By Renée Santos
Los Angeles, California (The Hollywood Times) 05/17/2023
After a bit of a drought from the Comedy magic of THE OFFICE, the creators have something new up their sleeves with the #1 Hit Show JURY DUTY. The original series released by Freevee (the Amazon-owned streaming platform formerly known as IMDb TV) is a refreshing and hilarious limited series!
The lightly absurdist Mockumentary style farce takes on the most tedious public service obligation of Jury Duty, an occurrence most people endeavor to avoid at all cost, and turn it into a brilliant playful entertainment extravaganza. JURY DUTY has a prank show undertone and improvisational astuteness while incorporating a unique twist. Everyone is in on the joke of the fake court case from start to finish, except for one real person eager for any excuse to get on camera, as many LA inhabitants seem to inherit by osmosis from being in this TV town.
His name is Ronald, and he is none the wiser on the comedic conspiracy ensuing about the decree he thought was a volunteered assignment. His civil service has been embedded with a script and a cast of actors. The simple pleasure of the half-hour dose of comedy and the mild antics thrust upon Ronald by his peers has been sketched around a single, legible shtick, and millions are mopping it up. The misbehavior of his tribunal motley crew of fellow jurors keeps the audience curious and coming back for more wondering why Ronald never has an inkling about the cameras. He blindly allows for the tomfoolery being permitted while taping the inner workings of a private deliberation.
The all-in attitude of every actor making this odd experiment work often supersedes our suspicion and the public melds into the world of their unwitting straight man. Ronald’s obliviousness is hilarious and infectious, getting the odd laugh, but most of the falls of guffaws belong to the stealth players around him, among them James Marsden as an insecure caricature parody of himself. Incorporating the concept of our societal perception of fame is done with dexterity and inadvertently speaks to how social media platforms have become a bit of an equalizer for regular civilians emersed in society with these idolized humans. Marsden’s character is the alternate juror so his voice is the most muted in the group and that celebrity paradox stamps the comedic sentiment. His lampoon is a depiction of the illusion of superstardom and it brings him right sized with the rest of us. The credit does not fall completely on James’ Marsden’s alternate juror #14, the cast of nutty jurors truly is the heartbeat of the show. The acting is brilliant and the extemporal interpersonal dynamics of the box of jurors is why Ronald and the rest of the viewers are consistently wondering if this is all really happening.
I had the privilege of getting to sit down with Maria Russell the actress who plays juror, Inez De Leon, the proficiently sharp and playful Juror #10.
Click on the video link below for my exclusive interview and witness her testimony of why this show is a unique addition to our TV/ streaming experience!
Jury Duty is streaming now on Freevee don’t miss this limited series. The long form Punk’d + Improv Comedy+ scripted drama = complete brilliance. The show is not to be missed.
