Aside from the traditional notion of a civic rivalry between San Francisco and Los Angeles, it would be hard to miss the distinct tonal differences between two current TV comedies set in those respective urban centers: A Man on the Inside and I Love LA. It’s relatively easy to deduce which comes from where when one of the shows includes “L.A.” in the title and is more wrapped up in the nature of that location, but there’s an unmistakable geo-cultural vibe to each. Although one of them is far more dedicated to being edgy, both series — like their settings — can still provide a good time.
‘A Man on the Inside’
The wholesomely banal late ’80s-early ’90s network sitcom Full House took place in a stock-film version of San Francisco, having primarily been taped on L.A. soundstages, but it could have transpired in any other random municipality. In addition to many of its scenes being shot in the City by the Bay, Netflix’s A Man on the Inside has a certain progressive, inclusive flavor that hints at S.F.’s history as a haven for beatniks, hippies, and other antiestablishment rebels. And that’s with a white, male senior citizen as its lead character. It doesn’t hurt that the titular man on the inside is played by the ever-likeable Ted Danson — an old smoothie and comedy veteran. Here, Danson is retired academic Charles Nieuwendyk, lonely and somewhat depressed since the death of his wife, until a private investigator hires him to go undercover as a new tenant at Pacific View Retirement Community to ascertain the whereabouts of a valuable missing necklace.
That investigation is the crux of the first eight-episode season of A Man on the Inside, which brings Charles into contact with frisky retirees of diverse backgrounds and demeanors as he goes about his task. It also introduces his tightly-wound boss at the detective firm, Julie Kovalenko (Lilah Richcreek Estrada), and his supportive Sacramento-based daughter Emily (Mary Elizabeth Ellis), son-in-law Joel (Eugene Cordero), and three teenage grandsons. The small stakes of the situation and the whimsical interactions Charles has with the denizens of Pacific View (enacted by reliable pros including Stephen McKinley Henderson, Sally Struthers, Veronica Cartwright, Clyde Kusatsu, and John Getz) deliver a lightweight, imminently watchable diversion. The rapport Charles has with Emily, Joel and family adds warmth, and without preaching, the show suggests what a vital and engaged elder can accomplish while implicitly encouraging people to embrace second acts in their lives.
Season 2 of A Man on the Inside, which recently premiered on Netflix, finds Charles on another job. With his background as a professor of engineering, he’s a logical choice to be embedded onto the faculty of a local liberal arts college that’s in financial trouble when a laptop with crucial information about the state of the school disappears. The computer, belonging to the president of the college, Jack Beringer (Max Greenfield), is presumed stolen and, in the wrong hands, could endanger a plan to convince arrogant billionaire Brad Vinick (Gary Cole) to donate a massive sum that will rescue the college from its shaky status. Furthermore, there’s a blackmail note sent to Beringer threatening to reveal secrets from the laptop should he accept Vinick’s donation. In other words, there’s a lot for Charles to unravel in eight episodes. The circumstances and the performances of those around Charles are dialed up to a slightly more absurd level than what went down in Season 1, so it’s a good thing that the cast in Season 2 is up to the assignment.
In addition to Greenfield and Cole, the distinguished David Strathairn is on board as Professor Benjamin Cole, the contemptuous head of the college’s English Department; Jill Talley of Second City renown is tremulous school provost Holly Bodgemark; Constance Marie shows up as Vanessa, Julie’s estranged mother and an ex-con artists; Jason Mantzoukas is Vanessa’s zany boyfriend Apollo; and in a sweet nod to their real-life marriage, Danson’s wife Mary Steenburgen is Mona Margadoff, a music teacher at the school and a love interest for Charles. Speaking of pedigree, this mild frolic comes courtesy of writer Michael Schur, the creator of the smart, pointedly witty, often moving comedy series The Good Place, which introduced an elaborately constructed afterlife for its principle characters to navigate and featured Danson as a sort of angelic guide to the newly deceased.
For A Man on the Inside, Danson’s Charles is more seeker than usher, and frankly, it’s comforting to travel the hills and valleys of San Francisco with him, no matter how silly things occasionally get in the process.
Both seasons of A Man on the Inside are available for streaming on Netflix.
‘I Love LA’
A Gen X successor to the brilliantly nasty, subversively hilarious, and sometimes surprisingly dramatic FX series You’re the Worst, I Love LA was created by and stars Rachel Sennott. She garnered favorable reviews as lead actress in the well-regarded 2020 indie movie Shiva Baby and as cowriter and one of the stars of the relentlessly wild 2023 teen comedy Bottoms, but Sennott may have outdone her previous successes with I Love LA. You’re the Worst premiered a decade ago, introducing a quartet of sniping, smug Los Angeles millennials: a solipsistic writer, his self-sabotaging P.R. exec girlfriend, and their two best friends. Deliberately or not, Sennott seems to have updated the format for I Love LA, taking on the lead role of ambitious junior talent agent Maia who decides to manage her former college classmate Tallulah (Odessa A’zion), an influencer with a large following. Meanwhile, Maia tries to keep her relationship with loyal boyfriend Dylan (Josh Hutcherson) on an even keel despite his decidedly unglamorous primary school teacher job, as optimistic nepo baby Alani (True Whitaker) and reckless celebrity stylist Charlie (Jordan Firstman) hang out with them and kibitz.
Filming in the hippest of neighborhoods from Silver Lake and Highland Park to West Hollywood, I Love LA uses its gaggle of scenesters, selfish and/or hapless, to concoct a hyperbolic, occasionally harsh, and sardonic picture of Los Angeles as a company town and artists’ colony. One actual movie star pops up in a caricature of himself, and the estimable Ayo Edibiri (The Bear) appears in a memorably unnerving stint as one of Charlie’s more demanding clients. Maia and her cronies are not particularly laudable. Are they humorous in their behavior and reflective of various Hollywood types on the make? For sure. Even if you don’t love I Love LA, you have to admire its audacity. And the positive reception to the initial eight-episode run on HBO, which will wrap on Dec. 21, has already resulted in the series getting approval for a second season.
New episodes of I Love LA air Sunday nights on HBO and subsequently stream on HBO Max.