Ted Danson’s brand-new Netflix show A Man on the Inside is based on The Mole Agent, a real-life story of an 83-year-old man named Sergio Chamy who went undercover at a nursing home to investigate alleged crimes. A Man on the Inside’s cast and characters add to the charm of the show, as do the numerous connections to Michael in The Good Place, largely considered one of Ted Danson’s best roles. However, the true story also plays a major role in how popular A Man on the Inside has already proven to be.
Many of the themes in A Man on the Inside—aging, family, acceptance, and loneliness—are also directly due to the true story in The Mole Agent. Despite A Man on the Inside being based on The Mole Agent, though, the Netflix show does take a number of (respectful) liberties. Here’s the true story of The Mole Agent and how A Man on the Inside compares.
A Man On The Inside Is Based On The 2020 Documentary The Mole Agent
The Mole Agent Is A Shocking True Story
The Mole Agent is a 2020 documentary that stars 83-year-old Sergio Chamy, a Chilean man who is hired by a private investigator to go undercover at a local nursing home. Like Charles in A Man on the Inside, Sergio accomplishes this by pretending to be a resident of the community, moving in and becoming close with the other residents to gain information. The cause of this investigation is quite different between the two stories, however.
“Sergio was hired because there were allegations that the nursing home was mistreating its residents”
In A Man on the Inside, one of the residents claims there is a jewelry thief at large in the retirement community who has stolen a family heirloom—a priceless ruby necklace. Her son hires Julie, a private investigator, who decides that the only way to catch the supposed thief is by having someone in their 70s or 80s pose as a resident. In real life, Sergio was hired because there were allegations that the nursing home was mistreating its residents. Therefore, while the basic premise of the investigation and undercover work remained the same, the stakes were quite different.
Who Sergio Met At The Nursing Home In The Mole Agent & How They Compare To A Man On The Inside’s Characters
Sergio, Like Charles, Met People Full Of Life And Personality
In A Man on the Inside, Charles encounters a number of charming characters in the retirement community. In addition to the very likable nature of Danson’s own character, which is in many ways the perfect payoff for Michael in The Good Place, Charles meets Calbert, Florence, Gladys, and Virginia, all of whom he eventually befriends. Calbert is easily the resident Charles becomes closest with, and they end up remaining true confidants, even continuing to meet up with one another after Charles’ ruse has been revealed.
Although theirs is a slightly more complicated relationship, Gladys is also among the characters who become closest to Charles throughout his stay in the retirement community. Sadly, this is because Gladys is beginning to lose her memory, just as Charles’ late wife did. Because of that personal connection, Charles makes several attempts to help Gladys. While some of this story in A Man on the Inside is fabricated, Gladys is based on a real person, Marta, and in A Man on the Inside, she becomes integral to the investigation.
“Gladys is based on a real person, Marta, and in A Man on the Inside , she becomes integral to the investigation”
Charles also befriends Florence, who heartbreakingly dies in the show. Prior to her death, Florence encouraged Charles to explore the arts, ultimately helping him to embrace and perform a famous scene from Shakespeare’s play As You Like It at her memorial service. Florence’s best friend, Virginia, is a bit more eccentric than the other characters, which makes it all the funnier that Virginia is one of the characters in A Man on the Inside who most clearly has a real-life counterpart, in addition to Gladys/Marta.
A Man on the Inside’s Virginia is based on a real person, Berta, who appeared in The Mole Agent. In the show, Virginia develops a crush on Charles, just as Berta developed a crush on Sergio in the documentary. One of the distinctions between Virginia and Berta is their relationship history. Whereas Berta had never been married before and wanted to marry Sergio, Virginia had an on-again-off-again relationship with another resident, Elliott. Despite that relationship, Virginia (playfully) came on strong when she met Charles, and she remained flirtatious in the show, although she ended up with Elliott once again.
What Sergio Discovered About Sonia At The Chilean Nursing Home In The Mole Agent
Similar To A Man On The Inside, Sergio Finds No Crimes Are Being Committed
As mentioned, the objective of Sergio’s real-life spy mission was quite different from Charles’ in A Man on the Inside. For Sergio, this undercover role was meant to reveal any mistreatment of the nursing home’s residents. Specifically, Sergio was investigating the claims that one resident, Sonia, was being mistreated, which her daughter believed was the case.
In the end, Sergio found that no one, Sonia included, was being mistreated. The only issue Sergio identified was a single occurrence of the nurses forgetting to give Sonia her medication, which seemed to be entirely accidental. However, Sergio did discover that Marta was stealing items from Sonia and other residents because of her memory loss. This seems to have served as inspiration for A Man on the Inside, as that is ultimately precisely what Charles uncovers.
Gladys, like Marta, was unwittingly stealing from the other residents, which is how the ruby necklace in question went missing. This also explained the disappearance of several odd objects, including dozens of salt shakers. In both A Man on the Inside and The Mole Agent, there was therefore no true crime being committed.
What Happened To The Mole Agent’s Sergio, The Inspiration For Ted Danson’s Charles
This Is One Major Change In A Man On The Inside—Likely For One Key Reason
One of the biggest differences between The Mole Agent and A Man on the Inside is the way the stories conclude. In A Man on the Inside, Charles is offered and accepts a brand-new spy mission (although the details of the mission aren’t revealed), which suggests a possible season 2. For Sergio, his spy days were behind him after he solved this case.
However, in a surprising turn of events, Sergio became famous in Chile, and he went on to become an actor. Most recently, Sergio appeared in Perra Vida (2024). While their endings may be different, though, A Man on the Inside stays true to The Mole Agent in many ways and respects the incredible real-life story of Sergio Chamy.
