Ted Danson and Mike Schur agree ‘we’re really bad at talking about ageing’. With ‘A Man on the Inside’ they hope to change that.

Ted Danson wants people to know that life doesn’t stop when you’re 76. That’s also why he was excited to team up with showrunner Mike Schur (A good place) for their new Netflix series A man on the inside.

“Sometimes people my age tend to start playing it safe,” the Bowl the alum tells Yahoo Entertainment. “You tell your children that you can be whatever you want, you encourage them … ‘Go for it, you beautiful little children.’ And when we get to a certain age, we stop telling ourselves that, and it’s not true.

The series is about a retired professor Charles (Danson), who one year after the death of his wife feels stuck with where he is in life. After answering a classified ad from a private detective, Charles goes undercover at a nursing home to find out who stole a resident’s family heirloom. It’s a comedy that doesn’t shy away from tackling misconceptions about aging.

“There is no limit to your ability to make a difference in the world and inspire people,” says Danson. “And the fact that you keep moving forward is what will keep you alive and happy to be alive. So it’s also up to us at our age to set a good example for everyone else. “

A man on the inside is based on the Oscar-nominated documentary The mole agent. Schur tells Yahoo that it was important to highlight the film’s underlying theme that life doesn’t stop just because you get older.

“When I was thinking about how to adapt it, I had this thought, I’ve had a lot, which is that we’re really bad at talking about aging in this country. We’re youth-obsessed,” says the producer . “Every product on TV that’s advertised is like, ‘Look younger, pretend you’re not getting older!’ I think it’s very silly, mostly because aging is the good result, isn’t it. It’s best for all of us to be embarrassed or ashamed, or we have to pretend it’s not happening, I think it’s ridiculous. .”

For people who loved the magic Danson and Schur created with A good placetheir new series still has the elements of a feel-good show. However, Schur wanted to be sure A man on the inside also depicted the reality of getting older.

“It’s not perfect. There’s aches and pains and problems and memory loss and death and injury and everything else, but again, this is the good scenario. This is what we want,” he says.

The series also touches on the theme of how important friendship is as you get older.

“Dear Lord, friendship is everything,” Danson says. “Even in your marriage, friendship should be the most important thing. I’m best friends with my (wife).”

Danson has been married to actress Mary Steenburgen since 1995.

“Friendship is kind of forever, you know? And romance is … oh, I’m in trouble here,” he jokes. “Because I have romantic feelings for my wife, but she’s also my best friend.”

While creating the series, some of the themes hit close to home for Schur, 49, who says we can all take some lessons from Charles.

“When I first moved to Los Angeles and moved in with my now wife, then girlfriend, we went out all the time. We saw our friends all the time. We had dinners constantly. We went to parties, we went to plays and we had adventures and then, you know, life happens,” explains the producer. “We got married, we have kids, we both have careers. And now the extra schools we do are very limited.”

Schur concludes, “My Charles challenge to myself, and that’s part of why I wanted to write this show, is to remind myself that you can’t live like that. You have to go out in the world and try things and see people and have adventures and travel as best you can because those are the things that keep you sharp and also remind you that humans are meant to be together… because not to settle for sitting on my couch and watching TV every night, but to go and do things.”

A man on the inside begins streaming November 21 on Netflix.