Diksha Sundriyal
Netflix’s ‘A Man on the Inside‘ follows the adventures of Charles Nieuwendyk, a man in his late 70s who gets a chance to reinvent himself by working as a private investigator. In the second season, he goes undercover at Wheeler College, where he must find the thief who stole the college President’s laptop, which contains crucial information regarding the institution’s fate. While he looks at everyone with a suspicious eye, the same cannot be said about Mona. When he meets her, he feels butterflies in his stomach, which is new and odd for him. This adds a new dimension to his story, while he continues to dig into the mystery and uncover the truth. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Mona Helps Charles Turn Over a New Leaf
When Charles was introduced in the first season of ‘A Man on the Inside,’ he was a grieving widower. He was retired, and with his wife gone, he struggled to find purpose in his life. He found something to look forward to when he went undercover in Pacific View. There, he ended up befriending a lot of people, and while some women showed interest in him, he politely declined, citing the love he still held for his wife and that he was still grieving her. Given that he had spent almost the entirety of his life with his wife, it seemed impossible for him to fall for someone else. But all that changes in Season 2 when he crosses paths with Mona. She is the music professor at the college. She is a little eccentric but endearing, and Charles is immediately captivated by her.
It turns out that when she was young, Mona was part of a band called Lavender Highway. One of their songs, “Goodbye, Baby,” turned into such a hit that even after all these years, she gets requests to sing it. Being a rockstar opened her up to the life of partying, and she still loves to be surrounded by that chaos, and she thrives in it. Growing old has done nothing to dampen her excitement about life, and she welcomes any new adventure that comes her way. While this is something that people admire about her, her spontaneity can also intimidate people, as we see with Charles and Emily. Sometimes, it can also lead people to grossly underestimate her. Eventually, however, Mona doesn’t give too much thought to what others think, and she solely focuses on what she wants for herself and how to live her life to the fullest.
Mary Steenburgen Portrays the Chaotically Endearing Mona
Mary Steenburgen plays the role of Mona in the second season of ‘A Man on the Inside.’ The Academy Award-winning actress has been married to Ted Danson, who plays Charles, since 1995, which adds another layer to the chemistry between their characters. Mary has been working since the late 1970s and has displayed her versatility by playing a wide range of characters. Some of her notable projects include her Oscar-winning turn in ‘Melvin and Howard,’ ‘Back to the Future Part III,’ ‘The Last Man on Earth,’ ‘Happiest Season,’ and ‘Bless the Harts.’ After gaining success as an actress, she turned towards the world of music. After a minor surgery in 2009, she woke with music in her head, which eventually led her to start songwriting. Additionally, she has also been deeply involved with several philanthropic endeavours and supported environmental causes.
Along with Danson, she is the co-founder of Angels at Risk, which helps at-risk youth with drug and alcohol problems. In 2025, she and Danson were honoured with the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award. When Mary was approached with the role of Mona by Mike Schur, she wasn’t entirely convinced that the plan would work. But then, when things finally moved forward, she said there was “a lot of screaming and jumping up and down.” She and Danson had been excited to work together. Describing her experience on the show, she said it was “funny” and “moving,” and she considered herself lucky to be a part of the project. She brings aspects of her own personality to Mona, making the character lovable and someone to root for.
Read More: Is Lavender Highway a Real Band? Is Goodbye Baby a Real Song?
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