Season 2 of Jury Duty has made quite a splash with its release, and themed as it is around a company retreat, we had to chime in with a review of our own. Capturing the heart and soul of what it’s like to work with people and purpose that you care about, Jury Duty Season 2 manages to showcase the best of the workplace more than it does the worst, despite the bizarre scripted antics that might have many HR professionals clutching at their pearls.
Anthony Norman, the latest gem brought to the limelight by the new season of Jury Duty, unknowingly plays his role to perfection, not only taking his role as Captain Fun seriously, but also pulling out the big guns to show us how to care about the place and people you work with. This sometimes heartwarming, oftentimes awkward, social experiment may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it remains a stunning example of how building a business that cares for its people often leaves you with people who care right back.
An HR-themed review of Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat, the latest show to capture the absurdities that hang over the workplace and the people who take it in their stride. (Image: Jury Duty Presents Company Retreat – Official Trailer, Prime Video)
Jury Duty Presents Company Retreat: A Review For the “Heroes” Who Keep Our Workplaces Together
Company Retreat adopts the same structure as the first season of the show: one real individual who thinks they’re on a legitimate job, stuck with a cast of actors who are working off a script and setting up planned encounters to see just how the lead “hero” reacts and responds. Where the second season deviates from the first is that the setting of the jury is replaced by a company retreat of a family-run business. The new season also lacks the presence of James Marsden, but we’ll have to forgive the show for that detail.
The temporary worker, hired to ensure the experience goes as smoothly as possible, is privy only to the idea that a small-scale documentary is being filmed to mark the occasion. Rockin’ Grandma’s, the small family-run hot sauce business that Anthony Norman thinks he’s working for, presents us with a tight-knit family of long-term employees, and even knowing that they’re actors playing roles, it’s hard not to believe that these individuals are exactly who they’re cosplaying for a week.
From Jimmy Weber’s weirdly earnest attempts at committing to being woke in the workplace to Dougie Womack Jr.’s attempts at reformation to take over the family business, the cast of characters play their role so believably that Anthony is often left with no choice but to believe that their antics are real and not part of a script.
Why Some Workplaces Are Better than Others
We could center our review of Company Retreat on the technical details, script, or realism of the show, but we’d much rather talk about why the show worked so well, and why we love it when our TV takes us back to work. The Office, Abbott Elementary, Parks and Recreation, 30 Rock, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Severance, or even Scrubs, are at the heart of it all: workplace dramas and comedies that give us a glimpse of what it is like to spend our days with a mix of people we both love and hate. Some showcase just how bleak it is to be employed, but even those shows often drop by with a reminder of how good colleagues can make everything better.
The workers, occasionally, yearn for TV escapades that remind them of why they’re doing what they do, and sometimes, in comparison, how good they have it. Some might look at Company Retreat and wonder how anyone could have trusted that this was a real workplace; however, no one truly prepares you for the unusual daily occurrences that come with a 9-to-5. Sure, an impromptu wedding proposal isn’t everyday fare on the job, but considering how office romances tend to flourish both in and outside of the public eye, nothing that happens is beyond the realm of possibilities.
Jury Duty’s new season is easy to review because it truly captures how outlandish your daily work environment can be sometimes. Sitting through workshops with speakers who have little of relevance to offer? Check! Meeting colleagues who say outrageous things, but you just have to go with the flow? Check! Corporate collusions and takeovers from big businesses? Check! Australian singer, songwriter, and global sensation Sia showing up to the company retreat? That’s one we haven’t seen before, but we can only hope that our employers choose to spring such surprises on us, but preferably not as a prelude to layoffs.
Employees Bond over the Chaos of the Workplace, but Not Intentional Harm
The cast of Jury Duty Season 2 is what makes the show really work, and it’s to the credit of both the actors and the lone employee who shows us how to go with the flow. In the modern workplace, it’s rare to see employees actively spending time with each other. Between Teams meetings, ever-increasing workloads, and growing hostilities over differing beliefs, the workforce has become isolated in recent years, despite its desire to make lasting connections on the job.
