Jury Duty Producers Pull Off Elaborate Ruse for 'Company Retreat' Season

How the team recruited Sia, a minor-league baseball team, and a real hot-sauce company to create an immersive experience for their unsuspecting star.

Apr. 7, 2026 at 1:21pm

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An abstract close-up image of shattered glass and glittering sequins, captured in dramatic high-contrast lighting to convey the conceptual idea of the entertainment industry's blend of glamour and artifice.The elaborate ruse of 'Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat' exposes the glitz and grit behind the scenes of immersive entertainment.Today in Nashville

The producers of the documentary-style comedy series Jury Duty have expanded the scale and ambition of their elaborate experiment for the second season, titled Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat. The new season centers on 25-year-old Anthony Norman, a young father from Nashville, Tennessee, who takes a temporary assistant job at the family-owned hot-sauce company Rockin' Grandma's during its annual offsite retreat in Oak Canyon, California. Over eight episodes, Anthony navigates increasingly absurd scenarios as the writers carefully orchestrate the ruse around him, ultimately revealing the truth in an emotional finale.

Why it matters

Jury Duty has drawn skepticism from some viewers who believe the 'unsuspecting participant' must be in on the game, but the producers insist the actors rehearse for weeks and are fully committed to their roles, delivering a live theater performance that captures genuine reactions. The success of the second season, with its warmer tone and higher stakes, proves the team's ability to pull off an even grander experiment and lure the hero into a deeper relationship with the eccentric characters around him.

The details

To build the world of Rockin' Grandma's, the producers planted digital breadcrumbs months in advance so the company would have a convincing online presence. They also recruited real brands, including the hot-sauce manufacturer Dave's Gourmet, and even sold the Rockin' Grandma's hot sauce exclusively on Amazon. The writers carefully scripted 20 hours of Anthony's life beyond what appears on screen, establishing a sense of normalcy with seminars and team-building exercises to set up the absurd moments. Keeping Anthony in the dark was a delicate dance, with the cast using a secret language of gestures and code words to receive real-time direction from the control room.

  • Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat premiered in March 2026, three years after the first season.
  • The talent show sequence featuring singer Sia was filmed in early 2026.

The players

David Bernad

The producer of Jury Duty who is adamant that the show's elaborate experiments are not staged.

Anthony King

An executive producer on Jury Duty who was initially nervous about finding a new 'unsuspecting participant' to follow after the success of the first season.

Jake Szymanski

An executive producer and director on Jury Duty who, along with King, did not meet the new star Anthony Norman in person until the emotional reveal in the season finale.

Anthony Norman

The 25-year-old father from Nashville, Tennessee, who is the unsuspecting star of Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat.

Sia

The Grammy-winning singer who makes a cameo appearance in the company talent show, playing a fictionalized version of herself.

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What they’re saying

“These actors rehearse for weeks upon weeks, and they're fully committed. They're doing a live theater performance.”

— David Bernad, Producer

“I'm really proud of where the season goes. Especially that last episode — you just can't fake that. Truth is always stranger than fiction.”

— David Bernad, Producer

“It's basically a very elaborate escape room, where the hero is navigating the storytelling of the situation.”

— David Bernad, Producer

“We're trying to lure Anthony into a very different relationship than Ronald had with the cast. If you show up for a job and the people around you are lunatics, you're going to think, Get me out of here. We had to make sure it wasn't a dysfunctional workplace.”

— Anthony King, Executive Producer

“It's like, 'You don't know who I am, but I'm a huge fan.'”

— Jake Szymanski, Executive Producer and Director

What’s next

The producers are already planning a third season of Jury Duty, though the details have not been announced.

The takeaway

Jury Duty has proven that carefully orchestrated, immersive experiences can create genuine, emotional reactions from unsuspecting participants, blurring the line between reality and fiction in a way that captivates audiences. The success of the second season's ambitious experiment demonstrates the team's commitment to pushing the boundaries of what is possible in documentary-style comedy.