Jury Duty deserves an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Comedy Series at the 2023 Emmys.
On July 12, we are going to find out the TV shows and performers from the last year of TV (June 1, 2022, to May 31, 2023, to be exact) who are being feted with Emmy nominations. While we don't have a vote, What to Watch wants to share a handful of our favorites that we think deserve recognition at the Emmys.
Specifically, we're going to be looking at some of the less heralded shows and actors. We know Succession season 4, The White Lotus season 2, Ted Lasso season 3 and Abbott Elementary season 2 are going to be among the most nominated shows, but there are plenty of award-worthy candidates that have entertained us this past year.
In this instance, let us make the case for why Jury Duty should get to stand among the big-name shows in Outstanding Comedy Series.
Jury Duty is unlike anything else in the field
While the expected nominees for Outstanding Comedy Series at the Emmys are vastly different in subject, from an American football coach managing a UK Premier League team to a group of teachers in a Philadelphia public school to a dark comedy about an assassin, they're all telling their narratives generally the same way: with all the characters immersed in and living in their specific worlds. Jury Duty is different, putting a real-life person into an entirely fictional situation; though they don't know it.
At its most basic, Jury Duty is a hidden camera show meant to capture the reactions of one real person, Ronald Gladden, as the craziest things happen around him as he serves on the jury of a fake trial. However, the creatives of the Amazon Freevee original series weren't just seeing what they could get away with, they meticulously planned out every detail of a multiple-week trial that told a story that could go in any particular direction based on the reaction of Gladden. They created a fictional world and dropped a real person into it to see what would happen.
It is such an ambitious idea and one that is unlike anything we’ve seen on TV in some time. And that is worth some recognition.
Ronald Gladden is the hero we need
While Jury Duty had well-known actor James Marsden as the headliner for the series, the true star was Gladden, a normal guy who thought he was part of a documentary looking into what happens when you're part of a jury. In addition to Marsden, Gladden was surrounded by actors whose job it was to throw these outlandish circumstances at him to see how he would react.
The amazing thing is that Gladden took it all in stride and showed himself to be a truly good person. While he often thought the things his fellow jurors did were really weird, he never treated them in a negative way, always accepting them as they are and being as kind as he could. In addition, when trusted with the job of being the foreperson on the jury, something he admitted he did not want to do, Gladden rose to the challenge and helped bring the jury to a unanimous verdict the creators hoped he would reach.
The actor who plays the judge (Alan Barinholtz) called him a hero because of all this, and it's true. All of the little things that Gladden did to support his fellow jurors and make them feel good about themselves is something we should all try and model ourselves on.
The closest thing we've had to The Office in years
The Office remains a cultural touchstone as many people continue to watch The Office on streaming platforms. The documentary style of the show was aped by multiple shows after it, including a number that did it really well, like Parks & Rec and Modern Family. But there were other defining elements of The Office — its cringe humor and, ultimately, its sentimental heart.
Jury Duty is probably the closest thing we have had on TV that has all three of those things. The documentary style is obvious, as we got great asides from Gladden and even the other actors, as they had to do some to be sure that Gladden didn't wonder why he was the only one being interviewed. It's also no surprise, as they wanted to get interesting reactions from Gladden, that there is quite a bit of cringe/awkward humor, mostly done by Marsden.
But under all of it, there is a heart to the series. That is once again due to Gladden, who the creators talked about in the final episode being the dream subject. Had someone else been the focus and not brought the same level of sensitivity to the proceedings, Jury Duty could very well not have become the hit that it was.
Is there ever going to be another chance to nominate Jury Duty?
Jury Duty is so unique that we may never get anything else like it. That's not even hyperbole. As of July 3, there was been no word on a renewal for Jury Duty season 2 from Amazon Freevee, and the creators have said different things about whether or not one would even be feasible.
Co-creator Gene Stupnitsky told GamesRadar that he doesn't think another season is likely. "We kind of caught lightning in a bottle and I don't know how we could ever top it, so I think we just have to do something else entirely. But as far as Jury Duty as an institution, I don't think we can."
Some of the other creators, David Bernard and Todd Schulman, told Variety that there is a chance that the same idea — taking a real person and presenting them with these constant challenges to see how they would react — could be applied to different areas. Meaning if there was going to be a new season from them, it would in all likelihood not be the exact same thing as Jury Duty.
So, with all that in mind, this is probably the Emmy's only chance to nominate Jury Duty, at the very least in this format. Hopefully, they don't miss an opportunity to recognize a show that has become one of the TV sensations of the year.
