Jury Duty (2023 TV series) explained

Director:Jake Szymanski
Cinematography:Chris Darnell
Runtime:26–29 minutes
Company:Picrow
The District
Piece of Work Entertainment
Amazon Studios
Country:United States
Language:English
Num Seasons:1
Num Episodes:8
Channel:Amazon Freevee
Last Aired:present

Jury Duty is an American reality hoax sitcom television series created by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, about a fake jury trial. It stars Ronald Gladden as a juror who is unaware of the hoax. James Marsden co-stars alongside an ensemble cast. It premiered on Amazon Freevee on April 7, 2023.

The series received three nominations at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for Marsden. It also received nominations for two Golden Globe Awards, Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy and Best Supporting Actor for Marsden.

Synopsis

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.[1] [2]

Cast

Jurors

Other

Episodes

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.[2] [3] The 17-day shoot was filmed in a real courtroom south of Los Angeles.[3] [4] 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.[1] Creators Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky both previously worked as writer-producers on The Office.[5]

In order to find a non-actor for the show's lead, an ad was put up on Craigslist.[6] Marsden stars as an alternate version of himself, alongside other actors including Alan Barinholtz, Susan Berger, Cassandra Blair, and Rashida Olayiwola.[1] Cody Heller serves as showrunner and executive producer, and Jake Szymanski as director.[7] The series is also executive produced by David Bernad, Lee Eisenberg, Ruben Fleischer, Nicholas Hatton, Stupnitsky, Szymanski, and Andrew Weinberg.[1]

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.[1]

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."[8] Metacritic gave the series a weighted average score of 51 out of 100 based on seven critic reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[9]

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."[10] 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."[11]

Accolades

AwardYearCategoryNominee(s)Result
American Film Institute Awards2023Television Program of the YearJury Duty[12]
Critics' Choice Television Awards2023Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy SeriesJames Marsden[13]
Golden Globe Awards2023Best Television Series – Musical or ComedyJury Duty[14]
Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television FilmJames Marsden
Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards2023Best Streaming Series, ComedyJury Duty[15]
Best Supporting Actor in a Streaming Series, ComedyJames Marsden
Independent Spirit Awards2023Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted SeriesAlan 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[16]
Best New Scripted SeriesJury Duty
Peabody Awards2023Entertainment HonoreeJury Duty[17]
Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards2023Outstanding Casting for a Comedy SeriesSusie Farris[18]
Primetime Emmy Awards2023Outstanding Comedy SeriesJury Duty
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy SeriesJames Marsden
Outstanding Writing for a Comedy SeriesMekki Leeper (for "Ineffective Assistance")
Producers Guild of America Awards2023Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, ComedyJury Duty[19]
TCA Awards2023Outstanding New ProgramJury Duty[20]
Individual Achievement in ComedyJames Marsden
Outstanding Achievement in Reality ProgrammingJury Duty
Writers Guild of America Awards2023Comedy SeriesTanner Bean, Lee Eisenberg, Marcos Gonzalez, Cody Heller, Mekki Leeper, Katrina Mathewson, Kerry O’Neill, Ese Shaw, Gene Stupnitsky, Andrew Weinberg, Evan Williams[21]
New Series

