re: Jury Duty (the show) on Prime is a must watch

I have to put this back on my list. I only made it about 10 minutes and shut it down, I clearly didn't give it enough time.

Just finished it. Fantastic show. Hilarious and wholesome

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have to put this back on my list. I only made it about 10 minutes and shut it down, I clearly didn't give it enough time.

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Must revisit

Am I the only one who hated the whole “office” theme to it?

Like, the individual interviews with the cast members speaking to the camera whilst still in character felt so stupid to me.

Fwiw, overall I thought it was really funny, but this has already been done before. Total rip-off of the Joe Schmo show.

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Am I the only one who hated the whole “office” theme to it?

Like, the individual interviews with the cast members speaking to the camera whilst still in character felt so stupid to me.

Fwiw, overall I thought it was really funny, but this has already been done before. Total rip-off of the Joe Schmo show.

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I would say you actually already pointed out the primary distinction between this one and the Joe Schmo show.

In Joe Schmo the talking heads (note, just having talking heads is not an "office" theme. The talking head conceit is more reflective of reality television and the Office using them - along with numerous single cam comedies in the aughts - would actually be those shows trying to reflect a reality TV theme) were done out of character by all the actors. They commented on the logistics of the prank, how they were viewing Matt's situation and added color to the Joe Schmo show itself, as opposed to underlying fake reality show, "The Lap of Luxury."

In Jury Duty, the actors - as you noted - are all in character. It's a huge distinction between the two shows as it changes the entire structure of what the viewer is being told to experience. Not until the final episode do we get to see the actors break character and discuss the true reality of the situation.

I actually like the Joe Schmo approach more because I find it fascinating to see how they pulled off such an elaborate hoax and to see the times where it might have failed. It's why I find the last episode of Jury Duty to be worth the entire lead up (and by far my favorite episode of the show). Once you get to see how much work the actors put into their performances, it really shapes my appreciation for what the show accomplished. By presenting the entire show as an in character documentary, I actually think the show minimizes how impressive it was.

I did originally agree with you about thinking the in character interviews were just dumb; but after watching the performances of some of the actors (Marsden at the forefront but also the actors who played Noah, Jeannie, the Judge and Todd), I just went with it because they were doing some really great comedic work.

In conclusion, I think most television is derivative to some degree of a work that came before it. And that's perfectly fine. Part of art is evolving or taking elements from past works and putting a spin on it. In Jury Duty, I would view it as a spiritual successor to the Joe Schmo with enough new to justify it's creation and existence. Not a "total rip-off."