There's some exciting news for comedy fans out of Netflix, but there's also some not-so-exciting news for comedy fans as well. It wouldn't be the end of the year if some difficult decisions weren't being made about the fates of our favorite (and, in some cases, underrated) shows.
First, the good news: Michael Schur's spy comedy starring Ted Danson has been renewed! A Man on the Inside season 2 was announced on Dec. 16, just under one month after its release on Nov. 21. The show received overwhelming critical acclaim and has enjoyed strong viewership ratings, debuting at the peak of Netflix's most popular English TV shows ranking.
In addition to its success, Danson earned a Golden Globe nomination for his performance as Charles Nieuwendyk, a retiree and widower who answers an advertisement to become a "man on the inside" for a private investigator. He infiltrates a retirement home to help catch a thief, but along the way, he and his new friends, as well as his daughter, learn a whole lot more about growing older than they expected.
According to Netflix's press release, the second season will be released in 2025, likely again in the fall (or sooner if they can swing it). Even with the exciting news that Charles will be teaming up again with Julie (Lilah Richcreek Estrada) on the new case teased at the end of season 1, I can't help but have a bitter taste in my mouth knowing that Netflix also just informally canceled its most underrated comedy series.
Girls5eva season 4 unofficially canceled at Netflix
Since its March move to Netflix with its previous season streamed on Peacock and the all-new, Netflix exclusive season 3, Girls5eva hasn't received any updates about its future. It's obvious that the show underperformed by Netflix's standards. The show didn't enter the daily top 10 ranking in the United States, I guess proving that Netflix can't save everything even when they do save something.
During the Dec. 4 episode of her podcast Busy Philipps Is Doing Her Best, series star Busy Philipps fielded a question about the fate of the show from guest Danny Pellegrino, and for the first time, some explicit answers were actually shared with fans. According to Philipps, the series is pretty much "dead" and revealed that the terms of Netflix's deal only covered season 3.
Since Netflix seemingly didn't make any plans beyond season 3 in its pick-up deal when saving it from Peacock, they aren't technically leaving the cast and crew on the hook and waiting for a renewal. Still, Philipps remained optimistic that the show has the power to hopefully live on in some form in the future, that perhaps it's not "dead dead" granted there's no officiall cancellation.
Here's what Busy Philipps said about the series on her podcast:
"It's dead. I'm just saying it because f-ck it, if Netflix won't, I will. I guess not enough people watched it or watched it the way that counts or I don't know. I actually just don't know. And to be fair, Netflix isn't saying that it's dead, but they don't also have to say anything about it because the way that the deal was structured when it went to Peacock was just for the season, for that third season.
And so, there's no time limit — you know, normally when you do a TV show, there's a contract, and like, you have to let the actors know by a certain date or they are free to go pursue other things in first position, but they never, we didn't have that deal structured. I know that all of us would, like, kill to do more in any capacity, like a movie like they did with Kimmy Schmidt would be incredible, or you know, a fourth and final season. But I just think it's not... probably happening."
Philipps went on to joke that she and the cast could put on a live show at Radio City Music Hall in the same way that their characters did in season 3 or even doing a Broadway musical. And, this is my own input here, maybe the series will live on like Curb Your Enthusiasm, a show that frequently went years in between seasons. Still, I would love that fourth and final season Philipps mentioned.
It's been unfairly questioned that the series title and viewpoint has been a turn off for potential viewers, and that could very well be true, but it's interesting to put A Man on the Inside and Girls5eva side by side. One features "man" in the title, the other features "girls." One stars a man in his late 70s, the other stars four women between the ages of 45 and 61. It's just something to chew on.
While I'm excited to watch A Man on the Inside season 2 on Netflix in 2025, there's a lingering stinging feeling in my stomach that Netflix couldn't do something more to help Girls5eva succeed in the way that it deserves. To watch something so creative, so clever, so hilarious but purposeful have such a staggering disconnect with popular culture doesn't sit right.
Watch all three seasons of Girls5eva on Netflix.