The series chronicles the inner workings of a jury trial in the US through the eyes of juror Ronald Gladden, a solar contractor from San Diego, who is unaware that his jury duty summons was not official, and that everyone in the courtroom aside from him is an actor. Everything that happens, inside and outside the courtroom, is planned.[2][3]
Cast
Jurors
Ronald Gladden as himself (Juror #6), the only juror who is unaware the entire case is fake
James Marsden as himself (Juror #14), portraying a parody of himself as an alternate juror
Mekki Leeper as Noah Price (Juror #11), a rideshare driver who misses his vacation with his girlfriend due to jury duty
Edy Modica as Jeannie Abruzzo (Juror #4), a promiscuous juror with an attraction to Noah
Ishmel Sahid as Lonnie Coleman (Juror #13), an alternate who takes over Tim's spot when he gets injured
David Brown as Todd Gregory (Juror #2), a socially awkward inventor
Cassandra Blair as Vanessa Jenkins (Juror #8)
Maria Russell as Inez De Leon (Juror #10), a juror who has ambitions to be the foreperson
Ronald Gladden arrives at the Huntington Park Superior Court in Los Angeles to serve on a jury for a civil trial he does not know is being staged. Various jurors attempt to get out of jury duty by offering excuses during the Voir Dire process. The judge, initially lenient, becomes strict after a lunch break during which he claims his car was broken into. Paparazzi show up to photograph James Marsden, prompting the judge to sequester the jury to avoid potential disruption.
2
"Opening Arguments"
Jake Szymanski
Ese Shaw
April 7, 2023 (2023-04-07)
The jurors are brought to the hotel where they are to be sequestered and get to know one another over tasks such as ordering meals. Opening arguments take place in the trial, about a garment factory employee who has defecated on shirts. The prosecution presents an animated video depicting the incident, which the defense tries to counter with a video of its own, but it cannot get it to play properly. A juror is injured by a falling shelf and taken away for medical care, causing an alternate to be promoted.
3
"Foreperson"
Jake Szymanski
Marcos Gonzalez
April 7, 2023 (2023-04-07)
Gladden is made the foreperson of the jury. Todd arrives to court wearing a pair of modified crutches being used as "chair pants". Witnesses are called, who testify to the defendant being a bum. Gladden is tasked with keeping Barbara from dozing off.
The jury is given a tour of the factory where the incident took place. Gladden finds marks on the floor where barrels appear to have been suspiciously moved, and later enters a room with a chemical odor and T-shirts. The jury has dinner at a Margaritaville restaurant, during which Noah accidentally becomes drunk and breaks up with his girlfriend, who is strongly suspected of cheating on him.
In the face of ineffective counsel, the defendant opts to represent himself. At the hotel, Marsden has Gladden help him rehearse lines for an audition and take the blame for clogging his hotel room's toilet. Gladden wingmans for Noah, who hooks up with Jeannie.
6
"Closing Arguments"
Jake Szymanski
Kerry O'Neill
April 14, 2023 (2023-04-14)
Gladden plays a game of yut with Ken, who loses and owes him $2,000 (due to a multiplier), which he refuses to take. The jury hears closing arguments in the case, during which the defendant is blocked from testifying about his alleged chemical exposure because it was not part of discovery. Marsden is denied a role in the film he was auditioning for. The jury holds a birthday party for Ross at Hazeltine Park, but Marsden, thinking it is a pity party for him, angrily destroys the cake.
7
"Deliberations"
Jake Szymanski
Evan Williams
April 21, 2023 (2023-04-21)
The jury enters the deliberations phase. They are initially split, but Gladden persuades them to arrive at a not liable verdict, which he delivers to the judge, who then reveals to him that the trial was faked.
8
"The Verdict"
Jake Szymanski
April 21, 2023 (2023-04-21)
Gladden is given a behind-the-scenes tour of how the trial was staged and the show was filmed.
The last episode does not have a writer because it is unscripted (see summary).
Production
On September 15, 2022, it was reported that a semi-improvised docu-style comedy series starring James Marsden and a group of up-and-coming actors with improv backgrounds had secretly been filmed for Amazon Studios.[3][5] The 17-day shoot was filmed in a real courtroom south of Los Angeles.[5][6] According to executive producer Todd balad Schulman, Jury Duty began as an attempt to make a sitcom like The Office about a trial, with a real person at the center of the show who doesn't know that he's surrounded by actors.[2] Creators Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky both previously worked as writer-producers on The Office.[7]
In order to find a non-actor for the show's lead, an ad was put up on Craigslist.[8] Marsden stars as an alternate version of himself, alongside other actors including Alan Barinholtz, Susan Berger, Cassandra Blair, and Rashida Olayiwola.[2] Cody Heller serves as showrunner and executive producer, and Jake Szymanski as director.[9] The series is also executive produced by David Bernad, Lee Eisenberg, Ruben Fleischer, Nicholas Hatton, Stupnitsky, Szymanski, and Andrew Weinberg.[2]
Release
The series' first four episodes premiered on Amazon Freevee on April 7, 2023, and the fifth and sixth episodes followed on April 14. The final two episodes, including the season finale, were released on April 21, 2023.[2]
Reception
Critical response
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an 82% approval rating with an average rating of 6.7/10, based on 33 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "While this courtroom comedy isn't as tedious as actual jury duty – largely thanks to a very game James Marsden – the verdict is still out on whether its stylistic gambit pays off."[10]Metacritic gave the series a weighted average score of 51 out of 100 based on seven critic reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[11]
Rendy Jones of RogerEbert.com called the series "a solid workplace comedy that tells a resonant story of community, delightfully unpacking how it's not just about serving in this world but who you're serving with."[12] Charles Bramesco of The Guardian gave the series 2 out of 5 stars, writing, "With the head of a hidden-camera prank show, the heart of a workplace sitcom, and the body of a true crime documentary, the boundary-blurring new comedy Jury Duty makes for an odd chimera of genres."[13]
Alan Barinholtz, Susan Berger, Cassandra Blair, David Brown, Kirk Fox, Ross Kimball, Pramode Kumar, Trisha LaFache, Mekki Leeper, James Marsden, Edy Modica, Kerry O’Neill, Rashida Olayiwola, Whitney Rice, Maria Russell, Ishmel Sahid, Ben Seaward, Ron Song, and Evan Williams
