‘A Classic Spy’: Mike Schur’s Ted Danson Comedy Adds Sally Struthers & More to Netflix Ensemble
Netflix‘s Mike Schur comedy A Classic Spy is adding more funny superstars to its cast led by previously-announced star Ted Danson.
Reteaming after their run on The Good Place, Schur and Danson are expanding the show’s ensemble which includes vets from Schur’s other hits ranging from Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Parks and Recreation to even more Good Place alums. The show follows Charles (Danson), a retired man who gets a new lease on life when he answers an ad from a private investigator and becomes a mole in a secret investigation. The show is based on the documentary The Mole Agent, which was a 2021 Oscar nominee for Best Documentary Feature.
In a massive casting announcement update, Netflix unveils Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Stephanie Beatriz, Lilah Richcreek Estrada, Stephen Mckinley Henderson, Sally Struthers, Eugene Cordero, Margaret Avery, John Getz, Susan Ruttan, Lori Tan Chinn, Clyde Kusatsu, Marc Evan Jackson, and Jama Williamson will all join Danson for the highly-anticipated project.
Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Eugene Cordero, and Marc Evan Jackson (Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris; Gregory Wallace Photography; Dana Patrick)
Regarding characters, Ellis is set to play Emily, a married mother of three boys who has to adjust to her father Charles’ late-life career choice. Meanwhile, Brooklyn Nine-Nine‘s Beatriz will play Didi, the managing director of the Pacific View Retirement Residence in San Francisco.
Estrada’s character Julie is a San Francisco-based private investigator who hires Charles as her mole, pretending to be his daughter while he goes undercover at a retirement home. Henderson will play Calbert, a transplant from D.C., described as being the “stoic eyes and ears fo the Pacific View community.”
As for All in the Family comedy icon Struthers, she’ll play Virginia, a vivacious resident at Pacific View who takes a shine to Charles. And Cordero who appeared with Danson on The Good Place is playing Joel, husband to Charles’ daughter Emily and a 10th-grade science teacher. Meanwhile, Avery will play Florence, Virginia’s sweet best friend who loves poetry and the Golden State Warriors.
Getz has been cast as Elliott, Pacific View’s resident lothario who immediately feels threatened upon Charles’ arrival. As for Ruttan, she’ll play Gladys, a glamorous former costume designer from New York who lives next door to Charles. And Chinn is playing Susan, the president of Pacific View’s resident council, which she rules with an iron fist. Meanwhile, Kusatsu is playing Grant, a Princeton grad at Pacific View who is determined that you know he is a Princeton grad.
Rounding things out are Schur’s frequent onscreen collaborator Jackson who will play Evan, the client who hires Julie to investigate the theft of his mother’s necklace, and Williamson who featured in Parks and Rec will play Beatrice, the Pacific View Activities Director who has never had a bad day in her life.
The series hailing from Universal Television is executive produced by Schur, Morgan Sackett, Maite Alberdi, Marcela Santibañez, Julie Goldman, and Christopher Clements. Stay tuned for more on A Classic Spy as the series continues to take shape at Netflix.
A Classic Spy, Premiere, TBA, Netflix
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