With the small team at Rockin’ Grandma’s, it’s much easier to believe that these employees have learnt to live with each other and care for their colleagues outside of work. In bigger businesses, such relationships still exist, albeit on a much smaller scale. A company retreat is often the perfect scenario to build better connections at work, but it isn’t without its challenges. Unexpected, chaotic interruptions to planned schedules have always been a staple of such experiences, and the new season of Jury Duty shows us that this isn’t always a bad thing.
The chaos of the workplace can be a bonding experience for the workforce, but only when the drama is unintentional. Doug Womack, played by Jerry Hauck, is a leader who consistently tries to do what is best for his workers, always leading with a calm and collected attitude that fully convinces Anthony that this is a real operation, despite his doubts. Even Dougie Jr., despite being a “nepo” hire, ultimately showcases an earnestness to reshape the future of the business that makes it much easier for us to see his stumbles with his leadership as something to support rather than deny.
HR Violations Occur Everywhere; In Reality, Boundaries Matter
This is a TV show review, and Jury Duty: Company Retreat is made for television, so the exaggerated faux pas and dramatic incidents are more outlandish than what we’d typically see at work. In reality, more severe consequences are often attached to the incidents that come up ever so often, and it’s for good reason. Kevin, the HR representative, isn’t around for the large majority of what happens on the show, but the man certainly racks up his own violations despite his absence.
For the most part, it’s easy to laugh off the incidents on TV that have been exaggerated for laughs, but we’d be lying if we said that the crossing of boundaries of appropriate workplace behavior didn’t have us cringing every once in a while. What we can admit is that the new season of Jury Duty reminds us why it is extremely important to have an actual, experienced HR team at your organization to set some rules in place.
Sure, it may have employees calling them buzzkills for bringing order when the chaos feels so entertaining. But a legal notice for ignoring employee needs and allergies, and only serving seafood at the company lunch without a medical kit in sight, can have severe consequences in the long run. Let your HR teams plan the rules, regulations, and limits so the rest of the workforce can take a night off to go get hypnotized without any collateral damage. And just a reminder: Don’t do the Jamaican accent at work.
Anthony, an Employee Who Cares for the Sake of Caring, Makes “Company Retreat” the Show That It Is
The cast, crew, writers, and producers of Company Retreat deserve a standing ovation, as it is extremely difficult to pull off a prank of this scale successfully. What truly sells the show, however, is Anthony Norman, who fully embraces his role as an employee of this wacky company. Managing the mood, motivating his colleagues, stepping up when he’s asked to handle something, or breaking uncomfortable news with exceeding delicacy, Anthony reminds us about the importance of caring.
His big finale on the show stands out as one of the most iconic moments of television, where he doesn’t let his role as “only a temp” stop him from saying what needs to be said. While we all know that the stakes are low and the red-headed legion isn’t about to crush his organization into the dust, he doesn’t. And so, he persists. The conclusion to season 2 of Jury Duty had us wondering if his entire role was just as scripted, but we do believe that there are people out there with such spirit and dedication to their jobs.
Such employees do exist, and organizations that learn to value them can see great results from ensuring that they remain as enthusiastic about their jobs. Anthony’s passion for the business didn’t arise in a vacuum but was a direct result of his care for the company and the people who make it what it is. Such strong emotions can only grow when a business creates the right conditions for them.
Final Review: Is Season 2 of Jury Duty Presents Company Retreat Good?
A resounding yes! This latest edition of Jury Duty makes for a quick watch and will likely appeal to those with a slightly awkward and off-kilter sense of humor. An in-depth analysis of Jury Duty: Company Retreat may ultimately bring out some limitations and areas where the show could have been pushed a step further. For the most part, it makes for a perfectly enjoyable watching experience, whether or not you’ve ever had the pleasure of attending a company retreat yourself.
Most reviews of Company Retreat show just how positively impactful the new season has been, bringing Ronald Gladden, star of the first season, back onto the stage as a reminder of the humble humanity that started it all. The success of the show has us hoping for a third season, but this will be much harder to pull off, considering how a documentary crew in an unusual setting will always evoke suspicion now. We’ll likely never see Jury Duty return to a work environment again, but one company retreat can sometimes be enough to last a lifetime.
Give us your reviews of the Company Retreat in the comments! Is season 2 of Jury Duty worth watching? Tell us what you think. Subscribe to The HR Digest for more insights into what makes a workplace tick, and the occasional detours into what makes it break into a jig as well.
