{"id":2015078,"date":"2023-08-29T03:51:06","date_gmt":"2023-08-29T07:51:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/jury-duty-tv-series-transforms-civic-drudgery-into-insightful-comedy\/"},"modified":"2023-08-29T03:55:44","modified_gmt":"2023-08-29T07:55:44","slug":"jury-duty-tv-series-transforms-civic-drudgery-into-insightful-comedy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/jury-duty-tv-series-transforms-civic-drudgery-into-insightful-comedy\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Jury Duty&#8217; TV Show Turns Boring Civic Duty into Hilarious Comedy"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fjury-duty-tv-series-transforms-civic-drudgery-into-insightful-comedy%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2015078&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"article-content\">\n<h2>Innovative Television: &#8220;Jury Duty&#8221; Blends \u2062Reality, Comedy, and Social Commentary<\/h2>\n<p>In a time of endless sequels, reboots, \u200cand spinoffs, it\u2019s rare to find something on television \u2062that is doing something new,\u2063 but occasionally it happens. Such is the case with the new\u200b Amazon\u2063 Prime series &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt22074164\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Jury Duty<\/a>,&#8221; which \u2064combines\u200c reality television, improv comedy, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/6-laughably-bad-liberal-propaganda-films\/\" title=\"6 Laughably Bad Liberal Propaganda Films\">social commentary<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The show\u2063 follows \u2062a real person who thinks\u2063 he\u2019s\u2062 participating in a documentary\u2064 on jury duty, but he\u2019s actually participating in a fake \u200ctrial while surrounded by actors \u200bwho are\u200b pretending to be jurors and court officials. It\u2019s\u200b a little like \u201cThe \u200cTruman Show,\u201d except it takes place for two weeks inside the dingy rooms of an L.A. \u200ccourthouse and nearby hotel.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Although \u201cJury Duty\u201d mainly works as a comedy, there are also moments of thoughtfulness and depth. This is made possible by \u200cthe \u2063non-actor\u2063 protagonist Ronald Gladden, a\u2063 friendly average Joe. Gladden works with his fellow jury members to\u200d reach a fair verdict for a deadbeat employee. The employer\u200c has accused the\u200d employee\u2062 of gross incompetence that cost\u2062 millions of dollars in damages. \u2062Despite regularly facing\u2063 the\u2064 most ridiculous and \u200cawkward situations the show\u2019s writers could think up, Gladden is always trusting, \u200ckind,\u2064 and patient.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>It is clear that \u2062both \u200bthe show\u2019s writers and the actors hope to rattle Gladden and provoke a reaction,\u200b but he successfully maintains his \u2063calm disposition. Whatever white \u200dmale \u2064privilege he was supposed to exhibit simply doesn\u2019t appear.<\/p>\n<p>The same can\u2019t be said for his foil <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm0005188\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">James Marsden<\/a>, who plays an exaggerated version of\u200b himself \u2014 a narcissistic B-list actor (best known \u200cfor playing\u2063 Cyclops in\u2064 the X-Men movies) who\u2019s auditioning for an upcoming movie while serving as an alternate juror.\u2064 Time and \u200bagain, Gladden defers to Marsden and hardly seems fazed by the\u200c actor\u2019s obnoxious vanity.<\/p>\n<p>In\u2064 terms of its commentary on the\u200d world, it is significant that Marsden is\u200b acting while Gladden \u2063is \u200dnot. Their relationship reveals the chasm between the behavior of men in real life and \u2063Hollywood\u2019s fictional\u2062 men. In truth, there \u200bare far more guys like Gladden than \u200dthere\u2062 are of \u2062Marsden \u2014 \u200bthough Marsden \u200bdeserves credit for having the humility to make\u200b fun\u200d of himself.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>The other\u2064 actors keep the show interesting while maintaining a sense of realism. For several hours at a\u2064 time, they are forced to stay in character and improvise. Although they receive \u2062directions between their\u200d interactions with Gladden, \u200bthey have\u200c to develop a full-blooded character with\u200d a background story as events happen in real-time. While all of them,\u200b including Marsden,\u2062 start\u2063 as a stereotype (i.e., the nerd, the naive immigrant,\u200b the straight-talking trucker, the busybody\u200b Karen, the conspiracy theorist, the privileged\u200c white \u2062woman), all of them gradually become believable human beings by the end \u200cof \u200bthe trial.