‘Jury Duty’ Emmy Nominations Revealed, Ronald Gladden Reacts

The sensational reality series Jury Duty is nominated for four Emmy Awards this year, and its star Ronald Gladden is keeping it in perspective. Gladden was the only person who did not know that he was on a TV show during the filming of Jury Duty, which premiered back in April on Prime Video and Freevee. Now Gladden is Emmy-nominated for performances when he didn’t even know he was on camera.

The Television Academy announced the 2023 Emmy nominations on Wednesday and Jury Duty got four of them – Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series, Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. After the news broke, Gladden made a post on his Instagram page, saying: “This is probably the craziest sentence I’ve ever said. I’m part of a TV show that’s nominated for an Emmy because I answered a Craigslist ad.”

Gladden answered an ad asking for people in the L.A. area to be subjects in a documentary about jury duty, believing he might be in some kind of educational program. Instead, the entire case was staged and everyone around him was an actor, including the judge, the claimant, the defendant, the attorneys and his fellow jurors. The show is about Gladden dealing with increasingly absurd scenarios until he is finally asked to render a verdict, at which point he learns the truth.

The nomination for supporting actor goes to actor James Marsden, who played a fictionalized version of himself on the show. The nomination for writing goes to Mekki Leeper for the episode “Ineffective Assistance.” In addition to being a writer, Leeper was one of the stars of the show, playing the awkward juror Noah Price.

Gladden became the heart and soul of the show for his patience and kindness – even when he didn’t know that cameras were rolling. In his normal day-to-day life, he works as a solar contractor. Since the show debuted he has become a social media star and a beloved public figure for many fans. He documents his continued friendship with the cast and crew of the TV show on social media.

The Primetime Emmy Awards will be handed out on Sept. 18, 2023. In the meantime, you can watch Jury Duty on the Freevee streaming app for free with ads, or on Prime Video for an ad-free experience.