Ronit J

Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat Synopsis:

Anthony Norman believes he has been hired as a temporary worker at family-owned business “Rockin’ Grandma’s Hot Sauce” to help manage the annual company retreat. However, every participant besides Anthony is an actor.

Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat Review:

I ranked Jury Duty (2023) among my top 10 shows of 2024. While I was sceptical about a sequel season, I was intrigued to see how they’d recreate the charm of the first. Would they manage to retain the magic or would it fall flat? The idea of setting this season at a crazy company retreat was a stellar and fresh idea. But did it live up to my expectations?

Different Setting, Same Vibes

Everything you loved about Jury Duty returns with Company Retreat. The unsuspecting kind-hearted man who’s just trying to do his job. The group of quirky characters played by actors engaged in increasingly absurd and comical conflicts. Lightning rarely strikes the same place twice, but Jury Duty almost managed it with its sequel season. The idea of switching to a Company Retreat was a brilliant decision. As someone who has never been to a company retreat, I can’t comment enough. However, as someone who has worked in a company full of quirky individuals and seen absurd conflicts rise among coworkers and managers, this was an absolute delight to watch.

For the most part, the show retained its vibes and atmosphere beautifully. Anthony Norman was just as kind and positive as Ronald Gladden, and that made the show a charming watch. In fact, I’d even argue he showed more personality, which made him a more involved, more dynamic presence compared to Gladden. Of course, it’s also because Gladden was among a group of strangers, while Norman was expected to become part of an existing work-family.

The hilarious antics that played out around Anthony did leave me with mixed feelings. I appreciated the comedy, which realistically captures the dysfunctional chaos of a small business. However, there were moments that felt a little too staged. Almost like they were trying too hard to recreate the magic of the first season, and we were aware of that effort. It’s admirable that they were able to pull it off. But at times it felt too performative.

While I loved the familiar feels of the show, I did break out of the show’s immersion way too many times. From Anthony mentioning ‘you can’t make this up’ to the show constantly throwing wild conflicts his way for him to deal with, the show felt less like another experiment and more like a rehash.

How Authentic was Company Retreat?

Throughout Jury Duty’s first season, I kept wondering how much of this ‘documentary’ was real. It’s almost too good to believe that Ronald Gladden as such a good guy, but it’s that same charm that made the show so special. Company Retreat, however, made me wonder that through a more sceptical lens. Like I said, Anthony mentioned ‘show’ and ‘you can’t write this for TV’ and similar lines too frequently. Almost as if this was included to make Company Retreat a second-screen friendly watch. Additionally, the gags stretched my suspension of disbelief a little too much. Where Jury Duty was still believable, Company Retreat felt like a prank show just waiting to reveal its hidden cameras.

Not just that, having seen the behind the scenes of Jury Duty, the magic felt a little less authentic this time around. The overall setting changed to a small business’ retreat, but the equation was largely the same. In fact, I’d even argue that the job of a temp worker at a retreat had significantly less pressure and responsibilities than that of a Juror. In addition to that, the lack of a courthouse and other ‘official’ institutions, replaced instead with settings that are easily procurable for studios made Company Retreat feel much less impressive. The scale is bigger, but it also seemed easier to contain. I’m not saying it’s not authentic, I’m just saying it felt less real. At least to me.

Company Retreat was fun and charming. It was feel good at times. However, it wasn’t fresh or unique. Despite the change of setting, the gimmick felt done and dusted. I don’t know if I have it in me to watch a third iteration. Unless it ends up being something completely different.

Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat Ending Explained

Anthony and Dougie (Alex Bonifer) discover that Truikas is actually planning on laying off 90% of Rockin’ Grandma’s workforce. They intend to convert their pepper farms into residential properties. With the livelihoods of his newfound family at stake, Anthony helps Dougie convince Doug (Jerry Hauck) not to sign the deal. It falls through, and Rockin’ Grandma’s is saved. To celebrate, Doug thanks Anthony, proceeding to reveal the facade.

As expected, Company Retreat had a significantly larger space to shoot, with many more cameras (48 instead of 29) and hours of footage (3600 instead of 2100). The gimmicks, storylines, and conflicts were a lot more performative, requiring the production team to up their game. Because the Rockin’ Grandma’s team was a bunch of co-workers, as opposed to the jurors who meet for the first time at the courthouse, rehearsals and planning were key to make this facade convincing.

The final episode is essentially a behind-the-scenes look at the making of this season. A magical show honestly. Despite my scepticism of this season being authentic, I did enjoy seeing how they planned and captured all these tricky situations. In addition, Anthony even won a massive award of $150,000 for his participation.

Will there be a third season of Jury Duty?

Honestly, I hope not. Season 1 was outstanding. Season 2 was really good, but the gimmick already felt old. Unless Season 3 does something completely different, it’ll basically end up beating a dead horse. Or a horse that’s almost dead, I guess.

At the time of writing this post, it’s not renewed yet. We’ll find out at some point.

Is Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat Worth Watching?

Depends. The novelty of the original is clearly lacking, and the often meta-humour was a little distracting at times. Yet, I’d say this is worth a watch, especially if you want to just sit back and relax with a charming, feel-good show.

In Conclusion:

Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat is a charming watch that builds from its predecessor. While the novelty has worn off, the show still retains the heart that made it so good.

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• Invincible Season 4 | TV Review
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• Shrinking Season 3 | TV Review
• Island of the Dying Goddess

What did you think of Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat? Let me know in the comments below.

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