Espion à l'ancienne

As I update this in NOV 2025 we just finished watching season 2, again just great entertainment with accomplished actors and interesting characters.

Ted Danson, about 76, stars as Charles, about 76, a retired Professor of Engineering and living in San Francisco. He also is Producer of this series which sets itself apart from most by avoiding the all-too-common filthy language dialog. This in fact is very clean and more pleasant as a result.

In the story his wife had died perhaps a year ago from the effects of Alzheimer's. He is healthy but perhaps bored with his daily routine. He has a habit of reading periodicals and newspapers and often cuts an interesting one out to send to his married daughter in Sacramento. One day, through a cut-out hole he glimpses a small, short ad. Looking for someone in the 75 to 85 years age range for a specific job as a private investigator.

Season 1: This takes him to a private investigator hired by a man whose mother is in a type of upscale old folks home in San Francisco, some meaningful jewelry was stolen and the son wants the thief to be caught. Charles will be the key.

So he is hired to check into the place and observe and report as the person to expose what is going on.

Ted Danson is just perfect in this role which he plays with lots of humor. Quickly it becomes less about who the thief was and more about the relationships. The cast of characters are played by a group of fine actors, many of them old favorites we have come to know from the past 50 years or so.

Season 2: This job takes him to a private college, as a retired engineer he takes a job as a visiting professor. The story is totally different, it involves solving a mystery about a mega rich donor who has unsavory plans for the school. Some of the characters from the nursing home reappear but there are many new characters also. Including his real-life wife and the two develop a relationship.

My wife and I enjoyed both seasons, streaming. We generally watched two episodes a night.

One of the more enjoyable mini-series that we have watched. We hope there will be another season with a novel storyline next year.

I'm not a binge watcher, but we smashed the whole season on the first night.

It's got that right mix of warm, funny, sad, deep with a story line that keeps you plugging away.

Ted Danson of course is great, but Stephanie Beatriz (Diaz in '99) is awesome and her character is somebody you'd want to spend all your time with.

It's set in San Francisco which of course helps with my rating but above all, whilst it is very sad at times, it is a comedy and it gives you hope for the future as we all get a little older.

A solid eight out of ten for me, one for all ages and who knows, hopefully another season.

How can one not appreciate Ted Danson. Guys a legend, like Tom Sellecks mustache. Anyway, I found this show to be a boy of everything. Some pretty funny lines, two very attractive lead female characters which never hurts, and as well, a great message about bonds that are formed in life. Especially in the later stages, when things truly matter for the right reasons.

I also found this show resonating with me, being that it touches upon dementia. Losing my father recently, and who battled this terrible disease, simply made me feel more connected. Yet, as each episode progressed, I became more invested, and found each character to be charming and endearing in their own unique way.

I definitely recommend this series, and I also look forward to another season. It is feel good, not totally gut wrenching like some scenes in the classic film "on Golden Pond", and all an all, just a relaxing and well written show.

Son and I watched over holidays and we both enjoyed it immensely. Ted is a true gem, the guest stars were all people we knew from past shows and we got to see them again, reminding us how good they are. We binge watched this because the episodes were short which is perfect to keep our interest. There is a great chance for this to continue with so much more fun and games among an aging population. So much information just in the storyline about nursing homes, aging/elderly, grief and loss, friendships and honesty. It has a small tinge of murders in the building but unique in its own way with the mix of young and old in thoughts and technology. This show is a winner for me.

Loved it! What I was expected was a comedy full of clichés about somebody going undercover,his crazy antics & so forth.

Instead we get a series about a man that not only helped others,but actually helped himself heal from losing his wife.

This great series wasn't full of cheesy laughs & corny lines,found myself actually emotional during some parts because of the way topics were handled-Like the resident with memory issues.

However it wasn't all serious that made you feel down or bored getting through episodes,it kept the series watch worthy because you wanted to see how it played out-Who did the stealing,etc.

The casting to acting was great,cinematography & locations nicely done.

I really hope they do another season & bring a great mixture of laughs,emotions,script,location plus cast like they did on Charles next detective styled adventures as they did on this one.