Nobody would have blamed “Jury Duty” for ending after one season. The hidden camera show was built around a brilliant premise that seemed impossible to replicate: call an unsuspecting citizen in for jury duty and then build a fake trial in which everyone except him is an actor. While the writing and performances were impressive, the best thing it had going for it was the element of surprise. After it aired, anyone else who sees some bizarre behavior and a documentary crew at their local courthouse would immediately suspect something was up.
But when the Amazon franchise returned for a second season, it put on a master class in extending a brand. “Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat” managed to capture everything we loved about the original show — an ensemble of improv performers subjecting one naive civilian to an endless stream of absurd scenarios — without setting foot in a courtroom. By setting the season on a fictional hot sauce company’s cabin retreat, the show was able to expand its scale while maintaining the necessary shock value. And now that we’re conditioned to expect “Jury Duty” seasons that have nothing to do with jury duty, the sky appears to be the limit if Amazon renews it for a third season.
Where should the show go next? The only real parameters are that it needs to take place in an isolated location with a closed circle of people, and the one non-actor needs to either have voluntarily sought out the opportunity or feel legally prohibited from leaving. With those loose guidelines in mind, IndieWire took the liberty of dreaming up a few ideas for scenarios the show could drop people into.
Dating Show
If something as beautifully absurd as “Love Is Blind” didn’t exist, it’s not hard to see a world where the “Jury Duty” team invents it. And even as Netflix seems determined to develop every possible riff on the reality dating show format, there are bound to be a few crazy ideas that nobody has stumbled onto yet. A fake dating show could be a perfect set-up for an unsuspecting applicant, as they require auditioning, on-camera interviews, and everyone enters knowing they’ll be forced to interact with strangers with large personalities. It also provides the opportunity to turn the film crew into characters. Speaking of which…
Film Set
The show could also go the “Windy City Heat” route and create a fake movie as an excuse to cast one unsuspecting actor. In addition to all of the on-set chaos that the team could create, subjecting someone to a global press tour for a fake movie could expand the scale even more. It would also create opportunities for any real actors who are interested in giving a James Marsden-esque performance as themselves on the show. They say nothing films in L.A. anymore, but the town would be more than capable of creating a first-class fake movie set.
Concert Tour
How about giving a young music industry professional the chance to go on tour with a band? All you have to do is rent out venues in multiple cities, put someone on a tour bus with a crew that all stays in the same hotels, and let the comedy ensue. You could either create a fictional band or enlist a real one to play themselves — either option is rife with possibilities for creative comedy writers.
Youth Sports Camp
Youth sports are more competitive than ever these days, particularly for anyone who thinks (or has been grifted into thinking) their kid has a shot at the pros. There’s a whole cottage industry of “camps” of varying legitimacy that sell families on the alleged wisdom of former pro athletes and coaches, some of which can get quite cult-like. A fake one could enlist an entire family for a weekend retreat of drills, team-building, and mentorship, with actors playing coaches, student athletes, and parents. You could expose some of the absurdity of the sports industrial complex while creating the kind of good-natured ensemble of weirdos that we’ve all come to love from “Jury Duty” shows.
“Jury Duty” Season 3 Casting
Bear with me on this one… if the show was ready to take the leap into truly meta territory, it could stage a fake casting call for an actor who thinks they’re auditioning to be one of the performers. It would be a brilliant way to lower someone’s defense mechanisms, and watching someone who thinks they’re in on the joke become the butt of it would make for excellent television.
All episodes of “Company Retreat” are now streaming on Prime Video.
