Jury Duty - General Discussion

[AnimeMania]

Jury Duty is an 8 (half-hour) episode documentary-style comedy TV series streaming on Amazon Freevee on April 7, 2023 with a four episode premiere, then two new episodes streaming weekly.

What would happen if you were a juror in a courtroom where everyone is actors acting from a script, but nobody let you know. This is what happens in Jury Duty, Ronald Gladden, a solar contractor from San Diego, CA, believes that everything that is happening is real. 

Alan Barinholtz as Judge Alan Rosen, who just wants to get through his last trial before retirement as painlessly as possible. We have bad news for him.

Kerry O’Neill as Christine Sugalski, who must have the patience of a saint to handle what some of the jurors try to get past her in courthouse security.

Rashida “Sheedz” Olayiwola as Bailiff (Nikki's), who runs a tight ship and has zero tolerance for the jurors' nonsense.

Whitney Rice Jacquilline Hillgrove, the plaintiff and owner of eco-conscious luxury lifestyle brand Cinnamon Sparrow.

Trisha LaFache as Debra Laseur, who brings her flair for the dramatic to the case as Jacqui's attorney.

Ben Seaward as Trevor Morris, the defendant. He's accused of mishandling a crucial order and irreparably damaging the Cinnamon Sparrow brand.

Evan Williams as Shaun Sanders, Trevor's extremely anxious and technologically challenged defense attorney.

Ronald Gladden, a solar contractor from San Diego, CA, the hero of our story, a Juror who is completely unaware that everything that is happening is staged.

James Marsden as Juror Candidate James Marsden 

Susan Berger as Juror Candidate Barbara Goldstein, a feisty 70-something who doesn't always understand how to act in the jury box.

Cassandra Blair as Juror Candidate Vanessa Jenkins, a true crime junkie who was actually excited to be summoned before she realized she was on a "dumb" case.

David Brown as Juror Candidate Todd Gregory, who has an eccentric invention for every situation - whether it's necessary or not.

Kirk Fox as Juror Candidate Pat McCurdy, an old-school, blue-collar man with a plan to get out of serving on Jury Duty.

Ross Kimball as Juror Candidate Ross Kubiak, who has a lot of love to give but often misdirects it.

Ron Song as Juror Candidate Ken Hyun, whose secret vices help him decompress from owning and managing two gumball machines.

Maria Russell as Juror Candidate Inez de Leon, a natural leader who takes her responsibilities very seriously, especially when it comes to ordering lunch.

Ron Song as Juror Candidate Ken Hyun, whose secret vices help him decompress from owning and managing two gumball machines.

Brandon Loeser as Juror Candidate Tim Smith, a juror who mostly fades into the background- until he doesn't.

Pramode Kumar as Juror Candidate Ravi Chattapodhyay, genuinely thrilled to be selected and eager to make connections with his fellow jurors.

Mekki Leeper as Juror Candidate Noah Price, a naive LA transplant who should be on his 6 month anniversary trip with his girlfriend.

Edy Modica as Juror Candidate Jeannie Abruzzo, a brash and flirtatious self-described "anarchist of sorts".

Ishmel Sahid as Juror Candidate Lonnie, laid-back but a bit weirded out by his fellow jurors' antics.

[peachmangosteen]

The Joe Schmo Show vibes. I loved Joe Schmo!

[AnimeMania]

‘Jury Duty’ Review: Even James Marsden Playing James Marsden Can’t Give This Prank Comedy Much Purpose

Producers recruited an ordinary guy named Ronald to participate in what he’s told is a reality series about the inner workings of the legal system and the jury process. Ronald is curious about doing his civic duty, but the thing he doesn’t know is that every aspect of the trial that he’s been brought into is fake, from the case to the attorneys to the judge to the other members of his jury.

[AnimeMania]

Jury Duty      April 6, 2023   Amazon Freevee

Episodes 1-4      Titles and Descriptions 

Spoiler

S01.E01:  Voir Dire
Ronald Gladden arrives for jury selection, unaware that an entirely fictional court case has been created just for him. 

S01.E02: Opening Arguments
Ronald and other jurors move into their hotel and adjust to sequestered life.

