SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat Episode 1.

The Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat premiere is a wild ride almost from the start. Season 2 of Jury Duty begins with “Onboarding,” but it ends with a plot twist that could’ve been in the middle of Jury Duty Season 1. The creative team are pushing the boat out a little further the second time around—so thankfully they’ve got a star who’s obviously game for an adventure.

The non-actor (or “hero”) in Company Retreat is Anthony Norman, a 25-year-old from Tennessee who thinks he’s working as a human resources temp at Rockin Grandma’s Hot Sauce to help out as the company goes through a transition period. Fans are naturally going to compare Anthony to Ronald Gladden, because Ronald being such a chill and encouraging guy is the biggest reason that Jury Duty was a huge success. Good news: Anthony is also a chill and kindhearted guy whom viewers will immediately root for. What makes him different is that he seems to have a little chaotic good in him.

Jury Duty built more slowly, and there were times when Ronald almost undersold himself, such as when he didn’t want to be foreperson of the jury. Part of that tonal shift also has to do with the premise: a court case is inherently more serious and carries more consequences than a small-business retreat. With Company Retreat, it’s clear that the show can play a little more fast and loose, and Anthony is quickly an active participant in the madness. When he learns that his new boss Kevin is planning a marriage proposal, Anthony encourages him to overcome his fear of proposing in public and is willing to help him with the big event—despite just meeting the guy. (If Jury Duty has done anything, it’s restored our faith in the human race in the most hilarious way possible.)

The creative team have surrounded Anthony with a cast of characters that’s likewise a little more broad than the ensemble in Jury Duty. The audience can more easily slot them into character types than the first cast, such as the company founder’s ne’er do well son, Doug Womack Jr., better known as Dougie. Everybody knows Dougie (Alex Bonifer) is going to be a well-intentioned but bumbling party guy. That doesn’t stop the jokes from being funny; it’s revealed early on that Dougie left school to join a rock band in Jamaica—and then got kicked out of the band. Even better than that is Jackie (played by LaNisa Renee Frederick) cutting Dougie off when he tries to do his Jamaican impression. She knows it’s not going to go well. Jackie is one of the characters who pops immediately, because of that reflexive sassiness but also because people can understand when she says she loves her kids, yet just needs “a week away from Cocomelon.”

What’s interesting is that one of the best characters is only tangentially related to the company. Blair Beeken plays Marjorie, who works at Oak Canyon Ranch, where the retreat is being held. From her first scene “Onboarding” makes clear that Marjorie has seen some things and doesn’t like any of them. She takes several shots at the group of Malibu realtors who were there before the Rockin’ Grandma’s crew, which naturally just makes viewers want to know more about that disaster.

“Onboarding” is focused on Anthony meeting the team and getting to the ranch, however, and for a first episode it contains several big plot pieces. The writers are not easing the audience into the story at all, perhaps because they’re figuring that anyone watching this season saw Jury Duty and is thus already aware of how the game is played. Kevin throws a birthday party at the office for Amy Patterson, whom viewers assume is his girlfriend. There’s the mention of a Rockin’ Grandma’s time capsule, which is obviously going to come into play later.

Then there’s Kevin’s proposal, which takes a weird turn when everyone learns Kevin and Amy weren’t dating. In fact, they’ve never been romantically involved. It’s awkward and actually sad as Kevin explains that he’s proposing because they’re both still single. He genuinely wants to be happy—but he’s also so very overreaching. And a broken-hearted Kevin leaving the retreat (and leaving Anthony holding the proverbial bag) is something far bigger than the audience would expect from a first episode. In Jury Duty, Ronald didn’t get the added responsibility of being foreperson until Episode 3. But in Company Retreat, the big bombshell happens right away.

“Onboarding” is a fast and energetic introduction to the world of Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat. There’s no waiting room of people filling out forms. Everything happens at a brisk pace, and it helps that Anthony is so excited to be there, which makes the audience even more interested in how he’s going to react to what comes next. The episode proves that Jury Duty Season 2 is going to be even wilder than Season 1, but it’s also not going to sacrifice any of the charming elements that Prime Video fans know and love.

Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat streams Fridays on Prime Video. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Prime Video.

Article content is (c)2020-2026 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.