Why you should watch Jury Duty (2023-2026)

Photo courtesy of Larry Richman/Wikimedia Commons

In 2023, a show unlike any other was released on Amazon Prime and was simply named Jury Duty (2023-2026). This show followed Ronald Gladden, who believed he signed up to be featured in a documentary as he became the foreperson on a jury and faced challenges alongside his fellow jury members.

What made this show so unique was that every single person in this documentary was an actor, except for Ronald. Every single person in the jury, in the courtroom, and every other place they went, was an actor designed to make Ronald believe that this was just an insane jury trial and get certain reactions out of him. Ronald believed that what was going on was entirely real, and had genuine reactions to everything happening around him. 

The crew spent months planning as much of a script as possible, but had to improvise daily because it was impossible to predict what Ronald might do in any given situation. There were cast and crew members working 24/7 to ensure that Ronald had no idea that this whole entire thing was centered around him.

To ensure that he would receive no text messages or see anything on social media about the situation, the jury included one celebrity, James Marsden, who played himself. During the selection process Marsden hired fake paparazzi to come take pictures of him in an attempt to be excused from jury duty, but instead he was selected as an alternate and the jury was sequestered. This is often done in high-profile or high-risk cases, and it means that everyone on the jury must give up their cellphones and other smart devices and stay in a nearby hotel for the duration of the trial.

They cannot speak with anyone not involved in the trial and they cannot go anywhere not approved by the bailiff or judge. This meant Ronald did not have contact or conversations with anyone who was not a hired actor during the duration of the trial, which I believe was just over two weeks.

They received thousands of applications from people interested in being a part of a documentary film about what it is like to be a member of the jury. From this massive pool of potential participants, they picked the best one possible. Ronald starts off the show already showing his incredible kindness to those around him in the waiting room to check in for jury duty. Throughout the two weeks, he responds to every situation he is forced into with great compassion, without even knowing that his every move is being analyzed by actors all around him.

One example of this, without giving away a large spoiler, is that Ronald knows that James Marsden called the paparazzi on himself, forcing everyone to sleep in a hotel and give up many other things. Ronald does not tell anyone about this, even when they express great anger with Marsden and question how the paparazzi could have even found him in the courtroom. Without being asked to, he keeps this secret to himself the entire time.

The show presents Ronald with countless insane scenarios and is able to capture his genuine feelings and reactions. The show is a quick watch, with only eight episodes that are approximately 30 minutes long. I recently watched this show for the third time, and I still noticed new details that I had never seen before. My recent interest in this show comes from the release of Jury Duty: Company Retreat (2026), which is a show from the same company following the same style, every person but one is a hired actor. Be on the lookout for a review of this new season in the next edition of The Lamron.