A huge success in the United States, Jury Duty offers an original premise, a cross between mockumentary and comedy series. The plot is simple: Ronald Gladden, an ordinary American, believes that he fulfills a civic mission as a jury. He doesn’t know that everyone around him is an actor.
This principle gives rise to a series of adventures, each crazier than the next, in front of a bewildered jury who suspects nothing or little. How was such a fiction realized? How was Ronald Gladden chosen? Did they really cheat? A quick tour of the questions we ask ourselves after watching Jury Duty.
How did the idea come about?
Jury Duty producers – Lee Eisenberg, David Bernard, Gene Stupnicki and Todd Shulman – wanted to make the series between The Truman Show and The Office. The idea was to get the actors together to improvise multiple situations over the course of three weeks. Apart from Ronald Gladden, the show features all professional actors – many unknown to the general public – with one James Marsden playing himself.
How was Ronald Gladden chosen?
The production posted a casting note on its announcement website in 2021. The goal was to hire a person for a simple documentary need. Production receives 2500 applications. At the end of the casting phase, the team selected 15 to 20 people.
Selected by Ronald Gladden, produced by Todd Shulman announced :”Ronald was exactly what we were looking for with this ad. Someone didn’t do it for money, but in search of something, adventure.“
How did the filming go?
During the three weeks on the set, all the actors resorted to total improvisation, and it was impossible to turn to the director or screenwriter. The actors, like James Marsden, prepared some notes and lines in notebooks the day before to develop their ideas. If an actor makes a mistake during a scene, the entire joke can fall apart.
About filming, James Marsden explanation :”There were so many twists and turns and I was mentally exhausted by the end of the day. You don’t want to be the one to screw things up, so you need to stay focused and fit throughout the day.”
Was Ronald Gladden Really Framed?
It seems hard to believe, but Ronald Gladden knew nothing. During a Q&A reported by Variety , he still reveals that he had doubts from the second day of filming. He explains whyDespite his suspicions, he could not imagine that he was at the heart of the deception:
“I would have to question my entire reality. It made more sense to think that I was just surrounded by strange people than to believe that my whole world was fake..”
Jury Duty is available on Prime Video.
Source: Allocine
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