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>For this reason, the interactions they have with Gladden feel genuine, making many\u2062 scenes \u2063surprisingly poignant. When the middle-aged \u2062schoolteacher\u200d Ross, played by Ross Kimball, struggles with personal problems, Gladden\u2063 immediately sympathizes \u200dwith him and validates his \u200bfeelings. \u200bWhen Ken, a bemused Korean immigrant with a gambling problem played \u200bby Ron\u200d Song, loses in a made-up board game with Gladden, he\u200b insists on paying his gambling \u2062debt to Gladden, who repeatedly refuses. When \u200bit comes time to\u2063 decide \u200bon the \u2062liability of the\u2064 deadbeat man-child Trevor, played by Ben Seaward, Gladden rises to the occasion and carefully reasons through the many variables\u200c of the fake case.<\/p>\n<p>Not only do these scenes \u2063demonstrate that Gladden is a \u2063stand-up guy, but they show a kind of civility in American \u200dlife that few critics seem to \u2064notice. Writers like David Brooks \u200dwill publish long manifestos describing &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/magazine\/archive\/2023\/09\/us-culture-moral-education-formation\/674765\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How America Got Mean<\/a>,&#8221; \u2064but this is \u2063not true\u200d of most Americans. Even with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/jury-duty-tv-series-transforms-civic-drudgery-into-insightful-comedy\/\" title=\"'Jury Duty' TV Show Turns Boring Civic Duty into Hilarious Comedy\">eccentric misfits flouting social\u200d conventions<\/a> at every turn, \u2063most Americans\u2019 first\u200c instinct is to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/md-gov-hogan-urges-biden-lawmakers-to-work-together-on-covid-19-relief-legislation\/\" title=\"Md. Gov. Hogan urges Biden, lawmakers to work together on COVID-19 relief legislation\">find common ground<\/a> and work together.<\/p>\n<p>That said, it would be a stretch to claim\u2064 Gladden is\u200d some kind of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/lifestyle\/story\/2023-05-12\/jury-duty-ronald-gladden-the-magic-of-the-nice-guy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ideal man fit for sainthood<\/a>. Sure, he may be nice and \u2063trusting.\u2062 At 30 years \u2062old, however, it would be \u2062better to find him\u2062 married with kids and more involved in his community, not playing Mario Kart\u200c each \u2063night while being sequestered for jury duty. He even\u200b hints at \u200bthis in \u200cthe last \u2064episode, \u2063as he reflects that this experience has made him \u200cwant to help others more and be less selfish.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Outside the dramatic comedy of the jury members, the show \u2064is fairly positive regarding its take on\u200c the judicial system. Rules\u2063 are followed, officials act professionally, and rights are observed. At least for people who aren\u2019t reviled former presidents,\u200c the\u2063 legal process is mostly fair, and participants are doing their best. Far\u2062 from\u200d confirming the audience\u2019s cynicism about today\u2019s courts, the show offers reasons to \u200chope justice\u200d will be served.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Overall, \u200c\u201cJury\u2062 Duty\u201d is great entertainment and a fascinating study of human nature. Although it\u2063 would be difficult to keep up \u200cthe illusion and novelty with\u200d future seasons, there\u2019s no reason\u200d the show\u2019s creators shouldn\u2019t \u200ctry. Sometimes, particularly with\u2063 this first season, combining fact with fiction can lead to the best of both worlds.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a sea of sequels, reboots, and spinoffs, originality on TV is a rarity. However, Amazon Prime&#8217;s &#8220;Jury Duty&#8221; breaks the mold by blending reality TV, improv comedy, and social commentary. The series tracks an individual who genuinely believes they are participating in a real trial.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":551,"featured_media":2015079,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2015078","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2015078","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/551"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2015078"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2015078\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2015079"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2015078"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2015078"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2015078"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}