S01.E03: Foreperson
The jurors’ eccentric behavior presents a challenge for Ronald as their newly-appointed foreperson.

S01.E04: Field Trip
A suspicious discovery during a surprise field trip to the scene of the incident sheds new light on the case.

[BAForever]

On 4/6/2023 at 12:04 PM, AnimeMania said:

‘Jury Duty’ Review: Even James Marsden Playing James Marsden Can’t Give This Prank Comedy Much Purpose

Producers recruited an ordinary guy named Ronald to participate in what he’s told is a reality series about the inner workings of the legal system and the jury process. Ronald is curious about doing his civic duty, but the thing he doesn’t know is that every aspect of the trial that he’s been brought into is fake, from the case to the attorneys to the judge to the other members of his jury.

So disagree with this review. Disclaimer- only one episode in. Ronald is a nice guy, it's his reactions and interactions I'm enjoying. The looks on his face while weirdness around him ensues are subtle.  Never saw Joe Schmo, but I'm in for this show.

[methodwriter85]

On 4/8/2023 at 6:27 AM, BAForever said:

So disagree with this review. Disclaimer- only one episode in. Ronald is a nice guy, it's his reactions and interactions I'm enjoying. The looks on his face while weirdness around him ensues are subtle.  Never saw Joe Schmo, but I'm in for this show.

I kind of feel like Joe Schmo had an underlying meaness to it that this show doesn't have.

[Wickedeve]

On 4/8/2023 at 3:27 AM, BAForever said:

So disagree with this review. Disclaimer- only one episode in. Ronald is a nice guy, it's his reactions and interactions I'm enjoying. The looks on his face while weirdness around him ensues are subtle.  Never saw Joe Schmo, but I'm in for this show.

I also disagree with this review. Emphatically, LOL. This show has huge OFFICE vibes, and Ronald is a bit like a real-life Ryan Howard as all the craziness erupts around him. The characters are fun and lovable (I'm only 2 episodes in.), and we're placing bets on if/when Ronald finally breaks down and asks them all if he's the only one in the room who isn't on crack!

[lids]

The premise of this show doesn’t make sense. In order to wind up in the pool for jury duty you have to receive an official summons. If he’s the only person that was summoned who isn’t an actor, how did he get summoned? The casting people had to find him somewhere.

It seems like this Joe Schmo had to have had an agent or gone to a casting call. He probably didn’t know exactly what he was signing up for, but he didn’t just show up at jury duty. 

[BAForever]

5 hours ago, lids said:

The premise of this show doesn’t make sense. In order to wind up in the pool for jury duty you have to receive an official summons. If he’s the only person that was summoned who isn’t an actor, how did he get summoned? The casting people had to find him somewhere.

It seems like this Joe Schmo had to have had an agent or gone to a casting call. He probably didn’t know exactly what he was signing up for, but he didn’t just show up at jury duty. 

Agree its a bit odd. Read he answered a Craig's List ad about a documentary about jury duty- that explains the some of the cameras. He was between jobs and (telegenic) so that's prob why he was picked. I'll suspend my belief for it all, but will be sad if he was in on it all the time.

[AnimeMania]

Jury Duty      April 13, 2023    Amazon Freevee

Episodes 5-6      Titles and Descriptions 

Spoiler

S01.E05: Ineffective Assistance
Things go from bad to worse for the defendant.

S01.E06: Closing Arguments
The defense is on the ropes after a series of questionable strategic moves and Ken is in a bind after teaching Ronald to play a Korean board game.

[AnimeMania]

‘Jury Duty’: What If a Real Person Was Put in the Middle of a Sitcom and Didn’t Know It?

[silversage]

I have a feeling if Ron wasn’t suspicious at first he would be by this last episode and is probably just playing along at this point. 

[Valenee]

do they ended up telling him it was fake at the end of the filming or he will only know once the last episode will air on april 21 2023? Can't seem to get a straight answer on that ..🤔

Edited April 17, 2023 by Valenee

[Valenee]

On 4/11/2023 at 11:52 PM, lids said:

The premise of this show doesn’t make sense. In order to wind up in the pool for jury duty you have to receive an official summons. If he’s the only person that was summoned who isn’t an actor, how did he get summoned? The casting people had to find him somewhere.

