I will admit that I was wrong about Jury Duty when its screeners appeared in my inbox several years ago. I had been a big fan of the first season of The Joe Schmo Show – a 2003 series on Spike TV wherein an unsuspecting “normie” was thrust into a fake reality TV competition series, surround by actors (one of whom was a then-unknown Kristin Wiig), and then given a cash prize for being such a great sport. I just wasn’t sure Jury Duty would be able to capture the magic of that initial series – which was a clear inspiration for this one – by moving the premise to a more mundane world (and throwing an actor like James Marsden into the mix). But, Jury Duty wound up not only becoming a huge hit for Prime, it also turned out to be great. And now the creators of Jury Duty are back with a new installment, Jury Duty Presents Company Retreat.
The premise isn’t much different from season one: an unsuspecting “normie” is hired as a temp to assist a company’s HR rep with the running of an annual company retreat at an outdoor recreation camp. As with Jury Duty, the entire series hinges on the choice of the “normie” and somehow, they’ve managed to catch lightning in a bottle again. Anthony, our unsuspecting star, is the perfect choice. He has all the hallmarks of what makes someone successful in this type of series: he’s humble, he’s kind, he’s fun, he’s outgoing, and, most of all, he’s sees the best in people. Because Anthony is really put through his paces throughout the retreat as the “employees” of the family-owned and operated Rocking Grandma’s Hot Sauce are going through a bunch of changes over the course of this company outing.
While Anthony is the lynch pin to the entire series, of course nothing works if you don’t have a cast of actors capable of being just crazy enough to sell some of their more out there scenes while also seeming incredibly normal. We have Doug Sr., the retiring CEO who is wary that his chosen successor – he’s screw-up of a son, Dougie, Jr. – won’t be able to cut it when the time comes. And Dougie? Well, he’s definitely not managerial material but boy does he have a heart of gold even if he’s not the brightest bulb. There’s some inner-office romance. There’s a delightful receptionist who is trying to launch his own online snack reviewing channel (which he gets Anthony to dive into with gusto). And there’s the problem co-worker who used to have some serious personal problems but has now course corrected way too far in the other direction.*
*One of the most interesting parts of the series is when we get a behind the scenes look at just how much work went into the planning of the season. This season was much more complex that season one, creating an entire outdoor camp in addition to office spaces. But, perhaps even more impressive, the cast had to work extensively to rehearse the entire season – while also developing relationships with one another since some of their characters had been coworkers for decades. That’s not easy. But boy, do they all pull it off.
The conceit of this season works because, well, we’ve all had coworkers like these. And we’ve all heard stories about coworkers like these. And company retreats? They’re weird to begin with, so why wouldn’t this one be weird, too? You can understand why Anthony buys into the set-up. And you can also see why the “coworkers” absolutely fall in love with him. And him with them. We know that this is all fake. We understand that when Anthony is whisked away from the group to deal with a crisis, the rest of the cast is prepping for the next crisis. But what makes Company Retreat work is that we see the real relationships start forming between Anthony and his coworkers. We see how genuinely they begin to care about him. And we see just how good of a guy Anthony is.
These kinds of shows don’t work if your lead isn’t someone the audience can root for to NOT figure out the game they’re in. We want to see them play it out to the end, knowing how they will be rewarded handsomely for what they’ve gone through. We also don’t want to see them deal with situations that are too hard – and we never want them to become the butt of the joke. None of that happens here, so no worries. Company Retreat’s ultimate message is about just how good we can be to one another. About just how much we can help each other, should we earnestly want to try. It might be a bit hokey, but it’s a really lovely little series. And it’s pretty funny, too.
Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat premieres on Prime on March 20. All episodes were provide for review.
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