Duty Bound

"Practical joke" TV shows have been a recurring staple of television for decades: pranks played on celebrities, pranks played on non-celebrities, even "long form" practical jokes that sustain one premise over multiple episodes. It's that last tradition that's been picked up by the Amazon Prime series Jury Duty.

Ronald Gladden appears for jury duty, having been told that for this trial, a group of documentary filmmakers has gotten permission to film the proceedings and interview the jurors, to tell the story of how the American justice system works. But in truth, Ronald is completely surrounded by actors: everyone on his jury, everyone involved with his case, every person he interacts with in the hotel where the jury is being sequestered -- they're all actors there to put Ronald at the center of the wildest trial he can possibly believe is real.

I said Jury Duty is a new long-form "practical joke" show... but that's also perhaps not entirely accurate. A practical joke generally feels like it's coming at someone's expense, and it's clear that the creative forces of this show aren't out to make their "hero," Ronald, look bad. This show simply isn't mean-spirited. Indeed, they caught lightning in a bottle when they cast this guy; Ronald is a genuinely caring person who somehow walks a line line between "able to fooled" and "not looking stupid for being fooled."

Part of the trick here is the old analogy about slowly turning up the heat on the frog in boiling water. In episode one, things don't seem that odd. Most of the outrageous behavior comes from actor James Marsden, appearing here as an amped-up version of "himself" whose conceited antics cause most of the early mischief. But as Ronald accepts each strange new event (sometimes even muttering how the whole thing feels like reality TV!), the creatives behind the show throw increasingly ridiculous scenarios his way.

Behind the scenes footage in the eighth and final episode reveal just how nimble a production this was, and how "game to play" everyone involved really was. A COVID scare at their courtroom led to an hastily conceived road trip episode (that happens to mark the point when the series really picks up). Later they stage a restaurant outing that's a highlight of the entire show.

Funny as the scripted elements can be, it's sometimes funnier still when Ronald does something that no one could have anticipated, and the actors simply have to roll with it. You can kind of forget this level of the reality if you choose to, because each episode is presented in a sort of "The Office in a Courtroom" kind of way. But carry in the back of your mind that a dozen-plus actors are here playing characters for hours and hours on end, and there's a new level to appreciate. James Marsden actually got an Emmy nomination for his work, no doubt due to just how willing he was to look bad while being "himself." But really, all the actors here are engaged in a bizarre high wire act, and at least three or four others are especially good.

It's possible that more than any actual humor on screen, I enjoyed the underlying achievement of keeping up this hoax for so long. But on whatever level I had fun with the show, I did have fun. I give Jury Duty a B+.