who also serves as an executive producer on the new show, she displayed a photo of Ted Danson to Sergio and said, “This is your doppelganger.” Sergio responded, “Wow, that’s a fantastic resemblance!

It was Morgan Sackett, Michael Schur’s producing partner, who initially saw “The Mole Agent” and proposed to Schur that it could be brilliantly transformed into a scripted series, with Ted Danson, their star from “The Good Place,” taking on the lead role. Since “The Good Place” (which concluded in 2020) delved into significant topics like ethics, empathy, and humanity, “The Mole Agent,” which focuses on human relationships, particularly those concerning aging, seemed like a suitable sequel in terms of themes.

Following our discussion, I found myself instantly drawn in by its similarities to “The Good Place.” It’s not just a continuation in terms of plot, but more so thematically and emotionally. The story revolves around living a meaningful life until the very end, which resonates deeply with me given the connection to ‘The Good Place.’

In Chile, both Alberdi and Santibañez considered that “The Mole Agent” could potentially work well in a scripted adaptation. However, as documentarians, they felt it wouldn’t align with their ethical standards to create such an adaptation themselves. “Making our own version of the film would have been strange,” Alberdi explained.

That’s when they heard from Schur and Sackett — and things moved quickly from there.

In our initial conversation, they seemed to grasp the essence of the movie deeply,” Alberdi notes. “Their intention was to be considerate, and to maintain a similar tone and address the same themes as ours.

Santibañez, being an avid admirer of “The Good Place”, recognized it as the ideal choice. According to her, the show had an extraordinary blend of being heartwarming and humorous. When they approached her about it, she thought it was perfect. And when they mentioned that Ted Danson would be playing Sergio, it felt like a wish coming true. She exclaimed, “Who could be better than Ted Danson?

The sentiment was reciprocated. “I grew fond of it,” Danson expresses, referring to the documentary’s subject, Sergio. “He has a gentle innocence about him and is quite humorous,” he adds. “The idea of an 80-year-old attempting to be a spy is inherently amusing. However, rather than simply tracing the evidence or clues as to why he was there, he instead begins to uplift everyone’s spirits, which I believe enriches his life. It was a profound dialogue about topics that I find myself at the right stage in life to discuss.

Originally, Alberdi and Santibañez intended to create a documentary about a private investigator. However, when this P.I. began working on a case involving the search for an elderly spy and his undercover assignment in a retirement home, they decided to change their focus. Instead, they told the story of Sergio, which transformed into a deeply moving documentary, especially touching upon loneliness among the elderly population.

That doesn’t sound like an obvious subject for a comedy, but Schur says he was drawn into that theme as well. “The most dangerous thing about aging sometimes is not an accident or a disease, but loneliness,” he says. “I read a bunch of articles about how loneliness is worse than smoking, in terms of what it does to your health at any age. And I think COVID really accelerated a loneliness epidemic in this country, especially for older folks.”

In “A Man on the Inside,” while some elements like the premise and main character are reminiscent of “The Mole Agent,” Schur decided to expand upon the supporting characters, particularly Julie (portrayed by Lilah Richcreek Estrada), who takes a more significant role as a private investigator. In contrast to the brief appearance of Sergio’s daughter in “The Mole Agent,” Charles’ daughter (played by Mary Elizabeth Ellis) is regularly featured here, as she hesitantly assists her father with his scheme.

Schur mentions that it would be intriguing to analyze an individual in her 40s who is a parent herself, yet maintains a career, a family, a marriage, and her own set of pressures. Interestingly, he points out that his life stage mirrors that of Ellis and Danson’s characters, as they all share the same phase with their parents at present.

Subsequently, Schur emphasized his desire to ensure that the other residents of the Pacific View retirement home, portrayed by actors such as Sally Struthers, John Getz, Margaret Avery, Stephen McKinley Henderson, among others, were equally multi-faceted.

Reflecting on Charles’s transformation, much like Sergio in the documentary, I find it’s all about encountering individuals who enrich his life by providing something valuable, while he offers the same in return. These characters were meticulously crafted not merely as supporting roles or suspects, but as significant figures who would deeply impact Charles and matter to him.

According to Danson, “Mike and the casting team brought on board some exceptionally talented actors who were quite agile and able to adapt to whatever the script demanded.

Alberdi and Santibañez were involved in the entire process, having visits to the writers’ room and set, and opportunities to assess scripts and preliminary edits. According to Alberdi, “They were incredibly generous with their time.

I was quite taken aback by the clever references to the original films in both “The Mole Agent” and “A Man on the Inside.” For instance, in “The Mole Agent,” Sergio goes undercover at a retirement home named San Francisco, which is strikingly similar to how the entire series unfolds within the city of San Francisco in “A Man on the Inside.” Furthermore, both stories feature older characters grappling with technology, and even the recruitment process in the P.I.’s office seems to have been directly lifted from the documentary. It’s fascinating to see these connections!

In addition, they showed some outtakes from “The Mole Agent” to the duo, which included a scene of Sergio undergoing spy training. Later on, elements from this training were incorporated into Charles’ storyline in the initial episode by Schur.

The “Mole Agent” pair finds it most striking how alike the tone is between the two films. Schur doesn’t hesitate to incorporate dramatic scenes in “A Man on the Inside,” similar to the original documentary. He explains, “As comedy writers, our instinct might be to end with a joke, but we’re going to sit in the raw emotion of the scenarios we’ve created instead. We have to resist the urge to transform everything into a humorous moment. Some episodes will be quite comedic, while others will be more serious.

Schur emphasizes that when discussing topics like memory loss and death, we won’t sugarcoat the sadness. Instead, we aim for authenticity in portraying aging, memory loss, and death on our show. While we want it to be enjoyable to watch, there will be moments of joy and happiness, but they won’t feel fake or insincere.

In numerous aspects, it mirrors the equilibrium of tone that Schur established in “The Good Place.” For enthusiasts of this show, there are numerous Easter eggs hidden within “A Man on the Inside,” starting with Danson, naturally. However, be sure to watch carefully for other actors from that series (like Eugene Cordero), as well as Charles’ room: number 322, a figure that often appeared in “The Good Place.

Schur expresses that he has many ideas for further seasons of “A Man on the Inside,” hinting that the writers are brainstorming about Season 2, should we be fortunate enough to have it. He shares his intention to collaborate with this particular team, including Danson, as long as they continue to create the show, stating that he will keep producing the series as long as they wish for him to do so.

The news is also positive for Chile. Alberdi expresses his eagerness to view the figures since everyone has been eagerly anticipating the event. With high expectations, people are eagerly awaiting the day when they can witness it in Chile themselves.

2024-11-21 22:47

How Ted Danson’s ‘A Man on the Inside’ Was Adapted From ‘The Mole Agent’ — and Why the Country of Chile Is Rooting for It

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