A Man on the Inside, the Netflix comedy series, has brought together comedy legends Mike Schur and Ted Danson once again, much to the delight of fans who were heartbroken after their previous collaboration, The Good Place, concluded in 2020. The show stars Ted Danson as Charles Nieuwendyk, a retired professor. Season 1 saw Charles go undercover in a retirement community to investigate stolen jewelry, while Season 2 follows him as he returns to his roots at Wheeler College to solve a new case.

The second season introduces several new faces alongside returning favorites. These include a sleazy billionaire played by Gary Cole and his much younger wife, Kelseigh, portrayed by Lisa Gilroy. Julie's mother, played by Constance Marie, and her eccentric boyfriend, Jason Mantzoukas, also join the cast. Notably, Danson's real-life wife, Mary Steenburgen, appears as Mona, a music professor who, despite being very different from Charles, shares an immediate spark with him, leading to a sweet, albeit complicated, relationship.

During an interview with Collider, Danson, Steenburgen, and Schur discussed various aspects of Season 2. Ted Danson hilariously recounted a glitter-bombing scene in Episode 4 where he made the mistake of keeping his mouth open after encouraging a timid actor to throw a big handful of glitter directly at his face. This resulted in him getting a mouthful of glitter, which took 20 minutes to rinse out. Mike Schur jokingly expressed concern that Danson might "ingest too much glitter" and suffer an "ignominious death," a moment Steenburgen referred to as "commitment to the craft."

Danson and Steenburgen, married for 30 years in real life, shared their experience of playing a couple in the early stages of their relationship on screen. Steenburgen found it fun to "unknow" what she knows about Danson and look at him with wonder, seeing Mona's fascination with Charles's distinct personality. Danson, on his part, admitted that while he's calm when Steenburgen has romantic scenes with other actors, his eyes tend to go "nuts." He relished the opportunity to "throw myself wholeheartedly into being in love with the person I was acting with because it was Mary."

Mike Schur also shed light on the surprising storyline between Julie and Didi, an "opposites-attract" coupling that wasn't initially planned. The idea emerged from a Season 1 finale scene where Charles and Julie tried to convince Didi to stay at Pacific View. Schur noticed a "vibe" between Julie and Didi in that scene and decided to develop it. This led to a "fun meta-detective story" where Julie initially believes Didi is trying to take her down, prompting an exploration into Julie's paranoid nature as a private detective before the actual reveal of the storyline's true nature.

Regarding casting, Schur revealed his goal for Season 2 was to bring in "comedy killers." Jason Mantzoukas was the first call for any "loony" character. Lisa Gilroy's audition for Kelseigh "blew the doors off the place." Schur noted that Gilroy, known in the comedy community, instantly impressed the entire set with her improvisation after every take, leading to constant buzzing about her talent. Danson and Steenburgen even suggested a 20-minute clip of her ad-libs, highlighting her exceptional comedic abilities.