📺 Watched Jury Duty.

Caved into the show that almost every American I know seems to be talking about. It’s a reality gambit where they follow a guy who believes he’s taking part in a documentary about how the US judicial system works from the point of view of being in the jury.

Only of course everyone else he encounters - the fellow jurists, the bailiffs, the judge, the complainant, defendant and their litigators - really everyone - are actors and the case is entirely fictional.

Of course semi-scripted hijinks ensue and we get to wonder if and at what point we might ever have realised what’s going on had we been selected.

On the surface it seems like in Ronald Gladden they’ve found the most amiable, well meaning, diligent and balanced person out there for their mark. Someone who might actually be able to handle every facet of his dutiful existence for a few weeks turning out to be entirely fake, a real life Truman Show.

Fervently hoping he won’t end up being a milkshake duck. And that the camera crews come back if he ever gets selected for jury duty for real. What would it take to convince him this time it’s for real?

Oh - beware this paragraph might be a bit spoilery - but I felt compelled to check and it turns out that the practice of soaking isn’t something the show invented. it’s (probably) real courtesy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints amongst other venerable institutions . And they did have a plan for if Ronald was a bit more enthusiastic about it.