What's the Verdict on a 'Jury Duty' Season 2?
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Nobody likes jury duty—unless we’re talking about Jury Duty, the Freevee comedy series that became a surprise hit in spring 2023. The premise is relatively simple: Cameras follow the ins and outs of a trial in California, and producers interview potential jurors as they learn facts about the case. The twist is that the trial is fake, and everyone is in on the joke except one non-actor.
“This is unlike anything you’ve ever seen before,” James Marsden, who played a satirical version of himself in the show, told The Hollywood Reporter in June 2023. “If he sees a hidden camera, or someone calls somebody by the wrong name, the whole thing is upended. That was really exciting to me, just from the perspective of [wondering], ‘Can we pull this off?’”
They kind of did, despite all the moving parts involved. Ronald Gladden, who was the unsuspecting “regular” person on the jury, went along with it until the bitter end—even though he suspected early on that something odd was happening. “Day two they got me on camera saying to James, ‘Wow, this has been an interesting day,’” he recalled in April 2023. “Because from the get-go, I knew in my gut something was not right. [They] got me on camera multiple times saying, ‘I’m on reality TV, this can’t be real. What is going on?’”
You might think James Marsden sitting next to him in voir dire would have tipped him off, but Gladden thought Marsden’s presence actually made the whole thing more realistic. “[Ronald] said to me, ‘The fact that James Marsden was there made it more believable,’” Marsden told THR. “That was a nice compliment, that I anchored the believability: ‘I’m on jury duty with this actor, who’s kind of a prick.’”
Jury Duty hasn’t yet been renewed for a second season, but after the show earned four Emmy nominations in July 2023, another installment is looking more and more like a possibility. Keep reading for everything to know about a potential Jury Duty Season 2.
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What is Jury Duty about?
Jury Duty is a comedy series designed to look like a reality show chronicling the inner workings of a jury trial in the United States. The catch, however, is that the trial is fake and everyone on the show is an actor except for one man. In Season 1, that civilian was Ronald Gladden, a San Diego native who got the gig by responding to a Craigslist ad looking for participants to film a documentary about serving on a jury. That “documentary” was really a mockumentary, and the jury was made up of actors, improv comics and James Marsden.
How did Jury Duty Season 1 end?
In the Season 1 finale of Jury Duty, the cast and crew revealed to Gladden that the entire situation was fake and explained how they pulled it off. Gladden, meanwhile, was presented with $100,000 for his troubles. While some fans thought he might react with anger, the good-natured Gladden was mostly just impressed by the behind-the-scenes machinations required to keep up the facade.
“The audience is so on board with him from the beginning,” executive producer Lee Eisenberg told The Daily Beast in April 2023. “Seeing [the production] through his eyes, in a weird way, he becomes the audience’s surrogate for the finale. You’re able to live viscerally through him, but hopefully, you feel good for him about the experience.”
What does Ronald Gladden do for a living?
Prior to Jury Duty, Gladden worked as an installer of solar panels and later as a project manager at Home Depot. He’s since appeared in a Mint Mobile ad with Ryan Reynolds and signed with a Hollywood talent agency, so it seems like he’s interested in exploring further opportunities in the entertainment world.
“Now that it’s out and it’s getting such a positive reaction, I don’t know where my life is gonna go,” Gladden told GQ in April 2023. “I’m not opposed to pursuing opportunities that come from this. I just never would’ve imagined that it would’ve gotten the attention it did.”
How much did Ronald Gladden get paid for Jury Duty?
Because Gladden initially thought he was serving on a real jury, he wasn’t paid up front for Jury Duty. In the season finale, however, producers presented him with $100,000 after revealing that it was all a prank.
“I’m gonna pay a third of that to taxes instantly,” Gladden joked to Variety in May 2023. “And then we’re talking student loans. Surviving down here [in Southern California], I’ve got this little corgi puppy now as well, too. So, it’s really not gonna go that far.”
Was Jury Duty nominated for any awards?
Jury Duty scored four Emmy nominations in 2023: Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for James Marsden, Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for Mekki Leeper and Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series for Susie Farris. The 75th Primetime Emmy Awards are set to happen on Sept. 18, 2023, although given the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, the event is likely to be rescheduled.
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After the Emmy nominations were announced in July 2023, Gladden reacted with shock. “This is probably the craziest sentence I’ve ever said,” he wrote via Instagram at the time. “I’m a part of a TV show that’s nominated for an Emmy because I answered a Craigslist ad.”
Is there a Jury Duty Season 2?
Jury Duty hasn’t officially been renewed for Season 2, but some of the show’s producers have said they’d be willing to come back for another round. “Yeah, who knows?” executive producer David Bernad told Deadline in July 2023. “When the [Writers Guild of America] strike is over, it’s something we can sit down and think about as it’s something we may try and do. But right now, we’re celebrating Jury Duty and everyone who played a role in its success like the entire team at Freevee who deserve a lot of credit for taking a shot on this.”
The SAG-AFTRA actors union later began its own strike, further complicating matters, but Eisenberg said in April 2023 that he and his colleagues were “discussing” plans for a potential second season. “We have something that’s really exciting that feels spiritually very much in the wheelhouse of Jury Duty,” he told The Daily Beast at the time. “But locations might change.”
Who is cast in Jury Duty Season 2?
Because Jury Duty Season 2 hasn’t been officially announced, no one has been officially cast, either—and the possibilities are wide open. It would be nearly impossible to recreate the second season in the same format now that the public is aware of the show’s existence, so new episodes would need an entirely new cast or new premise to throw another Ronald off the scent.
Is James Marsden in Jury Duty Season 2?
Marsden was hilarious as an ultra-heightened version of himself in Jury Duty Season 1, but it seems unlikely he’d be back for Season 2. The show is popular enough now that his presence might cause suspicion among any civilian participants in the future, even if the format veered away from the courtroom.
Where to watch Jury Duty
Season 1 of Jury Duty is available to stream via Prime Video and the Freevee app. If Season 2 gets the greenlight, it will likely premiere there as well.
Is Jury Duty on Max?
As of yet, Jury Duty isn’t available to watch on Max.
Is Jury Duty on Hulu?
Because it’s a Freevee original, Jury Duty isn’t currently available on Hulu.
How many episodes are in Jury Duty?
Season 1 of Jury Duty consists of eight half-hour episodes. While Season 2 hasn’t been confirmed, it’s likely that another installment would be about the same length.
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