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Cordero . Rosy . James Marsden Freevee Series 'Jury Duty' Sets Cast & Premiere Date; Drops Trailer . April 5, 2023 . Deadline . March 7, 2023 . March 26, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230326004944/https://deadline.com/2023/03/james-marsden-freevee-series-jury-duty-cast-premiere-date-trailer-1235281409/ . live .
  2. News: 'Jury Duty' Trailer: James Marsden-led Comedy Creates Scripted Case Around a Real Juror . April 5, 2023 . Collider . March 7, 2023 . April 5, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230405143556/https://collider.com/jury-duty-series-trailer-james-marsden/ . live .
  3. News: Andreeva . Nellie . Amazon Freevee Has Secretly Shot A Jury Trial Docu-Style Comedy Series Starring James Marsden . April 5, 2023 . Deadline . September 15, 2022 . April 5, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230405143556/https://deadline.com/2022/09/james-marsden-jury-trial-docu-style-comedy-series-amazon-freevee-1235119299/ . live .
  4. News: Alexander . Bryan . How 'Jury Duty' completely faked a trial in real courtroom with a narcissistic James Marsden . April 10, 2023 . USA Today . April 8, 2023 . April 10, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230410014946/https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2023/04/08/jury-duty-feevee-series-fakes-civil-trial-james-marsden/11610571002/ . live .
  5. News: Reul . Katie . Nick Offerman Plays a Neo-Nazi Foodie in 'Party Down' Season 3 Clip . April 10, 2023 . Variety . March 7, 2023 . April 10, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230410151829/https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/nick-offerman-party-down-season-3-tv-news-roundup-1235545739/ . live .
  6. Web site: Gularte . Alejandra . April 24, 2023 . How Jury Duty Orchestrated the Trial of a Lifetime . April 26, 2023 . Vulture . en-us . April 25, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230425193545/https://www.vulture.com/article/jury-duty-interview.html . live .
  7. News: Jacobs . Meredith . 'Jury Duty': James Marsden Stars in Docu-Style Comedy With a Major Twist on Amazon Freevee . April 10, 2023 . TV Insider . March 7, 2023 . April 10, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230410151830/https://www.tvinsider.com/1084328/jury-duty-james-marsden-premiere-date-trailer-freevee/ . live .
  8. jury_duty. Jury Duty. tv. 1. December 16, 2023.
  9. jury-duty-2023. Jury Duty. tv. 1. April 21, 2023.
  10. News: Jones . Rendy . Charming Comedy Jury Duty Makes Case for a Different Verdict . April 10, 2023 . RogerEbert.com . April 6, 2023 . April 10, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230410155306/https://www.rogerebert.com/streaming/jury-duty-tv-review . live .
  11. News: Bramesco . Charles . Jury Duty review – fake trial prank comedy show courts few laughs . April 10, 2023 . The Guardian . April 5, 2023.
  12. Web site: Davis . Clayton . 2023-12-07 . AFI Awards: ‘Barbie’ and ‘Spider-Verse’ Among 10 Best Films, Top TV Shows Include ‘Jury Duty’ and ‘Last of Us’ . 2024-05-31 . Variety . en-US.
  13. Web site: Brew . Caroline . 2023-12-05 . ‘The Morning Show,’ ‘Succession’ Lead 28th Annual Critics Choice Awards TV Nominations . 2023-12-07 . Variety . en-US.
  14. Web site: Hipes . Patrick . Golden Globe Nominations: ‘Barbie’, ‘Oppenheimer’ Top Movie List; ‘Succession’ Leads Way In TV . Deadline Hollywood . December 11, 2023 . December 11, 2023.
  15. Web site: 'The Boys,' 'Yellowjackets,' 'Abbott Elementary' lead 2023 HCA TV Awards nominations . Anderson . Erik . AwardsWatch . July 11, 2023 . July 11, 2023 . July 11, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230711215202/https://awardswatch.com/the-boys-yellowjackets-abbott-elementary-lead-2023-hca-tv-awards-nominations/ . live .
  16. Web site: Moreau . Bret Lang,Jordan . Lang . Brent . Moreau . Jordan . 2023-12-05 . Spirit Awards 2024 Nominations List: ‘Past Lives,’ ‘May December,’ ‘American Fiction’ Lead With 5 Noms Each . 2023-12-07 . Variety . en-US.
  17. News: Schneider . Michael . ‘The Bear,’ ‘Bluey,’ ‘The Last of Us’ Among This Year’s Peabody Awards Winners; Kumail Nanjiani to Host Ceremony . 9 May 2024.
  18. Web site: Emmys 2023: The Complete Nominations List. July 12, 2023. July 12, 2023. Variety. Jordan. Moreau. July 17, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230717073813/https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/2023-emmy-nominations-list-1235666521/. live.
  19. Web site: Davis . Clayton . 2024-01-12 . PGA Awards Nominations: ‘Anatomy of a Fall’ and ‘Zone of Interest’ Make History and Join ‘Barbie,’ ‘Oppenheimer’ and More . 2024-05-31 . Variety . en-US.
  20. Web site: Jones. Marcus. 'Succession' and 'The Bear' Win at 2023 TCA Awards: Full List. IndieWire. August 9, 2023. August 7, 2023. August 9, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230809011847/https://www.indiewire.com/awards/industry/2023-tca-awards-winners-list-succession-the-bear-1234892836/. live.
  21. Web site: WGA Awards: 'Air,' 'Barbie,' 'Oppenheimer,' 'May December' Among Film Screenplay Nominees . Lewis . Hilary . . . February 21, 2024 . February 27, 2024.

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