Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat

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⭐ 7.5/10

Relatively low score, similar to how I felt about the first season, but that doesn't take away from my awe at this project. The amount of work to Truman-show somebody like this is crazy, the amount of planning and expense alone, only in the age of billion-dollar tech companies making TV could this happen. The idea is the same as the first season, some dude is hired as an intern at a hot sauce company, goes on their company retreat, but doesn't realize everyone else is an actor. They put him in a million awkward or high-pressure situations and we watch as he figures things out.

I think this setup is worse than the first season, since jury duty is more self contained, and I can see that guy actually believing what he is experiencing is real. Anthony in this season literally expresses a bunch of times "this feels like a movie or something", which they laugh about in the end but I think is an indictment. If that was me I would be searching for cameras everywhere, there is no way this small business is this crazy, or can even afford a retreat like this!

Putting that aside, I again fell in love with the supporting cast, and they do a good job as a loveable group of coworkers, even if there is a bit of an office cast parallel happenings. There's Meredith! There's Dwight! There's the weird kid from season 1 of Jury Duty! A bit of an archetypes issue, another reason I don't think I could fall for this. Still, there are some very funny moments where I was impressed with the improvisation of all the actors. Again, just a cool idea! Very Nathan Fielder-esque.

What I am blown away by is that this show has gone 2/2 in finding their hero. It's clear that the "plot" of the season is getting this guy in a situation where he saves the company, and boy does he ever! He is the nicest guy ever, clearly cares about these people, and when he is put to the test its actually beautiful to see how passionately he vouches for these people he has known for a week. Pretty inspiring actually, but I can't help wondering how they found him and how many people they vetted to get someone who would react in these ways. Would love to read more about that process, because the cost of this show is enough that you can't blow it by putting some jerk in the hero role. Anthony is a great guy, and similar to the first season I'm glad he gets a bit of stardom and some money out of proving how great he is.

The final episode, like the first season, is the reveal and some behind the scenes on how they pull it off, and its staggering. Funny to see some moments while watching and feeling like something is off, only to realize they were off book and completely improvising and trying their hardest not to blow their cover. Although I think some of the close calls weren't actually that close, all the hidden cameras and prep work here is insane. They have a separate series out on the making of both seasons I actually might check out.

A cool show as a social experiment, with some good laughs and true heartwarming moments, but not the most compelling TV in the world. But I'll watch every season!

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