It seems like this Joe Schmo had to have had an agent or gone to a casting call. He probably didn’t know exactly what he was signing up for, but he didn’t just show up at jury duty. 

They said he answered a Craigslist post asking for juror for some sort of reality show which explained why there was camera's filming it

[AnimeMania]

Jury Duty      April 20, 2023   Amazon Freevee

Episodes 7-8      Titles and Descriptions 

Spoiler

S01.E07: Deliberations
As the foreperson, it’s up to Ronald to lead the jury through deliberations and arrive at a unanimous verdict. 

S01.E08: The Verdict
(Season Finale)
After delivering the verdict, Ronald finds out that another trial was being held in this court and another verdict has been reached.

[Bill1978]

The final episode hit me with so many feels. Honestly, was not expecting that. 

I absolutely loved this show. Was it utterly hilarious? No. But I don't think it was meant to be. It still needed to feel real so Ron wouldn't start questioning what was happening. And they really did luck out with choosing Ron to be their everyday man. I don't think the show would have had the same charm if they chose someone with a different temperament and personality like Ron. I think the best thing about the show is they weren't trying to humiliate Ron and make him the butt of jokes, or make him out to look stupid for not knowing it was fake.

I liked all the bonus footage, like James returning with a second cake, that was shown in the final episode. The final episode was a great 'reunion' episode and the perfect way to end the series

And even though it was all staged, I can't believe how invested I was in the counting of liable/non-liable voted (Kudos to James for his Z joke)

I think my favourite moment from Ron was the very end when he realised he could still be called up to do jury duty since this duty doesn't count.

Will definitely recommend the show to all my friends.

[AnimeMania]

‘Jury Duty’: James Marsden On “Lampooning Entitled Actors” With Heightened Portrayal; Possible Season 2

Article and Video

[kkd001]

This show is absolutely hilarious and beautiful 😂 my boss was recently summoned and spent the entire day being shuffled around in the courthouse and even included several insanely long recesses. "Jury Duty" is a dead on ringer and fantastically genius. I laughed harder than I have in a long long time. Probably my favorite stream of all time. Literally could not even make some of that stuff up it was so great... I cannot wait to laugh with my people after they finally see it! I truly did not want it to end  but the reveal was superb. Ronald you are 100 percent my hero sir 🤗

[PurpleTentacle]

So I'm supposed to believe that everybody is in on it except Ronald? That they are just pranking this one guy. Yeah, not buying it. That would be a massive risk to take. What if he doesn't sign the release? Sure you can throw a few million at him and he's likely going to do it, but it isn't guaranteed. I mean this isn't a cheap reality show, where you can just write off an episode, if the "victim" doesn't sign the release.

Also a few things that just seem too "written". Like when he commented about the Sonic movie and that he found it hilarious because of Ben Schwartz and Marsden was obviously jelly.

But they are really committing to the bit. Ronald isn't even in the X-Ray feature. Though if this guy really was Ronald Gladden I'd expect him to be listed as "Ronald Gladden - himself", just like Marsden is. So that is another clue for this being fake.

I'm enjoying this so far. Will be interesting to see where this goes.

Edit:

Through episode 3 now and the premise seems to be a bit confused. Is this all to trick Ronald or is this a mockumentary? Because there are quite a few scenes where Ronald isn't present and the actors are still playing their roles, acting like this is a real jury and a real trial.

Edit:

Well it seems this was real? If so this was a very bold move. I don't think any release Ronald signed for a reality show would have held up for a mockumentary, since it would have misrepresented the nature of the project. So if he had refused footage with him to be used, they would have wasted millions of dollars.

Also quite a few things are weird. Like who would believe that they got jury duty through an online casting call and not an official summons? And who wouldn't get suspicious with all this crazy stuff going on? Guess they found a loveable dummy.

And I still think quite a few things Ronald said felt written. But maybe that was the typical reality show thing of a producer telling him "hey it would make for really good TV if you said this thing and make the audience love you more" and so he didn't think it was weird.

Either way, This was a really enjoyable show. Wondering if they could pull off another season.

