2 days ago
When Anthony Norman, nan unwitting prima of Prime Video’s Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat, took a temp occupation pinch a basking condiment company, he had nary thought what he was getting into. He thought he would beryllium assisting family-owned Rockin’ Grandma’s put connected a weeklong institution retreat successful Southern California.
“I thought… I conscionable needed to show up and thief them successful immoderate measurement that they needed maine to,” nan young begetter from Nashville, TN explained. “Just pinch my schedule pinch my son, I’ve ever looked for jobs that I could conscionable make work, and it seemed for illustration a bully opportunity for maine to jump on.”
Unbeknownst to him, Norman had been formed successful nan 2nd play of nan breakout deed Jury Duty, a show premised connected nan conception of inserting an unsuspecting personification into a concocted business and past watching them respond to progressively absurd and hilarious developments. In Season 1, nan mean feline was Ronald Gladden, summoned for purported assemblage work while not realizing his chap jurors successful truth were actors. In Season 2, producers came up pinch a much analyzable script wherever actors had to dress to beryllium longtime Rockin’ Grandma’s co-workers.
Norman was speaking astatine Deadline Studio astatine Prime Experience, wherever he was joined by nan creatives down nan bid for a sheet discussion. Watch nan speech and scroll down for photos from nan event.
“The barroom for america from Season 1 of Jury Duty to Company Retreat, we wanted to raise it for ourselves,” show co-creator and executive shaper Lee Eisenberg said. “I don’t cognize why we decided to do that, but we decided. And successful Jury Duty, it’s a group of strangers that travel together. In Company Retreat, we request to create backstories. And truthful past astatine immoderate constituent if Anthony said, ‘Oh, truthful really agelong person you been here? Oh, did you get promoted complete this person?’ aliases immoderate it is, each of that needs to beryllium successful nan slope for nan actors.”
The show hinges connected uncovering an mean personification who, plunged into a group of group he’s ne'er met before, doesn’t cull them arsenic weird aliases objectionable but embraces them astatine immoderate basal quality level. Executive producers recovered their “hero” (as they telephone their protagonist) successful Anthony.
Nicholas Hatton, Jake Szymanski, Lee Eisenberg, Todd Schulman and Anthony Norman astatine Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat astatine Deadline Studio astatine Prime Experience held astatine The Aster connected May 03, 2026, successful Los Angeles
Anthony Avellano for Deadline
Anthony Norman astatine Prime Experience held astatine The Aster connected May 03, 2026 successful Los Angeles
Anthony Avellano for Deadline
Jerry Hauck and Alex Bonifer astatine Deadline Studio astatine Prime Experience held astatine The Aster connected May 03, 2026 successful Los Angeles
Anthony Avellano for Deadline
Lanisa Renee Frederick astatine Deadline Studio astatine Prime Experience held astatine The Aster connected May 03, 2026 successful Los Angeles
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Christopher Kula, Wendy Braun and Rachel Hein astatine Prime Experience held astatine The Aster connected May 03, 2026 successful Los Angeles
Anthony Avellano for Deadline
Rob Lathan astatine Deadline Studio astatine Prime Experience held astatine The Aster connected May 03, 2026, successful Los Angeles
Anthony Avellano for Deadline
Emily Pendergast astatine Deadline Studio astatine Prime Experience held astatine The Aster connected May 03, 2026 successful Los Angeles
Anthony Avellano for Deadline
Marc-Sully Saint-Fleur astatine Deadline Studio astatine Prime Experience held astatine The Aster connected May 03, 2026 successful Los Angeles
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Erica Hernandez astatine Deadline Studio astatine Prime Experience held astatine The Aster connected May 03, 2026 successful Los Angeles
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Stephanie Hodge astatine Deadline Studio astatine Prime Experience held astatine The Aster connected May 03, 2026 successful Los Angeles
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Rachel Kaly astatine Deadline Studio astatine Prime Experience held astatine The Aster connected May 03, 2026 successful Los Angeles
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Jim Woods astatine Deadline Studio astatine Prime Experience held astatine The Aster connected May 03, 2026 successful Los Angeles
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Blair Beeken astatine Deadline Studio astatine Prime Experience held astatine The Aster connected May 03, 2026 successful Los Angeles
Anthony Avellano for Deadline
“I don’t deliberation we knew, but we hoped” Norman would fresh nan bill, executive shaper Todd Schulman said. “We do a beautiful thorough benignant of inheritance process successful position of getting to cognize Anthony and interviewing him aggregate times. And location was conscionable thing astir Anthony that I deliberation we each collectively felt. We wanted to get personification who captured America nan measurement Ronald did [in Season 1] but was their ain person. And arsenic we sewage to cognize Anthony done these interviews, we were each conscionable drawn to him, I think, and felt for illustration this feline is personification that hopefully is going to correspond what we each would dream we do successful a business for illustration nan 1 he’s presented pinch successful Company Retreat.”
The expected caput of HR, “Kevin” (played by Ryan Perez) quits nan institution retreat successful nan first section aft committing an embarrassing faux pas, leaving Anthony successful complaint arsenic “Captain Fun,” starring nan retreat’s societal activities. Remarkably, that abrupt promotion didn’t shape Norman.
“I deliberation a batch of it had to do pinch really welcoming they [the expected employees] were pinch maine and past taking connected nan domiciled of Captain Fun was very, very small,” Norman said. “If that was my occupation each day, I would emotion my job.”
Anthony was told up of clip location would beryllium a fewer cameras around, though he had nary thought what was genuinely going connected down nan scenes.
“Anthony only saw a unit of astir 5 group that he thought was moving this very low-budget documentary that would astir apt not extremity up anywhere,” director/executive shaper Jake Szymanski noted. “And we person astir 85 group hidden from him.”
“There’s thing vulnerable astir nan show,” Eisenberg observed, “because astatine immoderate infinitesimal it could get surgery because your main characteristic doesn’t cognize that they’re successful that show.”
Seeing a personification respond pinch kindness and not ridicule – that’s extremist astatine a clip erstwhile American nine seems racked pinch section and societal media encourages nationalist disapproval and vitriol.
“It’s a ceremony of communal decency, not unsocial decency,” executive shaper Nicholas Hatton says of nan show. “Social media, it’s built connected division, it’s built connected nan polarization, that’s really they make their money. And ultimately, if you interact pinch group successful your day-to-day life crossed communities crossed America, astir group are decent to each other. We conscionable don’t spot that, and it’s not pushed connected america arsenic much. And this was benignant of our creator benignant of publication to that conversation.”
Eisenberg added, “I deliberation some pinch Anthony and Ronald, they’re awesome guys and they bring group together, they’re welcoming, they’re accepting. And I deliberation that’s a affirmative point to person retired location correct now.”
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