Amazon Prime Video’s 2023 breakout Jury Duty returns for a brand-new season this March — but if you haven’t already checked it out, what have you been doing?
The unconventional sitcom boasted a very unique angle: that an entire fake trial would take place, in which only one juror had no idea it was all staged.
Ahead of the season 2 premiere, Watch With Us wants to make the case for why you should catch up on season 1.
Plus, we have all the details on what we know so far about the new season of Jury Duty.
The Premise of ‘Jury Duty’ Is Intriguing
A huge part of Jury Duty’s popularity had to do with the fact that the premise was so unusual. Basically, it followed the inner workings of a jury trial by focusing on juror Ronald Gladden. The catch is that the entire trial is staged, everyone in there is an actor, and Gladden — a solar contractor from San Diego — is the only person who has no idea about this. He received a juror summons, but it wasn’t official, and while there was a lot of improvisation, the show was entirely planned — of course, except for Gladden and all his very honest reactions.
James Marsden stars as a parody of himself as a fellow juror (a performance for which he received Golden Globe and a Primetime Emmy nominations), the show is executed as a three-week-long prank against this poor, ignorant man, but it ends up making for some genuinely fantastic, even compelling television. The humor and high unpredictability factor keep audiences guessing just as much as Gladden, but there’s a surprising amount of emotional investment in the arc, leading to a particularly rewarding conclusion.
Ronald Is an Unintentionally Fantastic Character
Despite having no idea that he was being pranked, Gladden’s presence on Jury Duty is not only hilarious, but he also ends up being a genuinely compelling character. Surrounded by increasingly bizarre behavior from the paid actors that are flanking him from all sides, Gladden nevertheless maintains his integrity, remaining calm, kind and exhibiting an unwavering moral compass. The sincerity of his actions and the likability of his real personality rendered him a true standout, a star in just how much of a “normal guy” he was.
Fans also loved how Gladden ended up forming what seemed like very real, honest bonds with his fellow jurors, which provided a surprising emotional core to a show that has such an absurd premise. Even as the other jurors behaved in odd or eccentric ways, Gladden is resolute in treating them with respect and patience. He’s a real hero in Jury Duty, and in the climactic reveal that his entire trial was staged, Gladden accepts the truth like a total pro.
‘Jury Duty’ Turns the Banal Into Comedy Gold
Ronald Gladden and James Marsden in Jury Duty Freevee / Courtesy Everett Collection
Most people hate getting summoned for jury duty. It’s a fact of living in the United States that finds its way into the butt of countless jokes and the premise for sitcom bits like the one famously in 30 Rock. Thus, Jury Duty takes the taunted mundanity of jury duty and turns it into an entire season of hilarious television. There’s the sense that if the show were simply a normal, narrative sitcom about jury duty, it wouldn’t quite pack the same punch. But as a prolonged joke against one unknowing man (in which he was never made to be the butt of a joke), it adds an extra level of hilarity.
In the end, Jury Duty makes the tediousness of such a widely-hated, compulsory task into something genuinely engaging, cinematic and, most importantly, funny. But it also manages to highlight the human connections that can come about during a task like jury duty, in which the fate of one person rests in the hands of a group of strangers. Jury Duty does an excellent job of creating comedy out of the ordinary — and also succeeds as a true showcase for Marsden’s comedic chops.
Everything You Need to Know About ‘Jury Duty’ Season 2
Season 2 of Jury Duty premieres on March 20 and is titled Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat. It will debut with three episodes, then subsequently two episodes on March 27 and a final three episodes on April 3. In order to protect the premise of the show, all that we know about season 2 is that it centers on a small business traveling to a company retreat, and the real guy who doesn’t know it’s all fake is named Anthony. Check out the brief teaser trailer below:
Stream Jury Duty season 1 now on Prime Video.
