Based on the Chilean documentary «El Agente Topo»
Plot
Charles, a retired man, gets a new lease on life when he answers a private investigator’s call and becomes the mole in an undercover investigation of a nursing home. A remake of the film El agente topo (2020). Writing a review of this show requires knowing the context and content.
Three parents dealing with the challenges of assisted living made this more enjoyable and impactful
Ted Danson plays an octogenarian widower (Charles) who is struggling to establish a new routine after his wife dies due to dementia-related health issues. In a series of classic sitcom plot devices, Charles lands a job as an undercover detective in an assisted living facility (what used to be called a ‘nursing home’) to solve a jewelry theft. His boss, Lilah Richcreek Estrada as Julie, is a black-and-white, anything-goes detective in the name of solving the case, a sarcastic foil to Danson’s kind-hearted and square-headed Charles.
The two quickly find themselves at odds with the establishment
The director (played well by Stephanie Beatriz Didi), Charles’ daughter Emily (Mary Elizabeth Ellis), and several of the residents and their many silly problems. There are several poorly conceived bits that focus on the older women being snobbish and out of place in the other stories, and the grossly disrespectful (and interchangeable) Charles’ daughter’s three teenage sons are distracting and throwaway. The best parts are Charles’ slow immersion in his new community, with few social connections to the other residents, especially Caleb, played by Stephen McKinley Henderson.
The awkward banter between Charles and the boss Julie is hilarious
There’s also some fun in the deadpan jokes and comments about assisted living and the things that go on there. And while daughter Emily’s home life isn’t very interesting, it sets up a couple of great scenes between her and Charles in later episodes. The ending isn’t terribly difficult to figure out (who stole what, and what happens to Charles), but the emotional parts of Charles waking up and coming to terms with his wife’s death are very worthwhile.
Overall, I recommend it, especially for viewers in their forties and older
Parts played by old stars (Sally Struthers, Veronica Cartwright) that might make older viewers smile, but mostly go for pointless jokes about old people and sex.
