Many of us know what it’s like to get a letter in the mail informing us that we’ve been chosen to fulfill our civic responsibility as a juror. Some of us have very good reasons why we can’t serve and so we call the court to explain our reasons, or we hope that when we call, the court case has already been dismissed. But if you’ve ever been summoned for jury duty, selected, and seated in a courtroom, then you know that jury duty might be inconvenient but extremely important.
It’s a civic responsibility that helps our society function well.
Jury Duty is a documentary-style comedy series about the judicial process. Ronald Gladden has been selected as juror #6. Right from the start, Ronald is taking the case very seriously, as he should. But what he doesn’t know is that the whole thing is fake. Not only is the case fake, but everyone including the judge, bailiff, lawyers, and all the other jurors are paid actors.
Their job is to keep the whole thing going—pushing the absurdity of the court case to the very edge. All the actors in the faux documentary are unknown, except one—James Marsden. When he pays for paparazzi to show up at the courtroom to create a distraction so that he can get out of serving on the jury, the judge denies his request and instead sequesters all the jurors for the length of trial.
The show tells the viewers right away in the opening title sequence that the trial is fake, but through it all, Ronald Gladden believes the whole thing is real. The way he acts without knowing he’s being watched restores faith in the judicial process and says something profound about the goodness of humanity based on God’s common grace.
Jury Duty is a short eight episodes lasting about 30 minutes each. The series received three Emmy nominations including Outstanding Comedy Series and an Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for James Marsden. (Rated TV-14, but 18+ is advised: This program contains product placement, drawn nudity in a court sketch, violence, substance use, alcohol use, smoking, foul language, strong sexual innuendo.)