TV is just better when Ted Danson is on it, and we’ve thankfully had decades of experiences that can justify that belief. As such, I can’t wait for the upcoming Netflix release A Man on the Inside Season 2, which will hit the 2025 TV schedule in the near future, on November 20. The streaming giant finally unveiled the first trailer for the mystery-driven comedy, and it’s packed with fun guest stars from other small-screen favorites like NCIS, The Good Place, New Girl and more.
First and foremost, though, let’s celebrate the fact that show creator Michael Schur is giving fans a full TV season where Ted Danson gets to act opposite real-life wife Mary Steenbergen in a way that doesn’t reflect their real lives, as it went for their many Curb Your Enthusiasm appearances. Here, she'll be playing a former musician named Mona Margadoff, though further details are hard to come by.
The new season will take Danson’s wannabe spy Charles on a new undercover mission embedded within the educational institution of Wheeler College. There, he acquaints himself with a lineup of wacky new characters that will no doubt draw all kinds of suspicions before the season is through.
Let’s check out some of these new characters, such as Brad Vinick, as portrayed by NCIS and Veep vet Gary Cole.
Brad is a bazillionaire exec who donates a very large sum of money to the college, which is what sparks Charles’ involvement in the case. Cole is perfect at playing egotistical and aloof characters, and it’s all very much on display in the trailer, as well as in the still above. I do want that mini-portrait of him as show merch now.
Then we have The Good Place and Brooklyn Nine-Nine vet Jason Mantzoukas bringing his signature madcap energy to the show, and his character name is aces.
Meet Apollo Lambrakis, a charming enough contractor who has an overarching goal of authoring the mythical Great American Novel. No clue whether that ends up becoming a reality or not, but I hope he does the audiobook if so. I also hope he gets to share the screen with former B99 co-star Stephanie Beatriz.
Now let’s take a look at some of the other excellent co-stars filling out the rest of A Man on the Inside Season 2.
- Max Greenfield (New Girl, The Neighborhood) portrays Wheeler College president Jack Beinger, who is known for his donation-gathering talents
- Michaela Conlin (Bones, For All Mankind) plays economics teacher Andrea Yi, who supports the changes that the new donations will bring
- Lisa Gilroy (Jury Duty, Twisted Metal) plays Brad's new wife Kelseigh Rose, whose passion involves photography
- Sam Huntington (Being Human, Superman Returns) is a troublemaker with Wheeler's ranks as professor Max Griffin
- David Straithairn (The Bourne Legacy, Alphas) will be the head of the college's English Dept. as Dr. Cole, whose levels fame and popularity are atop those of all other faculty
- Jill Talley (SpongeBob SquarePants, Mr. Show) rocks the great character name Holly Bodgemark, a stressed out and hardworking provost
- Madison Hu (The Brothers Sun, The Boogeyman) will play Claire, a college junior who busies herself working multiple jobs in order to keep her tuition paid
- Constance Marie (George Lopez, With Love) is playing one of Julie's part-time criminal sources named Vanessa.
- Linda Park (iStar Trek: Enterprise, For All Mankind) will head up the college's fine arts department as Elizabeth Muki.
So much talent to look forward to, and not enough crimes to suspect them all of. Will we get any sob-worthy moment like Charles and Gladys’ touching scene from this lineup of talents? There's only one way to find out, and it's not by sending someone undercover into Netflix.
A Man on the Inside Season 2 will be available to stream via Netflix subscription starting on November 20. Plenty of time to buy an oversized magnifying glass and deerstalker cap.
