Jury Duty Is Back For A Second Season — But Is The Prime Video Series Still Worth Watching?

Amazon Prime

The first play of Amazon Prime Video and Freevee's original bid "Jury Duty" felt for illustration a straight-up miracle. Created by "The Office" veterans Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky and released connected nan work successful 2023, it was, successful essence, a "nice" prank show successful which regular feline Ronald Gladden participates successful what he believes is mandatory assemblage duty. As Ronald rolls pinch progressively chaotic punches — and accepts that nan full point is being filmed for a documentary — viewers astatine location cognize that everyone isolated from for Ronald is an actor, and this full point is meant to lightly freak him retired while besides encouraging him to beryllium benignant and make bully choices. 

When news collapsed that "Jury Duty" would get a 2nd outing, I groaned. I loved nan first season, and I genuinely didn't deliberation a follow-up would beryllium worthy watching.

It's uncommon that this happens, but I am so happy to beryllium truthful wrong.

"Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat" follows a acquainted format: Everyone but 1 feline is an actor, and they make his surroundings alien and alien by nan infinitesimal to fundamentally spot really he'll react. When nan first play premiered, character James Marsden, who played an odious type of himself alongside Gladden, told Parade astir Eisenberg and Stupnitsky's intentions. "What nan producers told maine astatine nan opening erstwhile they sounded it to maine is that we're creating a hero's travel for this man," Marsden said, meaning that they hoped Gladden would emergence to nan occasion. 

I genuinely can't judge they've done this and I tin hardly moreover fig retired how, but successful play 2 of "Jury Duty," they stuffed nan proverbial lightning backmost into its besides proverbial vessel and threw a kindly alien into a demented institution retreat ... and it's great.

Amazon Prime

When I settled successful to watch nan first 3 episodes of "Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat" aft they dropped connected Amazon Prime connected March 20, I was flabbergasted to spot nan admittedly deranged but highly funny business they created for everyman Anthony Norman. Anthony, who's conscionable looking for a straightforward temp job, ends up agreeing to beryllium nan adjunct to Kevin (Ryan Perez), nan highly clone HR head of a made-up institution called Rockin' Grandma's Hot Sauce. Kevin asks Anthony to subordinate them each connected nan retreat and explains that a documentary unit will beryllium speaking to everyone arsenic nan CEO of Rockin' Grandma's, Doug Womack (Jerry Hauck), is group to discontinue and manus nan reins complete to his bad boy but very enthusiastic boy Dougie (Alex Bonifer).

Anthony, bless him, does not look to deliberation immoderate of this is weird — not moreover erstwhile Kevin stages an elaborate connection for nan company's customer work typical Amy (Emily Pendergast). Why is that weird? Kevin and Amy aren't dating, but they sewage tipsy erstwhile while "My Best Friend's Wedding" was connected astatine a barroom and joked astir getting joined if they were still azygous astatine 40. However, they've ne'er moreover gone connected a azygous date. 

Things devolve from there, but conscionable for illustration pinch Ronald Gladden successful nan inaugural play of "Jury Duty," Anthony ends up successful a activity position, taking complete from Kevin arsenic "Captain Fun" aft Kevin leaves nan edifice successful shame. From there, he has to lick petty squabbles (like figuring retired who stole a lawsuit of Cool Ranch Doritos, for starters) and rotation pinch nan punches. It's an understatement to opportunity Anthony acquits himself admirably.

Amazon Prime

The world tin beryllium a unsmooth place, group tin beryllium cruel, and nan weight of it each surely tin deterioration down connected you. That's thing I've recovered typical astir "Jury Duty" from nan jump. It's a show about kindness, moreover arsenic nan producers and actors do their level champion to siren nan 1 normie successful their midst — and for illustration Ronald Gladden earlier him, Anthony Norman is an perfectly astounding find. He's friendly, sympathetic, and appears to beryllium genuinely willing successful nan honestly bizarre lives of these Rockin' Grandma's labor that he just met.

Take, for example, a segment wherever Amy, still ruffled from Kevin's grounded proposal, tells her coworkers she wants to put together a bucket database of things to do earlier she dies. (In fact, making a bucket database astatine each is Anthony's suggestion.) Amy lists comparatively normal things — moreover if 1 feels patently absurd because she says she hopes to walk New Year's Eve successful Times Square because she "loves crowds" — that almost anybody tin accomplish, intelligibly incapable to dream big. Anthony isn't nan 1 who tells her she should deliberation bigger, though; different actor, Stephanie Hodge — playing nan hard-boiled Helen — butts successful and gives Amy immoderate suggestions. (They are each excessively soiled to reprint here.) Anthony, instead, conscionable encourages Amy and moreover says he'll watch episodes of nan Fox play "Bones" pinch her aft personification other insists that moreover 1 section of nan bid warrants a spot connected her bucket list.

I could spell connected and on, but nan truth of nan matter is that, contempt a hyper-specific conception that could autumn isolated astatine immoderate second, "Jury Duty" has done it again. 

You tin watch caller episodes of "Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat" on Fridays connected Prime.