LOS ANGELES − Ted Danson’s wannabe private eye Charles Nieuwendyk breaks a professional golden rule in Season 2 of Netflix’s “A Man on the Inside” (streaming Nov. 20) by dating the main suspect in his new case.
But it’s hard to blame Charles for the criminal misstep, because Wheeler College professor Mona Margadoff − who just might be the blackmailer at the heart of the academia mystery − is played by Mary Steenburgen, Danson’s wife of 30 years. Two-time Emmy winner Danson, 77, didn’t have to dig deep for the love vibes.
"Charles is smitten, and I was too," Danson tells USA TODAY. "It's so much fun to play falling in love with someone you're madly in love with. You just sink into each other, which is lovely."
The universally adored pair have spent decades at the intersection of love and work, first meeting when Danson auditioned unsuccessfully to play Steenburgen’s husband in the 1983 film romance “Cross Creek.” They became a real-life couple after playing one in 1994’s “Pontiac Moon" and married in 1995. They even endured split rumors after playing versions of themselves who got divorced in 2024's Season 10 of Larry David's "Curb Your Enthusiasm."
"Thanks to Larry, we were happily married," says Danson, laughing about the show's status change. (The couple have frequently appeared on the show since its debut in 2000.) "That actually pissed me off when I came to work and found I had divorced Mary. We had people who knew us, who had dinner with us a month before, call and ask, 'Oh my God, is it true?' And Mary said, 'Yes, it's true, and we decided to announce it on 'Curb Your Enthusiasm.' "
