A Man on the Inside’ Season 2 Trailer Shows Ted Danson’s Widower Falling for Art Teacher Played By His Real-Life Wife Mary Steenburgen

A Man on the Inside Season 2 is almost here and it looks like art is imitating life.

In the newly debuted trailer for the second season of Ted Danson and Michael Schur‘s Netflix comedy series, Charles Nieuwendyk (Danson) is back on the case alongside Julie Kovalenko (Lilah Richcreek Estrada) as they investigate a stolen laptop worth more than a quarter of a billion dollars. Yup, you read that right.

Just as Charles — a retired professor who dipped his toe in the private investigation waters at a San Francisco retirement community in Season 1 — is remarking that he’s tired of busting cheating husbands and is ready for another juicy case, in walks Jack Berenger (Max Greenfield), the President of the fictional Wheeler College whose laptop has been stolen.

In order to locate the priceless computer, Charles must go undercover as a new professor and sniff out the staff and students, including a carefree art teacher, Mona Margadoff, played by Danson’s real-life wife, Mary Steenburgen. The two-minute trailer sees Charles falling for Mona, against his better judgment and the advice of his friend from the Pacific View Retirement Community, Calbert (Stephen McKinley Henderson).

“I met someone,” Charles tells Calbert as a clip of Mona leaning in for a kiss plays and Charles adds, “She’s one of the suspects.” To that, Calbert — who returns from Season 1 alongside other retirement community residents Elliot (John Getz) and Virginia (Sally Struthers) — responds, “Oh, for god’s sake.”

Take a look at the new trailer in the player above and some stills from Season 2 below:

Also back from Season 1 is Stephanie Beatriz, reprising her role as Didi, the good-natured manager of the retirement home that Charles infiltrated last season. While the trailer for Season 2 sees Charles assembling Calbert, Elliot, and Virginia to help him with his case in Season 2, the details of Beatriz’s part in the second season are currently being kept under wraps.

At the 2025 Emmy Awards, DECIDER stopped Schur — who went on to hand off the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award to Danson and Steenburgen with Kristen Bell later in the evening — on the carpet and asked about getting the gang back together for the new season and how Beatriz’s character might play into Charles’ next investigation.

“There was no reason, at the beginning of the year, because it’s a new location, but I was like, ‘I don’t know, we’re going to figure it out,’” The Good Place and Parks and Recreation creator said of reuniting once again with the Brooklyn Nine-Nine actress. “I want Stephanie Beatriz to be in everything I write for the rest of my life.”

It looks like the mystery of Didi’s role in Season 2 will just have to be solved by the fans on November 20 when Charles gets to sleuthing at Wheeler College. In the meantime, if you need us, we’ll be catching up on Season 1 and looking back at how Charles solved the case of the missing necklace at Pacific View. Will he be able to do it again? Only time will tell.

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