Movie Set in Retirement Home to be Remade as TV Show

Ted Danson, who starred in television shows such as "Cheers," "Mr. Mayor" and "The Good Place," is reportedly set to play a retiree hired by a private investigator to go undercover at a nursing home in a remake of the 2020 Chilean film "The Mole Agent."

The project is led by Danson and co-executive producer Mike Schur, who created such programs as "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," "Parks and Recreation" and "The Good Place."

'The Mole Agent' Movie

Named one of the Best Documentaries of 2020 by IndieWire and selected as Chile's submission to the 93rd Academy Awards in the category of Best International Film, "The Mole Agent" follows 83-year-old Sergio Chamy who is sent as an undercover spy to a Chilean retirement home to track suspected elder abuse.

Through the lens of the hidden camera in his decoy glasses, viewers watch as Sergio struggles to balance his assignment with his increasing involvement in the lives of several residents. Along the way, as he himself tires of the deception at the core of the story, the documentary becomes an honest and unexpected meditation on aging and human connection, all while disguised, at least superficially, as a playful noir spy movie.

Placing the nursing home and its varied residents at the heart of the documentary, director Maite Alberdi amplifies and pays due respect to the rich inner worlds of those members of society wrongfully categorized as burdens to their families and communities. The documentary provides a portal into a world largely hidden from public view.

"The Mole Agent" takes viewers into the nursing home through the perspective of Sergio, giving life to its long-term residents as captivating, heartwarming and entertaining characters through Alberdi's particular brand of documentary filmmaking. By employing strategies that bring viewers into more intimate connection with the plotline while also abiding by traditional techniques of non-fiction filmmaking, Alberdi allows her audience to become invested in the lives of the people on screen in a refreshing and ethically-sensitive way. The result is a novel form of documentary that pulls the audience into a moving tale only to reveal that, despite the too-good-to-not-be-scripted atmosphere, it's been real life all along.

Through her careful directorial sleight-of-hand, Alberdi deftly explores the metrics of loneliness and isolation felt by society's most vulnerable demographic - the elderly.

"I think that a documentary has to invite understanding, tolerance, and empathy," said Alberdi. "These can be generated or changed through cinema that allow viewers to connect to everyday experiences and bring us closer to worlds that we do not know.

"I was interested in filming the elderly because they're a group that allows us to build both universal and individual stories," she continued. "Universal because we can all relate to different aspects of the story, and individual because the subjects whose stories are being told are affected by the difference in their age and the unique experiences that they then live. Sergio is willing to live a new life, meet new people, and listen. In his role as a detective inside a nursing home, he teaches us not to judge, nor to set limits, even when you are 85 years old. He taught me to be open to experience without prejudice."

"The Mole Agent" received the Audience Choice Prize at the Cinema Eye Honors, where Sergio Chamy was recognized in The Unforgettables category and composer Vincent Van Warmerdam was nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Score.

"The Mole Agent" can be seen on streaming services such as Hulu.