Michael Schur Reveals How Ted Danson's Wife Mary Steenburgen Got Cast in “A Man on the Inside”: 'It Was Only Ever Her' (Exclusive)

Michael Schur only had eyes for one person to play Ted Danson’s love interest in A Man on the Inside season 2. 

The show creator, 50, tells PEOPLE at PaleyFest 2025 in New York City that he always knew Danson’s real-life wife Mary Steenburgen would be the perfect addition to the comedy series. 

Before the first season wrapped, Schur says the writing team discussed a potential season 2 storyline where Danson’s Charles Nieuwendyk, a widow and retiree-turned private investigator, meets a new woman. 

"There's only one person you can go to for that part," Schur says. "I think I even mentioned it to Mary before season 1 ended, like, 'If we have another season, we're thinking about this. Would you want to do it?' So, yeah, it was only ever her."

"I think it all worked out for the best," he adds. 

A Man on the Inside season 2 follows Charles as he is assigned to help Wheeler College president Jack Berenger (Max Greenfield) crack a case and must go undercover as a college professor, per a synopsis from Netflix.

Steenburgen, who has been married to Danson since 1995, plays music teacher Mona and Charles’ new love interest. Meanwhile, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Stephanie Beatriz and Lilah Richcreek Estrada reprise their respective characters. 

The new season also sees the addition of Gary Cole, Michaela Conlin, Lisa Gilroy, Madison Hu, Sam Huntington, Jason Mantzoukas, Constance Marie, Linda Park, David Strathairn and Jill Talley.

Schur says that as he was writing the characters, he began thinking about who would play them. "If you're lucky, the prototype you imagine actually ends up being the person who plays the role," he shares. 

"Gary Cole's character's name was just Gary for a long time because we kept thinking about Gary Cole, and then we were lucky enough to offer it to him and have him say yes," Schur says. "Max Greenfield was another one. Max is my neighbor, and I was trying to think about who could play this role. I was walking my dog and ran into him, and I was like, 'Hey, wait a second, you should do it.' "

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Schur also speaks about recruiting Mantzoukas for the comedy series, following their work together in Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and The Good Place. 

"Every show I make, there's a character who's so insane and bizarre that I think, ‘Who in the world is going to be able to do this?’ And the answer is always Jason Mantzoukas. So I call him on the phone and say, ‘Hey, you want to come do this thing,’ and he's always like, ‘Yeah, sure, sounds good.’ Sometimes it's something like that and other times you just get lucky," he says. 

A Man on the Inside season 2 premieres Nov. 20 on Netflix.