Mystery loves company

A Man on the Inside was one of Netflix's best shows last year. It was based on a delightful (and borderline unbelievable) Chilean documentary called The Mole Agent, created by the infallible Mike Schur (The Good Place, The Office (US), Brooklyn Nine-Nine, all streaming in India on Netflix) and starred the all-time king of sitcom comedy, the one and only Ted Danson.

- RAJA SEN

A show about an ageing widower finding purpose by becoming a private detective—by working a case undercover at a retirement home—this was feelgood television of the best kind, optimistic and humane yet always intelligent and, crucially, never straying too far from a sarcastic line.

The new season dropped last week, and I must confess to feeling immediately underwhelmed. Without the anchor of the old-age home, our pocket-square-wearing protagonist felt a bit unmoored and the case this season—of a blackmailer trying to sabotage a donation at a college—felt uninteresting. Through the first two episodes, I felt that weariness I feel when watching the once clever Only Murders in the Building (JioHotstar), a series about old sleuths that is less about sleuthing with each season, and feels far too old. Also, at a time when so many shows start out with an attention-grabbing hook, A Man on the Inside initially felt, to me, too gentle to demand my enthusiasm.