Mike Schur’s A Man on the Inside Takes Aim at OMITB — Everything Is Murder Now, Even Comedies
Mike Schur’s A Man on the Inside roars back on Netflix with a well-reviewed Season 2—and a mission. On launch day, Nov. 20, the creator told THR he’s pushing back against TV and film’s fixation on murder, using his series to rewire what audiences find compelling.
Mike Schur just brought back A Man on the Inside for Season 2, and the reviews are strong out of the gate. The more interesting part? Why he made the show in the first place. Schur basically looked at TV right now, saw a wall-to-wall fixation on murder, and said: nope. So he built a comedy that refuses to lean on a body count, then dropped its second season on Netflix on November 20.
Schur vs. the murder industrial complex
On the same day Season 2 hit Netflix, Schur told THR he thinks our screens are overloaded with grim crime stories, from true-crime docs to dramas to, yes, comedies built around corpses.
"TV is very good about reflecting the mood of the country, and the mood is very sour and unpleasant. That is why, if you go to any streaming service, it is, 'Murder in Pennsylvania!' 'The tragedy in Missouri!' Find another state and another serial killer and another limited series about another miserable, dark soul because the last 23 of them worked well. Everything is murder, even comedies. Look at Only Murders in the Building."
His workaround is A Man on the Inside: a series that swaps shock value for warmth. Ted Danson plays Charles, a retired professor who gets drafted by a private investigator for specific, small-scale jobs. It is a show about purpose and connection, not blood spatter.
Season 2: new cover, familiar soul
This time out, Charles goes undercover on a college campus. His assignment: track down a stolen laptop the school president claims is worth 400 million dollars. Yes, that number is wild. No, the show does not suddenly turn into a heist thriller.
Season 2 keeps the tone Schur and company wanted to steer into. As he told Creative Screenwriting, the team set out to make the new season brighter, sunnier, and funnier without losing the emotional backbone. That shift also lines up with where Season 1 left Charles: more grounded, working again, and not just drifting through retirement. The new episodes still deal with grief, love, and change, but the series is ultimately about healing rather than unraveling some grisly mystery.
How it is playing with critics
On launch day, Season 2 landed at 93% with critics on Rotten Tomatoes, a notch below Season 1’s excellent 96% but still firmly in the love zone. There are not many audience ratings yet, so the number could move, but early reactions are about what you would expect if you liked Season 1: light on darkness, big on charm and character, and styled unlike the usual crime-first fare.
- Creator: Mike Schur
- Star: Ted Danson as Charles
- Premise: A retired professor gets pulled into low-stakes investigations by a private eye; no murder required
- Where to watch: Netflix
- Seasons so far: 2
- Rotten Tomatoes snapshot: Season 2 debuted at 93% with critics; Season 1 scored 96%
Why this hits different right now
Between the parade of crime shows and the true-crime boom, TV can feel like an endless doom-scroll. A Man on the Inside zigs the other way. It is light without being flimsy, kind without going mushy, and funny without a dead body as a crutch. In other words, it is a palate cleanser that still has something on its mind.
A Man on the Inside Season 2 is streaming now on Netflix. If you have started it, tell me your favorite bit so far.