Edited April 24, 2023 by PurpleTentacle

[Bill1978]

On 4/24/2023 at 9:32 PM, PurpleTentacle said:

Also quite a few things are weird. Like who would believe that they got jury duty through an online casting call and not an official summons?

Apparently in California (or Los Angeles - where this was set I believe) you can volunteer to do jury duty. Well that's what I saw  on a TikTok video addressing the issue. I have no idea if correct but it makes sense. You answer the casting call, get picked and then go in and volunteer as tribute for a case to get the show rolling.

The last comment from Ronald on the show about how he has just realised it means he still could get called up to do jury duty confirms the idea he volunteered to get it over and done with.

[PurpleTentacle]

1 hour ago, Bill1978 said:

Apparently in California (or Los Angeles - where this was set I believe) you can volunteer to do jury duty. Well that's what I saw  on a TikTok video addressing the issue. I have no idea if correct but it makes sense.

All my googling tells me, that no, that is not possible in the US. The whole point of the jury system is that it's random selection and not just people who have time and/or money.

Now, they might have told Ronald that he could volunteer. Guess if he had gotten suspicious at that stage and googled it, they could have still recast. Maybe that even did happen with other people before him. We'd never know.

Still it's hard for me to believe that he didn't get a bit suspicious. With the Joe Schmo Show I can totally see it. It's supposedly a reality show. People lie, play up their personality traits, create drama to get more screen time, etc. on these kind of shows. That is hard to differentiate from actors putting on a show for you. But this show was supposedly real life. Don't you think you'd get suspicious if you got jury duty through an irregular process, all this crazy shit happens and right there next to you is James Marsden?

But as I said above, I guess they found a loveable dummy.

[BooBear]

It is funny but I don't buy for a second that the guy who supposedly isn't an actor -- isn't an actor.

Logistically there is no way they could get away with this entire show if he wasn't and he isn't selling it to me. He has too much reaction to things.  How do they explain the camera to him? Does he think there is a news camera in there and in the jury room?

I deal with "jury duty" daily and I truly hope no one seriously thinks this is what it is like. The cost to "sequester" a jury is a lot. No way a judge is doing that except for the most extreme of cases. 

[Whimsy]

5 hours ago, BooBear said:

It is funny but I don't buy for a second that the guy who supposedly isn't an actor -- isn't an actor.

Logistically there is no way they could get away with this entire show if he wasn't and he isn't selling it to me. He has too much reaction to things.  How do they explain the camera to him? Does he think there is a news camera in there and in the jury room?

I deal with "jury duty" daily and I truly hope no one seriously thinks this is what it is like. The cost to "sequester" a jury is a lot. No way a judge is doing that except for the most extreme of cases. 

The cameras were explained. Ronald thought he was signing up for legitimate jury duty but that a documentary was also being filmed about jury duty.

Obviously that jury would never have been sequestered in real life, but had to have been for the purpose of this show. They had to hope, and I’m sure sussed out during some interviewing, that he wasn’t minutely familiar with the judicial system like people who work in the field (like yourself) is. therefore, they could get away with some unrealistic situations that he wouldn’t even think to question the legitimacy.  

I believe it was real. I’ve read a couple articles that it took Ronald awhile to kind of come to terms with all this. What a mind fuck this had to have been!  

Like Ronald, I’m very expressive with my face, so I believe all his facial expressions were really him, especially when he was kind of turned away from people. But what I appreciated was that Ronald never seemed malicious or downright mean. Just incredulous or even shocked. 

[BooBear]

13 minutes ago, Whimsy said:

I believe it was real. I’ve read a couple articles that it took Ronald awhile to kind of come to terms with all this. What a mind fuck this had to have been!  

And Robert Zemeckis told the public that the "hover boards" in Back to the Future 2 were real new tech to promote the movie.  Not buying that this is real in anyway. 

 

[lids]

On 4/25/2023 at 7:43 AM, Bill1978 said:

On 4/24/2023 at 7:32 AM, PurpleTentacle said:

 

Apparently in California (or Los Angeles - where this was set I believe) you can volunteer to do jury duty. Well that's what I saw  on a TikTok video addressing the issue. I have no idea if correct but it makes sense. You answer the casting call, get picked and then go in and volunteer as tribute for a case to get the show rolling.

