Warning! This post contains spoilers for ‘A Man on the Inside’ and ‘The Good Place’.
Ted Danson’s new Netflix show, A Man on the Inside, includes several Easter eggs and references to another incredibly popular Ted Danson show, The Good Place. The Good Place premiered in 2016, and it quickly became a smash hit, not only because of the brilliant cast of the show, which starred Kristen Bell as leading character Eleanor Shellstrop, but also because of The Good Place’s shocking plot twist. Danson’s character in A Man on the Inside, Charles, in many ways perfectly pays off his character in The Good Place, Michael.
While Michael and Charles are one clear link between the two shows, though, there are many connections to The Good Place in A Man on the Inside. In addition to a number of cameos from some of The Good Place’s main characters, A Man on the Inside incorporates callbacks to The Good Place in even the tiniest details. Here are 8 Easter eggs and references to The Good Place in A Man on the Inside.
D’Arcy Carden Has A Cameo
Carden Played The Fan-Favorite Character Janet In The Good Place
In The Good Place, D’Arcy Carden plays Janet, who acts as Michael’s assistant throughout the show. Carden’s dry performance and incredible sense of humor made this character truly shine, which is in part why The Good Place is considered one of D’Arcy Carden’s best movies and TV shows. It was therefore thrilling to see Carden have a cameo at the end of A Man on the Inside as Professor Della Denunzio.
In A Man on the Inside, Charles is a retired professor of engineering, and in the final episode, he becomes a guest lecturer in Professor Denunzio’s class. While a cameo from D’Arcy Carden in A Man on the Inside would have felt linked to The Good Place either way because of how important Janet was in that show, seeing Danson and Carden side by side again was highly reminiscent of The Good Place. In fact, down to the outfits, this scene in A Man on the Inside seemed like it was pulled right out of The Good Place.
“Tinker Tailor Older Spy” Is A Direct Callback To “Tinker, Tailor, Demon, Spy”
While Both Episodes Allude To A Novel (And Movie), Their Connection Is Clear
The first episode of A Man on the Inside, “Tinker Tailor Older Spy,” is a play on the famous novel and subsequent movie Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Within the show, this connection makes sense. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is the story of an aging spy who comes out of retirement to uncover how British secrets are being handed over to Russia. While Charles wasn’t originally a spy, he too comes out of retirement and takes on a spy mission at 75 years old.
In addition to alluding to this classic story, though, this episode title in A Man on the Inside connects to a very similarly titled episode of The Good Place, “Tinker, Tailor, Demon, Spy.” The similarity of these two titles is particularly funny because they each reflect Ted Danson’s character in the respective shows. For The Good Place, this is specifically a reference to Michael’s shocking role as a demon in the show—which only becomes clear after The Good Place’s incredible plot twist.
Pacific View’s Memory Care Ward Is Called “The Neighborhood”
The Name Of The Memory Care Unit References Michael’s Good Place Neighborhood
One of the subtler connections between A Man on the Inside and The Good Place is the name of the memory care wing in Pacific View, the retirement community in which Charles goes undercover. This wing is called “The Neighborhood,” which is meant to make the wing seem less foreboding, especially for residents of the community who fear needing to move to The Neighborhood one day. However, this is also a reference to Michael’s ‘Neighborhood’ in The Good Place.
In The Good Place, Michael creates Neighborhood 12358W, modeled after the neighborhoods of the actual Good Place, for his experiment. Hilariously, Michael’s neighborhood intentionally makes things slightly worse than they would be in the true Good Place, such as by only having frozen yogurt shops (rather than ice cream shops). Although it’s only a subtle nod to The Good Place, this name in A Man on the Inside couldn’t have been coincidental.
Marc Evan Jackson Has Multiple Cameos
Jackson Played Evan Cubbler In A Man On The Inside And Shawn In The Good Place
Like D’Arcy Carden, Marc Evan Jackson has a significant role in both The Good Place and A Man on the Inside. In The Good Place, Jackson plays Shawn, who is essentially Michael’s direct superior in the Bad Place. Whereas Michael is a charismatic and charming demon, though, Shawn maintains a flat tone and distant attitude toward the show’s protagonists. Even so, he, like Michael (and the other main characters), has a rewarding conclusion in the show.
