Audiences were surprised by Jury Duty back in 2023, with the feel-good hoax show surrounding one man — Ronald Gladden — with actors including James Marsden as members of a fake jury. If you thought that was the kind of show that could only work once, think again, because Jury Duty Season 2 is taking us on a Corporate Retreat. Critics have seen the series — streaming with a Prime Video subscription — and they’re saying that lightning has, indeed, struck twice.
Jury Duty: Corporate Retreat is very much like The Office, in the way that cameras follow around a cast of pretty unique characters. Everybody’s in on the gag except for Anthony Norman, the newest employee of Rockin’ Grandma’s Hot Sauce. Aramide Tinubu of Variety calls it “hilarious, preposterous and absolutely joyous,” in large part thanks to Anthony, who is “truly the heart of the season.” The critic says:
Though Anthony is completely oblivious about this being a farce, he’s never the butt of the joke. Instead, he goes out of his way to ensure that each person he encounters (except Elizabeth) feels welcome and seen. His intelligence, care and curiosity are something rarely seen on unscripted television, and it’s the reason why this truly distinct franchise continues to flourish even in Season 2.
Clint Worthington of RogerEbert says what Company Retreat achieves is “nothing short of miraculous,” honing in on what made Season 1 work so well and adding a civilian mark who takes a more active role in what’s happening around him. Worthington writes:
Article continues belowCompany Retreat actually manages to make Anthony feel like a protagonist rather than a straight-man outsider. Anthony takes charge, invests deeply in the constructed characters around him, and unwittingly makes himself an integral part of this fake company. He rolls with every curveball the show throws at him, whether it’s a frenzied room-search for a box of stolen Cool Ranch Doritos or a climactic race to stop Doug from signing his company away. (Late in the show, he delivers a rousing speech to save the business that, ironically, you could NOT write. It’s enough to drive you to tears.)
Nadira Goffe of Slate disagrees slightly that Corporate Retreat is able to capture the same magic as Jury Duty Season 1, but the critic says it’s still funnier than most other comedies out there. Goffe continues:
Fortunately, the show remains hilarious, with tons of comedic gags, like a bonkers talent show and a series of educational seminars that are anything but. And that’s to say nothing of the eccentric characters Anthony must befriend. … But what makes the season so successful is the same thing that made Season 1 an unexpected delight: finding the right hero. Like Ronald before him, Anthony is a gem. He’s inspiring and supportive, curt and protective when he needs to be, and helpful all the way through.
Belen Edwards of Mashable says Anthony Norman is the perfect audience stand-in, both because he becomes invested in the fate of Rockin’ Grandma’s and because he can’t help but laugh at what’s going on around him. “Rarely have I laughed harder at someone laughing,” Edwards writes, continuing:
The entire cast delivers memorable moments, with a workplace ensemble akin to the oddballs of The Office. So much of the fun of this season is witnessing them commit so fully to their roles over the course of a week. It's truly an Olympic feat of comedy. … Like the cast, Anthony commits hard — not to the performance, since he's unaware this is all fake, but to Rockin' Grandma's itself. Even though he's only been working there for a few days, he's fully ready to do whatever it takes to uphold the ‘family’ at the heart of the business.
Hunter Ingram of AV Club gives the second season an A-, saying the creators probably should have quit while they were ahead after Season 1, but thankfully, they didn’t. Ingram agrees that Anthony is the perfect casting choice, writing:
It’s Anthony who is the real find here. Instinctively, he does what most people hope they would in a situation where things just seem a little too weird to be true. He has the patience to stick it out. With a smile and genuine curiosity for how he can help people, Anthony is so naturally charismatic that he carries the audience through each bit. You worry for him as much as he worries for everyone around him, even though he only met them a few days ago.
The sophomore effort of this good-natured prank show premiered to a 100% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, so it’s not just the critics above who are loving how Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky have made lightning strike twice, If you want to watch Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat, the first three episodes can be streamed now on Prime Video, with new drops coming over the next two Fridays.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.