See, I would have bought that they were volunteer jurors, except that half the jurors were trying to get out of jury duty. And why would Marsden be there - also trying to get out of serving - if he volunteered? Were they trying to say that some jurors came from Craigslist and some jurors were summoned?

I actually ended up liking the show, so I’m not going to think too hard about the fakeness of it. They should have said it was like a behind-the-scenes documentary on a Judge Judy type of show. Then you could have volunteer jurors and wackiness from wanna-be-actor jurors who would be treating the case more like an opportunity to make it their big break rather than serve the litigants.

They also did a very good job in casting Ronald. He was a perfect mix of down to earth, good looking, boy next door niceness. You could root for him whether he was real or not.

[peeayebee]

13 hours ago, lids said:

See, I would have bought that they were volunteer jurors, except that half the jurors were trying to get out of jury duty. And why would Marsden be there - also trying to get out of serving - if he volunteered? Were they trying to say that some jurors came from Craigslist and some jurors were summoned?

I didn't think about that. I can see Ronald just accepting everything, but I wonder if he did ask Marsden how he came to be on jury duty, and Marsden was able to come up with an answer. But I have no doubt that this was just as presented: Everyone is an actor except for Ronald. I've watched a few videos about the show and behind-the-scenes (which we also see in the last ep) which add context and explain things. 

There were times when things got too wacky and Ronald wondered if it was all real (not aired in the show), so the producers told everyone to dial it back. Everything was then extremely boring for hours just to convince Ronald that it couldn't be fake, that it was too boring for a reality show, and it worked. 

One of the things that I found interesting was that one of the actors, Kirk Fox, has had some pretty visible roles, one of which was as Sewage Joe on Parks and Rec. I was surprised when I first saw him because I thought Ronald would recognize him. And when he didn't, as the show progressed, I didn't get why the show would have such a funny actor and not use him. Turns out early in the show (again, unaired) Kirk overheard Ronald tell someone else that he was a big Parks and Rec fan. After that, Kirk kept his distance from Ronald, and his planned role was drastically cut back. He even grew out his beard more to help disguise himself.

One of the funniest parts was when the defense attorney showed that glitchy animation. It was so bad, I was sitting by myself cracking up. 

But the best part of the show was Ronald and seeing how kind he was to everyone.

[absnow54]

15 hours ago, lids said:

See, I would have bought that they were volunteer jurors, except that half the jurors were trying to get out of jury duty. And why would Marsden be there - also trying to get out of serving - if he volunteered? Were they trying to say that some jurors came from Craigslist and some jurors were summoned?

There are so many potential holes here. Like if only some of the jurors were recruited as volunteers, but others were "summoned" traditionally, what would happen to the documentary crew if one of the "summoned" jurors didn't want to be a part of the documentary? Or, what would happen if none of the recruited jurors were selected to sit on the trial. It was a fun show, but it depended heavily on Ron not asking too many questions. 

[AnimeMania]

‘Jury Duty’ Star Ronald Gladden on His Newfound Fame and Future Plans: ‘I Would Love to Be on Something Else’

[AnimeMania]

Interview: Ronald Gladden and Mekki Leeper Talk ‘Jury Duty’

[BAForever]

Watching with a huge grain of salt- can this show be real, but was laughing out loud at epi 3 with the social media influencer testifying. Since I detest all things influencer, she was hilarious. 

[AnimeMania]

‘Jury Duty’ Casting Director Got ‘Really Lucky’ Finding Fake Jurors: ‘The Whole Show Was a Big Crapshoot’

[Renee in CA]

Mint Mobile ad featuring our hero!

 

[auntiemel]

I probably wouldn't have even noticed James Marsden, but would have IMMEDIATELY been like...holy shit, you're Mekki Leeper!!!! Haha. I'm a weirdo!

[dabbrusc]

On 3/23/2023 at 9:08 AM, peachmangosteen said:

The Joe Schmo Show vibes. I loved Joe Schmo!

The creators were Joe Schmo Show fans and it influenced them with Jury Duty.

