Warning: This article contains spoilers for the season 1 finale of A man within“The spy who came in from the cold.”

Ted Danson has had a long career that has included everything from beloved hits (Cheers) to prestige grant (Rescuing Private Ryan) to existential comedies (The right place), but his latest series, that of Netflix A man withinperhaps his favorite yet.

When asked why that is the case, Danson hearkens back to his days Cheers. Even then, he says, he loved doing anything that was “drama with a little humor.” His character on that show, Sam Malone, was a recovering alcoholic and phobic of commitment. “So there was sadness,” he says of the sitcom. “But I love comedy that explores the human condition, and the human condition is full of laughter and full of tears. And to be able to play that (in A man within) was just a delight.”

Inspired by the Oscar-nominated documentary The mole copthe eight-episode comedy follows widower and retired professor Charles (Danson), who is encouraged by his daughter (Mary Elizabeth Ellis) to try something new, and finds himself answering an ad for a private investigator to go undercover as a mole in a retirement community. While there, he solves a series of thefts, makes new friends and learns to love life again. Near the end of the season, he’s back home when he gets a call about taking on a new case, which he readily accepts before he (and the audience) realize he doesn’t even know what the new mystery is yet.

Up ahead, Danson opens up Entertainment weekly about what he’d like to see in season 2, his thoughts on growing older, the show’s universal life lessons, and that surprising but sweet finale cameo (and Good place meeting!).

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Take me back to the beginning – series creator Mike Schur previously told us that you were immediately his first choice to play Charles. Did he even have to convince you?

TED DANSON: Oh dear Lord, no. I mean, honestly, I had so much fun working with Mike and Morgan Sackett – Morgan Sackett is his producing partner – and actually Mike had seen the documentary, and then a little while later Morgan saw it and said, ‘We have to do this like a series with Ted.” And they sent it to me and Mary (Steenburgen, Danson’s wife) and I watched it. It’s so sweet and tender and funny and a great conversation to have in life about something that we normally don’t talk about it – getting older – so no, I didn’t need any convincing. I couldn’t wait to work with them again.

There aren’t many shows that focus almost entirely on aging and people over the age of, say, 50.

One of the messages I feel in life and in this story is that Mary always says that we tell our children, “You can do anything, you can be anything.” And then there is a period in life when we stop telling ourselves that. Suddenly we think there is an age limit or something, an expiration date for our creative, productive and giving lives. And it isn’t, and it shouldn’t be, and it’s up to people my age to move on. And what I wanted to say is that it’s also a good message for younger people, for your children, that there is no expiration date on your creativity, your productivity and your contribution to the world. So keep going. Look, here I am in my seventies, and I’m still going strong. It is also a good message for young people. So it’s not just about getting older; we think that life starts to end at a certain age. Life doesn’t end until it ends, and we should celebrate from birth to death. Life isn’t just that younger part. Yes, it hurts and there is grief, sadness and loss, but keep going. Keep going.

Would you ever do what Charles does: go undercover as a mole in a retirement home?

I’m the worst person in the world trying to keep a secret. I’m terrible. I just don’t know. I would certainly be the worst spy in the world. (Laughs.) I really like the joy and excitement he gets from pretending to be a spy, which is so foreign to him. This whole thing is so strange, but it just tickles him to death, and it’s this kind of big exuberant change of life that you then see him start to fall in love with the people around him and their lives and their sadness and memory loss. and all that, and you see that the mystery isn’t nearly as important to him as it is to these people.

As a lover of The right placeI squealed when D’Arcy Carden appeared in the finale as a professor who has Charles come to give a guest lecture for her, even helping to rekindle the friendship between Charles and Calbert (Stephen McKinley Henderson). When did you know she was going to appear and how did it all come together?

I think I knew about it a week or two before or something. So yes, I was aware of it. But listen, anyone who’s ever worked with Mike, we should all be wearing T-shirts or a sweatshirt, “Mike Shur’s Repertory Company,” because we’d all happily stop what we’re doing and even just for a day or less would come in one day. of his shows. One of the reasons is that he is always writing. They’re not just functional characters or props or anything like that. Everyone is a full human being, even if they have half a page or a page to say. He writes people, he celebrates people. We’re All Groupies by Mike Schur.

I love that her scene with you feels like a warm hug.

That’s D’Arcy. D’Arcy Carden is a warm hug. Besides being a very good actor, she has so much goodness in her that it is just wonderful to be around her.

The final episode certainly leaves room for a season 2. Have there been any discussions on that front?

Oh, everyone involved would love to do a second season. That’s a bit up to Netflix, so fingers crossed that’s the case. There is no shortage of stories to tell. So yes, to answer your question, but we’re jumping the gun. People have to look at it first. But I would like to, because it’s one of my favorite things I’ve been in, and it’s all of the above: sweet, tender, sad, but just a celebration of life.

I know talking about where things might go would be an exaggeration, but what would you like to explore next? If you could put forward some ideas for season 2, what would they be?

I’m so grateful that I have no idea so I don’t have to pretend I can’t tell you. (Laughs.) I know Mike has a million ideas. If we’re so lucky, if we see how it plays out in San Francisco, it would be nice if we could run into some of these characters (from season 1) on the street, because it won’t take place during that retirement home. It’ll be somewhere else, but they all live in San Francisco, so it would be great to run into them that way.

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All episodes of A man within season 1 is now available on Netflix.