JURY DUTY-Courtroom Comedy "Reality" Series that Spoofs Jury Duty

A trial by our peers is a pillar of our democracy.  Jury service is a high duty of citizenship.  But, like me, most people hope to dodge jury service.  The new Amazon comedy series, "Jury Duty" is a spoof on jury service with an arresting premise; everyone is an actor except for one person who doesn't realize that everyone besides him, is an actor and the entire situation is staged.  Ronald Gladden is the sole non-actor serving time in a real court room in Los Angeles county and being punked.  Gladden is interested in experiencing the workings of being on a jury and gung-ho to be part of a documentary being made chronicling the inner workings of an American jury trial.  Assuming this is the actual premise, and Gladden is clueless to the farcical set-up, the first episode was hilarious and outrageously clever having pulled off a fraudulent courtroom assemblage of actors and scenarios.  I'm not sure how Gladden is duped into the chicanery or if the audience is all being duped, but go with it for a rollicking ride that is gut wrenchingly funny.  The judge and bailiff are perfect in their no-nonsense roles as are the prosecutor and defending attorneys.  The civil suit itself wears thin; a woman is suing a former co-worker for $1.8 million not $2,400 as the bumbling defense attorney flagrantly misinforms the court, and is admonished by the presiding judge.  The only recognizable actor you may know is handsome leading man, James Marsden.  Marsden, is a main reason the courtroom shenanigans are so much fun to watch.  Marsden plays himself contending he's a major star that should be excused from duty because his celebrity is likely to cause disruption.  The fact that Marsden is not recognized by Gladden or the judge makes his self-mockery ingratiatingly humorous.  On the first day of jury selection, several people explained to the judge their reasons for not being able to be jurors.  One elderly woman told the judge, "It's just not my thing."  The judge accepted this excuse and she was dismissed giving others in the juror pool reason to hope they too may get dismissed.  One young man wanting out of service to get away with his girlfriend asked for suggestions and was jokingly told to claim being a racist.  This didn't sit well in the courtroom and failed to get him removed but elicited snickers and angry glares.  Marsden's plan to stage paparazzi at the courthouse to get excused, backfires horribly.  The judge orders the jurors (Marsden included) to be sequestered.  The show is  a mock/doc by producers who made "The Office" and there is a similar zany appeal with a motley mix of likable, quirky characters.  The verdict is in on episode one, guilty on all counts of breaking new ground in comedy. The verdict is still out whether the show can maintain this level of first degree comedy.