Quote

 

How many people did you consider before choosing him?
TS: We got thousands of submissions. We had narrowed it down to about 15 or 20 towards the end that we went a little deeper on. We had talked a lot about The Joe Schmo Show in doing the show, and in the first Joe Schmo season, the hero was Matt. We were always talking about “We need to find our Matt,” and seeing Ronald in the interviews before we cast him in the show, he was just so likable. There was a pretty clear consensus that he was our guy.

When I was watching the finale, it reminded me of the show Undercover Boss with the reveal of the experiment and the cash prize. What other shows influenced the series?
LE: Certainly Joe Schmo was a huge one for us; we’re really big fans of it. I worked on The Office for five years, which was just putting all these people into a room together and seeing how they interact. A lot of that was scripted by us, and a lot of that was the genius of our casting team putting together this amazing group of improvisers, who had to be on for far longer than any role usually calls for. When you’re an actor on The Office, you do a tape, and the tape takes seven minutes, and then you call “Cut,” the cameras move, and everyone goes back and gets on their phones and talks to their family. With this, you have to stay in character just days and days on end, so I think it was a really taxing experience.

 

https://www.vulture.com/article/jury-duty-interview.html

[saracen7]

On 5/1/2023 at 9:44 AM, peeayebee said:

One of the things that I found interesting was that one of the actors, Kirk Fox, has had some pretty visible roles, one of which was as Sewage Joe on Parks and Rec. I was surprised when I first saw him because I thought Ronald would recognize him. And when he didn't, as the show progressed, I didn't get why the show would have such a funny actor and not use him. Turns out early in the show (again, unaired) Kirk overheard Ronald tell someone else that he was a big Parks and Rec fan. After that, Kirk kept his distance from Ronald, and his planned role was drastically cut back. He even grew out his beard more to help disguise himself

Thanks for sharing this! One of the things that I was surprised by early on was Ronald knowing Ben Schwartz by name but not recognizing Kirk. (I never thought Ronald was faking it or anything, just found it odd). Him actively going out of his way to be more subdued and look a little different is fun. 

[peeayebee]

I was disappointed that Ronald recognized him because I'm sure Kirk would have been very funny. I wonder what was planned for his character.

[Lady Calypso]

So, I binged this a little later than I expected. I think my fear was that I'd get second hand embarrassment, something that happens often to me, so I put it off. Fortunately for me, besides a couple of scenes, I really did enjoy it a lot. They really got a great guy in Ronald to base the show around. He was a great guy, had such a positive outlook, and really took everything in stride.

This entire premise was basically stepping through a landmine field all throughout; one wrong move, one wrong word, and Ronald really could have figured it out. I think they didn't just get lucky, they perfected the casting all throughout. They had back-up plans and seemed to think each scenario out. They had to try to anticipate Ronald's reactions and I think they did a great job.

I'm also content with the reveal. I love that they really played the reveal carefully. I think it showed how everyone loved Ronald, so they all were careful in explaining each step that they fooled him, while also reiterating that they DID genuinely like him and a lot of it wasn't acting. The moments where they bonded were real, it's just that Ronald didn't know their real names or their real occupations. 

I've been starting to read up more on the behind the scenes information, because that fascinates me the most, knowing what they all had to do to deviate from the script to keep Ronald in the dark. 

Overall, huge fan of this. I don't think a second season would work quite the same, not unless they decided to film a couple of seasons before this one aired to maintain the secrecy (which I think would have been cool for them to do if they thought about it, but I don't think they did). But, honestly, even just this being a one and done series works. 

[AnimeMania]

Amazon Freevee and Prime Video To Release an Exclusive Cast Commentary Edition of the Comedy Series "Jury Duty" on June 1

The special cut includes commentary from James Marsden, Ronald Gladden, Mekki Leeper, Cassandra Blair, Maria Russell, and director Jake Szymanski.

Jury Duty merchandise will be available on June 1 exclusively at amazon.com/jurydutymerch

[Almost 3000]

On 4/9/2023 at 6:23 PM, methodwriter85 said:

I kind of feel like Joe Schmo had an underlying meaness to it that this show doesn't have.

