The Double Agent series is perfect content for the holiday season: inspiring, exciting, fun, and true. Yes, the Netflix series featuring the always friendly lead role is inspired by a true story, making the proposal even more interesting.

Here, we follow the retired and widowed teacher Charles (Ted Danson), who is emotionally and physically distant from his only daughter and has a clear void in his life. Even in digital times, he communicates with Emily (Mary Elizabeth Ellis) through letters, not through articles cut out of the newspaper and sent by mail. Yes, an old-fashioned man. Interestingly, he discovers something in the newspaper that will change his life.

He sees an advertisement for a job opportunity and he eventually discovers he was born to be a spy, a double agent. As an avid reader of spy books, he ends up stumbling upon a unique opportunity to work for private detective Julie (Lilah Richcreek Estrada). She has been hired to investigate a series of robberies at a nursing home.

Once undercover, not only will he eventually solve the mystery, but more than that, he will change the lives of many people and his own. Everything may be predictable and “hallmark perfect”, but it has chemistry and rhythm. An early Christmas present.

Created by Mike Schur, Undercover Spy is an adaptation of a true story, which the showrunner discovered in 2021 when the Chilean documentary Double Agent was nominated for an Oscar for Best Documentary.

The film enchanted critics and audiences three years ago, at an even more crucial time for having hopeful content (we were still living in times of isolation, remember?) and director Maite Alberdi hit the nail on the head. She told, with extreme sensitivity, the story of Sergio Chamy, the charismatic retiree who accepted the mission to act as a spy in a nursing home to investigate whether the mother of a secret client is being mistreated.

The documentary follows Sergio’s preparation (who needs to learn how to deal with technology) and then how he connects with each person in the nursing home. I won’t give any spoilers; the original is on Globoplay.

Transferring the story to San Francisco and the United States changes some important points in the story, but it doesn’t get in the way. Everything is obviously beautiful, and clean, without conflicts or problems, and perhaps, if it weren’t the holiday season, it would have caused a flaw. But Schur’s idea is to bet on the undeniable message of hope, something we all need to have. And, of course, leave room for Charles’ next adventure.

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