In A Man on the Inside, Jackson’s character, Evan Cubbler, has a very similar personality. He is in fact the person who requested the investigation of the retirement community, believing the staff had stolen his mother’s jewelry. Like Shawn, Evan is largely humorless, and he is only minimally expressive throughout his appearances on the show, even after the case is solved. Notably, this is a character type Jackson has played in other shows and movies as well, but having Jackson and Danson work so closely together again, particularly in yet another Michael Schur production, links the two shows nevertheless.
Charles’ Room Number Is The Exact Number Of Residents In The Good Place
This Incredible Detail Is Small But Can’t Be Coincidental
An even subtler detail linking A Man on the Inside and The Good Place is Charles’ room number in the retirement community. Charles’ room, number 322, represents the exact number of residents in Neighborhood 12358W. In fact, in The Good Place pilot, Michael suggests that all Good Place neighborhoods have 322 residents, although the reason for that precise number is unknown.
Of course, Michael’s neighborhood isn’t a real Good Place neighborhood at all, which means that only four of the ‘residents’ in Neighborhood 12358W are actually human: Eleanor, Chidi, Tahani, and Jason. The rest are demons playing a role in Michael’s torturous experiment. Despite this deception, Charles’ room number in A Man on the Inside is almost certainly a direct reference to The Good Place’s residents, especially given how specific the number is and the fact that it is Charles’ room in particular.
Eugene Cordero Is A Major Character
The “Pillboi” Actor Looks Quite Different In A Man On The Inside
Yet another actor who appears in both The Good Place and A Man on the Inside is Eugene Cordero. However, unlike D’Arcy Carden and Marc Evan Jackson’s characters, Eugene Cordero’s characters in A Man on the Inside and The Good Place are very different. In The Good Place, Cordero played Jason’s friend, whom he called ‘Pillboi.’ Pillboi was actually directly involved in Jason’s death, as he and Jason had attempted to rob a restaurant by having Jason hide inside a safe, where he ultimately suffocated.
Like Jason, Pillboi was a character known for being a bit quirky and not all that intelligent in The Good Place, which is quite different from Cordero’s character in A Man on the Inside. In that show, Cordero plays Joel Piñero, Charles’ son-in-law. Throughout the show, Joel proves to be witty, funny, and thoughtful, struggling to navigate parenthood with three reckless sons. Of all the actors who appear in both shows, Cordero is the most difficult one to recognize simply because the two characters couldn’t be more different.
Ted Danson Does Michael’s Iconic Good Place Laugh
Michael’s Laugh In The Season 1 Finale Is A Staple Of The Show
Perhaps Michael’s most iconic moment in The Good Place is the evil laugh he lets out in the final episode of season 1, when Eleanor Shellstrop reveals that she knows she and the other characters are really in the Bad Place. In fact, while Eleanor’s line “THIS is the Bad Place” has become one of the most quoted lines from the show, if not the single most quoted, it wasn’t until the formerly sweet-seeming Michael let out this villainous laugh that it was really clear to the audience that Eleanor was right. They weren’t in the Good Place at all.
Although it might not be quite on the same level, as that would have been out of place, in A Man on the Inside, Charles sits at a table surrounded by his new friends in the retirement community, and he lets out a nearly identical laugh. Yes, this is in part because Ted Danson is the actor for both characters, of course. Notably, though, Michael and Charles laugh countless times throughout both shows, but only this moment in A Man on the Inside in particular feels like a direct callback to The Good Place.
Eleanor Shellstrop Has A Shocking Cameo
Eleanor’s Iconic Sweater Is Shown In The Final Episode Of A Man On The Inside
Although Ted Danson’s Michael was one of the stars of The Good Place, the lead of the show was certainly Eleanor Shellstrop. After waking up in the supposed Good Place knowing she didn’t deserve to be there, Eleanor, as mentioned, was the one to uncover Michael’s nefarious plot. Eleanor’s incredible redemption arc in The Good Place is also arguably one of the greatest strengths of the show, again contributing to her being a fan favorite. It was therefore absolutely thrilling to catch a glimpse of Eleanor—or at least someone the show heavily hints is Eleanor—in A Man on the Inside.
At the very end of the show, during Charles’ lecture, a blonde woman stands up and is shown from behind wearing the very sweater Eleanor Shellstrop was wearing in the series finale of The Good Place. Although it may have been a delightful Easter egg rather than truly Eleanor herself, this was very obviously a nod to the beloved character. Of all the Easter eggs and references to The Good Place in A Man on the Inside, this brief cameo from Eleanor Shellstrop was easily one of the most exciting.