JS was a "reality show" so meaness was a part of it whereas this is a "real" trial so as crazy as the actors seem they could only go so far. I can't believe he didn't figure it out just by the time everything took. It was like two weeks for a pretty simple case with a defendant that appeared to have no money for the pain and suffering lady to win.

[peeayebee]

Ronald had no jury experience and didn't seem to know how trials and such work, so I can accept his naïveté. Plus, we don't know if he ever said to his "fellow jurors" stuff like, "Man, this is taking longer than I expected." If I were in his place and the prosecutor and defense kept interviewing witnesses and presenting evidence, then I might think, "This is ridiculous, but I guess that's how the system works."

[Catfi9ht]

5 hours ago, peeayebee said:

Ronald had no jury experience and didn't seem to know how trials and such work, so I can accept his naïveté. Plus, we don't know if he ever said to his "fellow jurors" stuff like, "Man, this is taking longer than I expected." If I were in his place and the prosecutor and defense kept interviewing witnesses and presenting evidence, then I might think, "This is ridiculous, but I guess that's how the system works."

I agree. I'm watching the extended commentary episodes they released a few days ago. One of the things they explained is how much is cut out from what actually happened. The first episode is over two days and they were the the court room for five hours each day. They also said they didn't want everything to be wacky so there really only was what we saw that was wacky. The remaining several hours were extras who were giving normal answers to not raise suspicion.

One thing that I can't really wrap my head around is that Ronald actually thought the government would solicit volunteers for jury duty on Craigslist. Everything else I can buy because the guy didn't really know how to court system worked (like the foreperson is selected by the jury and not by the judge).

I've only watched a couple of the commentary episodes so far and I really like them. If that's your thing, I highly recommend them. You get to hear what was improvised, what was scripted, what was cut, what didn't air, and updates on everyone since the show aired among other things.

[Tdoc72]

On 5/1/2023 at 10:44 AM, peeayebee said:

 

One of the things that I found interesting was that one of the actors, Kirk Fox, has had some pretty visible roles, one of which was as Sewage Joe on Parks and Rec. I was surprised when I first saw him because I thought Ronald would recognize him. And when he didn't, as the show progressed, I didn't get why the show would have such a funny actor and not use him. Turns out early in the show (again, unaired) Kirk overheard Ronald tell someone else that he was a big Parks and Rec fan. After that, Kirk kept his distance from Ronald, and his planned role was drastically cut back. He even grew out his beard more to help disguise himself.

I didn’t know his name but I knew he was in P&R. I definitely would’ve recognized him. 
 

I ended up really liking the show. I’m going to go back & watch w/the commentaries. 

[EyewatchTV211]

On 6/3/2023 at 3:56 PM, Catfi9ht said:

One thing that I can't really wrap my head around is that Ronald actually thought the government would solicit volunteers for jury duty on Craigslist. Everything else I can buy because the guy didn't really know how to court system worked (like the foreperson is selected by the jury and not by the judge).

I don't think he thought it was the government soliciting volunteers on Craiglist. It was the "documentary creators" looking for volunteers to be in their documentary about jury duty. So that makes sense to me. What I'm still confused about is what the explanation was for how the other jurors were found. If they were supposed to all have been volunteers for the documentary or agreed to be in it after being called to serve a traditional way. Like I've seen others say - volunteers wouldn't have tried to get out of it like some of them did. And I guess Ronald didn't realize that you can't just volunteer for jury duty on your own, that you have to receive a summons. 

[AnimeMania]

How ‘Jury Duty’ Casting Director Assembled the Courtroom for the Mockumentary Series

[nb360]

I binged the whole show, after reading about it in the NYTimes: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/08/arts/television/jury-duty-freevee.html

Loved it!

Would love a 2nd season... but how would the "surprise" factor be achieved with all of the attention the show is now getting?

Edited to add: I just noticed that one of the behind-the scenes people is a woman named "Cody." 🙂

Edited June 11, 2023 by nb360

[LADreamr]

I'm late to the party, but just binged the whole show yesterday and was surprised how much I loved it.  I've served on two juries in LA County, one of which where I was the foreperson, and when the judge appointed him foreperson, I thought that would be a red flag, because that's not how it happens; the jury chooses among themselves.  But if you're completely new to the situation, you wouldn't necessarily know that.  Also, there's something about being in a courtroom that just makes you kind of go along with what's happening.  

