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On an ordinary day in Los Angeles, Ronald Gladden shows up for jury duty. He knows he and his fellow jurors are being filmed for a documentary, so he doesn’t question the presence of camera crews at the courthouse. After the jury selection process, the final 14 members of the jury and alternates are sequestered for 3 weeks to hear and deliberate on the case of Hillgrove v. Morris. The evidence is heard and the jurors reach a verdict, but what Ronald doesn’t know is that everyone he has interacted with in the last 3 weeks is actually an actor.
This is the premise of the tv show, Jury Duty, which began airing on Amazon Prime in April. It is a mockumentary-style sitcom, with one regular person at the center of it all that is unaware that he is the star of a tv show. The humor is reminiscent of shows like The Office, which makes sense as a few members of the show’s creative team also worked on The Office.
Ronald meets an eccentric cast of characters throughout his time on the jury. He encounters Hairspray actor James Marsden (playing himself), who, in an effort to be dismissed from the jury, hires fake paparazzi to come to the courthouse. This leads to the judge’s decision to sequester all of the jurors for the duration of the case. He also meets Todd Gregory (played by David Brown), who is a socially awkward inventor. One day, Todd comes to court wearing one of his own inventions, called “Chair Pants”, which ends up causing a disruption in the courtroom.
Although the case was fake, Ronald proved to be a good juror who genuinely wanted to get to the bottom of what happened. The case was between Jaqueline Hillgrove, owner of the clothing company Cinnamon and Sparrow, and her former employee, Trevor Morris. Ms. Hillgrove was suing Mr. Morris because he allegedly came to work intoxicated and ruined a large order. Even though Mr. Morris had retained a comically bad defense attorney, Ronald did not let that deter him from seeing both sides of the issue.
The final episode of the series showed how the cast and crew were able to create the whole show without Ronald finding out the truth. Ronald had responded to a Craigslist ad asking for participants in a documentary on the American Judicial system, and in return, he would fulfill his jury duty service and wouldn’t be called for jury duty again for the next several years. Ronald thought that the other members of the jury responded to the same ad, when in actuality, they were hired by the production company. Everything down to what chair people sat in at dinner was strategically planned to manufacture scenarios for Ronald to react to. In the end, Ronald was applauded by his fellow jurors for being such a stellar member of the jury.
Though it is meant to be humorous, Jury Duty also provides a glimpse into the American Legal System. Being called for jury duty is something that most American citizens will experience in their lifetimes. Many young fans of the show, such as college students, appreciated being able to look behind the curtain to see what they might expect if they were ever called to serve on a jury. This is similar to how much college and high school students love The Office, because, to us, mundane everyday experiences like going to work or being called for jury duty are compelling stories. It is unclear whether or not it is even possible for a second season of Jury Duty to be created, but the first season was definitely fun and compelling.
