In 2024, Amazon’s Prime Video series Jury Duty was nominated for four Emmys including Outstanding Comedy Series, Casting for a Comedy Series and Writing for a Comedy Series. Going into that season it might have been the least likely series to succeed like that because the show itself was really a hybrid of scripted comedy and unfiltered reality television.
The idea was simple: Create a series around a jury and courtroom trial that is completely fictional with the exception of one juror who isn’t in on the joke but actually thinks this is all real. None of it was, including everyone else on camera from the judge to court officials and jury members; they were all actors selected for these roles. Only Ronald was the real deal, and if somehow he found out this was all a scripted TV comedy series the whole thing would fall apart.
It is no wonder the Television Academy came to embrace this wildly successful show with such key nominations, particularly for its casting, which was crucial in bringing in actors who could pull it off and just the right “regular” person to unwittingly join them, and the writing recognition, with scripts setting up situations and dialogue for everyone but Ronald, the one unknown factor. If you had the wrong person in there it would spell disaster. If an actor somehow screwed up, more disaster. If you aren’t prepared for every possible situation happening, even more disaster. There is no other comedy series on TV even close to this kind of challenge. To pull it all off on the level they did was a miracle.
Equally miraculous was to be able to come back under the umbrella title Jury Duty Presents and pull it all off again, but not in a courtroom where it would have been doubly difficult to do it all over again and keep it fresh. Instead the new season is set a fake hot sauce business’ company retreat, and all set around the employees, a pending sale of the company, and a brand new employee — a temp hire for the retreat named Anthony who had no idea this wasn’t real life. Thus Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat was born, and if you ask me it is even better than the first season.
Joining me for this episode of my Deadline video series Behind the Lens is the co-creator (with Gene Stupnitsky) and executive producer Lee Eisenberg, and executive producer Nicholas Hatton, to talk about the incredible logistics of pulling this all off again, and this time on an even bigger scale with 48 hidden cameras, a secret control room, a writers room coming up with every situation and all the pitfalls therein, not to mention getting the perfect “mark” in Anthony who deserves some kind of Emmy himself.
The series Jury Duty Presents has already been renewed for a third season and I can’t wait to see what they come up with. This is high-wire act television if ever there was a show like it.
To watch my conversation and go “behind the lens” with Lee Eisenberg and Nicholas Hatton to learn all about how they pulled it off and the massive effort that goes into making it, watch the video above.
Join me this season every Monday and Friday for a new edition of Behind the Lens and every Tuesday and Thursday for a new episode of The Actor’s Side.