He was just the perfect person for this.  He made the whole thing so lovely.  I got big feels when they revealed the prize money to him.  It never occurred to me that he was actually the one on trial.  I'm glad that part was a reveal to the audience, too.  

I totally bought James Marsden being there.  I had jury duty once with David Hyde Pierce, who, unlike Marsden's caricature of himself, was very gracious all day and really wanted to be there and be chosen.  None of were chosen, though.  We hung out in the jury pool room all day, and then were dismissed.

I was actually OK with the defense attorney not totally having his stuff together, too.  On one of the trials I was on, in her opening statement, the attorney for the defendant said, "Hi, I'm the attorney for Ms _____, so... yay!" And then proceeded to be about that level through the whole trial.

[peeayebee]

How cool that you met David Hyde Pierce on jury duty. Good to hear that he was a nice guy.

[iMonrey]

On 6/4/2023 at 3:42 PM, EyewatchTV211 said:

I don't think he thought it was the government soliciting volunteers on Craiglist. It was the "documentary creators" looking for volunteers to be in their documentary about jury duty. So that makes sense to me. What I'm still confused about is what the explanation was for how the other jurors were found. If they were supposed to all have been volunteers for the documentary or agreed to be in it after being called to serve a traditional way. Like I've seen others say - volunteers wouldn't have tried to get out of it like some of them did. And I guess Ronald didn't realize that you can't just volunteer for jury duty on your own, that you have to receive a summons. 

I think it's possible he was told not enough people responded to the ad so they were using people who were actually summoned. Before jury was selected he said he was really hoping he would be on the jury, so he definitely wanted to be part of the doc.

I binged this whole thing in a day. I couldn't wait to get to the end and see what his reaction would be when he found out the truth.

I had heard about this show but never bothered to watch it until James Marsden was a guest on Wait Wait Don't Tell Me. He talked a little about the show and said he stayed in touch with Ronald for a couple of months after the show ended just to make sure he was OK.

I really thought the whole thing was great but the producers totally lucked out finding such an amiable guy. I totally buy the premise, this guy is just too earnest to be fake. We've become so cynical about "reality" TV we think they're all fake now but I think it's possible to pull off something this clever in a limited format.

[Milburn Stone]

On 6/14/2023 at 1:02 PM, LADreamr said:

I was actually OK with the defense attorney not totally having his stuff together, too.  On one of the trials I was on, in her opening statement, the attorney for the defendant said, "Hi, I'm the attorney for Ms _____, so... yay!" And then proceeded to be about that level through the whole trial.

I sat on a jury for a federal trial. The defendant's attorney was so horrible, I began to wonder if that was the strategy. If found guilty, the defendant would be going to prison for a while, and you can't send someone to prison for having a bad lawyer! (Although, according to one of the jurors in this show, you can at least consider finding against a defendant for having bad hair.)

I liked one thing about the final episode and hated another. I liked Ronald being recognized for his humanity. I hated the self-congratulatory tone of the episode: "Look how awesome we were to pull this off!" They could have acknowledged Ronald properly at the end of the previous episode, and let us be the judge of how awesome the creators were.

Edited June 21, 2023 by Milburn Stone

[meep.meep]

On 6/18/2023 at 9:23 AM, iMonrey said:

 

I had heard about this show but never bothered to watch it until James Marsden was a guest on Wait Wait Don't Tell Me. He talked a little about the show and said he stayed in touch with Ronald for a couple of months after the show ended just to make sure he was OK.

I really thought the whole thing was great but the producers totally lucked out finding such an amiable guy. I totally buy the premise, this guy is just too earnest to be fake. We've become so cynical about "reality" TV we think they're all fake now but I think it's possible to pull off something this clever in a limited format.

Me too on the Wait Wait Don't Tell Me!  Thought that was great of Marsden.

I don't think they lucked out - just conducted enough auditions until they found a good fit.

I can't believe that no one recognized Kirk Fox - he's been in tons of things:  Parks and Rec, Reservation Dogs, etc.  And the judge was played by Ike Barinholtz's father.