Prime Video's 'Jury Duty: Company Retreat' tricks one man into a fake workplace—and it's still comedy gold

The premise of Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat on Amazon Prime Video is teased as a scripted reality show. One person is unaware that everyone around them is an actor and that all the situations they’re in are fake. The actual mission of the show, now in its second iteration, is seemingly to find another good, caring individual who proves humanity isn’t all bad.

In season one, Ronald Gladden thought he was participating in a real jury trial. This time, Anthony Norman thinks he’s a temp worker, helping Rockin’ Grandma’s hot sauce put on a company retreat. It’s a completely new setting, with different characters and different scenarios, but the goal of the show remains the same. To offer lots of laughs while building towards revealing to Anthony that this has all been fake, and see how he reacts.

Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat is more like a comedy series than anything else

Being solely described as a hidden camera reality show is giving too much credit to fate. There is a huge team of people working on Company Retreat across all facets. It’s a legitimate comedy series that happens to have a guest role by a stand-in extra who doesn’t know that everything is make-believe.

It’s fair to pit Company Retreat up against any other sitcom or scripted comedy. And, with all the episodes for context, it fares well against the competition. It’s a bit wacky at times, but it’s also hilarious throughout.

As far as the new characters go, Kevin, the original Captain Fun, ratchets up the anxiety with his free-wheeling naivety. Dougie Jr. adds a dose of silliness. Other Anthony adds aloofness. Jimmy sprinkles in inappropriateness. And Claire adds genuine weirdness. Mixed altogether with the other characters, balancing those personalities out, the chemistry works well. At the top, CEO Doug Womack anchors the whole plot with his believability.

If you do have the taste of season one of Jury Duty still fresh, then be sure to give the new season a couple of episodes to acquaint you with this new group of people. By the third episode, they should feel very familiar.

Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat might be a hard sell to start

Starting over with new people in season two is the tough part. It’s probably the show’s biggest hurdle. In that regard, the show is a victim of its success. Because so many people have watched it, it had to alter how it operates. You can’t do the same jury duty setting again. That’s forced Company Retreat to become an anthology.

If you let Company Retreat do its thing, it creates lots of memorable moments. The Soft Launch episode is an instant classic as Dougie Jr. handles the client cookout and introduces a new product. Although most episodes don’t have as many wild and funny moments as the third episode, each provides a reason to keep watching.

However, Anthony is the real star of the show, in more ways than one. He’s up for the assignment, whatever it may be. And from all accounts, he has these people’s backs, even if the problems are all made up. He’s a worthy star worth rooting for.

Is Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat worth watching?

The original Jury Duty show struck gold that had been sprinkled with magic. It had a compelling hook, and then it pulled it off to perfection. It met the moment.

This second season has a different setting and new people, all of whom are trying to recapture magic. It’s a tough task for any show, let alone one that has an unsuspecting wild card. The first season stands alone as a pioneer, but Company Retreat is a worthy follow-up.

There’s still magic floating around the Jury Duty series, and Company Retreat offers a chance to revisit a nervous comedic energy. For all Prime Video subscribers, this is a must-watch show.