Mike Schur's latest Netflix show, A Man on the Inside, is inspired by the acclaimed Chilean documentary The Mole Agent (2020).
Schur discussed in an interview with Netflix's Tudum that he was extremely touched by the documentary and wanted to adapt it into a series for Netflix.
The series follows the story of a retired widower, Charles, who goes undercover as a retirement home resident to investigate and find a missing heirloom necklace.
A Man on the Inside stars Ted Danson, Stephanie Beatriz, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, and Lilah Richcreek Estrada among others.
So how similar and different are A Man on the Inside and The Mole Agent? Let's find out.
Similarities between A Man on the Inside and The Mole Agent
1) The Netflix series follows the basic premise of the 2020 movie
Creator Mike Schur was heavily inspired by the theme of aging in The Mole Agent and wanted to adapt it into a series with Danson as the protagonist.
The movie follows 83-year-old Sergio Chamy after he is hired to pose as an undercover agent in a Chilean Nursing home. A Man on the Inside adapts the basic premise of the movie. In the show, Charles is hired as an undercover agent and becomes a resident of Pacific View Retirement Residence.
2) Gladys and Virginia in A Man on the Inside are based on real-life characters from The Mole Agent
Charles meets many characters inside the retirement house, many of whom are inspired by the movie. But two in particular—Gladys and Virginia—are based on real-life characters from the film.
Charles feels an instant connection with Gladys, who is beginning to lose her memory because she reminds him of his wife. While the details of her backstory are fictional, she is based on a real-life character called Marta, whom Sergio meets in the film.
Another character Charles encounters in the series is Virginia, who also develops a crush on him. She is based on Berta, who similarly develops a crush on Sergio in the movie. The only exception is that Berta was never married, but Virginia has an on-and-off relationship with Elliot.
3) Both the stories had no real crime in the end
The series and movie endings are quite similar. Both Sergio and Charles found no foul play in their respective nursing/retirement homes.
While Sergio finds that Sonia is not being ill-treated inside the Chilean nursing home, Charles discovers that the heirloom was not 'stolen' but was taken by Gladys, who was beginning to lose her memory.
This ending changes the story from a criminal investigation to the story of a woman who is suffering because of her deteriorating health.
Exploring the differences between A Man on the Inside and The Mole Agent
1) Mike Schur made the subplot of the movie his central mystery in A Man on the Inside
While Charles is hired to investigate a missing heirloom ruby necklace of one of the residents in the series, Sergio is hired because one of the resident's sons is suspicious that his mother is being ill-treated in the nursing home. During his investigation, he finds that his mother is not being ill-treated, but Marta is stealing items from her because of her memory loss.
The series does not replicate the events of the whole movie. Instead, Schur made this subplot, of a woman with memory loss stealing things unknowingly, the main mystery of the story.
2) The endings given to Sergio and Charles are different in both stories
While Danson's Charles is based on the real-life Sergio Chamy, the one area where the series heavily deviates from the movie is the ending given to its protagonist.
While Sergio returns to his family in Santiago and later becomes a famous actor in Chile, Charles is hired for a brand-new spy mission. This tweak in the story is understandable, as makers wanted to keep the opportunity for a Season 2 open.
You can stream all the episodes of A Man on the Inside on Netflix.
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