After Jury Duty became one of the best feel-good shows in 2023, naturally, a second season had to come into play. While Ronald Gladden was the “hero” of the first season who unknowingly participated in a staged jury, Anthony Norman is the star of the second season, which dropped on the 2026 TV schedule, and he wound up on a fake company retreat. Now that the new season is out, Gladden got real about why Norman is “a better version” of him, and I see where he’s coming from.
Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat reminds me of a show similar to The Office, where zany employees commit all of these hijinks while on the clock. However, a TV crew hid “in trees and trash and trucks” to film its second season unbeknownst to Anthony Norman, who commands the series as a temporary worker managing the retreat. Ronald Gladden, who was in Norman’s shoes last season, spoke on ET about feeling that Season 2's star is “a better version” of him. Here’s why:
I think Anthony is a better version of me, if you will. He was 25 when they filmed this. I was 29. If I would have been cast, or sorry, if they would have advertised it when I was 25, I would have never been cast when I was his age. He is light-years ahead of where I was. I needed more time to mature and grow up. And so to see him in that position, making those decisions at 25 is beautiful to see.
Ronald Gladden's point makes a lot of sense. Considering Anthony Norman was unknowingly part of a staged, filmed scenario at an even younger age than Gladden, it highlights the pressure he was under at an earlier stage of his life. After being pushed into the “Captain Fun” role once the company’s boss left after his public proposal went wrong, Norman was in charge of the retreat’s decision-making and morale that continuously escalated into absurd corporate crises.
Article continues belowGladden was in a leadership role himself in the first season of Jury Duty, trying to encourage the whole jury to reach a verdict. However, I do have to agree that I'm extremely impressed with how the 25-year-old handled his corporate retreat, seeing as he was thrust into a supervising position and expected to hold everything together.
The first season of Jury Duty was truly life-changing for Ronald Gladden. After the non-actor was shown as a kind, heartfelt guy who handled every bizarre situation with empathy and patience, fans were actually thirsting for him online. Considering Gladden approached everything with good humor, even during the big reveal, it’s impossible not to love him.
Amazon MGM Studios surely loved Ronald Gladden, too, as they presented the hoax series star with a two-year contract for him to produce, star, and develop content for the studio. With Anthony Norman being just as lovable, I can’t wait to find out how his life will change from the series too.
As Anthony Norman was hilariously in a management position for a company retreat that turned out to be fake, I understand why Ronald Gladden would feel he’s “a better version” of him, having to do all of that at 25. Ultimately, Gladden and Norman are both “heroes” for rising to unexpected responsibility with grace and allowing their best personality traits to come through on the series. You can watch Jury Duty as well as Company Retreat with an Amazon Prime subscription.
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