Jury Duty

⭐ 7.5/10

(Originally written by Tim)

This was a fun little show where a real life person enters a jury, and little does he know that the whole thing is staged around him. Everyone else is an actor, and they put him through these crazy scenarios over the course of the trial to see how he will respond.

I liked this show in concept a bit more, kind of like The Rehearsal. But its hard to feel invested in a trial that is completely fake, so all the best moments are outside the courtroom. The real beauty in this show is that they found a gem of a human being to put through it all. Ronald is kind and considerate and it is genuinely inspiring to see such a nice person behave this way. The finale was so heartwarming because this is a nice person being rewarded for being a nice person.

James Marsden is the only big name guy here, playing himself, and I loved seeing how Ronald was generally unphased by being around a celebrity, and was genuinely upset when James was (intentionally for the show) being a jerk. The supporting people around them all, the rest of the jury, were pretty good, it just feels like a scripted mockumentary style comedy with some improv thrown in to account for various reactions from Ronald.

The finale was my favourite part, when they kind of reveal how they did it all to Ronald and to us. I found the whole setup fascinating, and I kind of wish they sprinkled more of this behind-the-scenes stuff throughout other episodes. They really tried to make it feel like a sitcom, but it was the reality moments I was much more interested.

This score could be a bit more generous, but I was a bit bored with the trial at times. More time outside the courthouse could have really helped IMO. But check this one out! It is fun and earnest and I have no regrets. Jess gives it a 9.