Jury Duty’s Ronald Gladden Signs Overall Deal With Amazon

This year featured a lot of surprises when it came to quality television, and one experiment in particular blew audiences away. Amazon’s Freevee released Jury Duty back in April, and the scripted “reality” series followed a group of actors pretending to be a part of a courtroom trial while one unsuspecting man named Ronald Gladden was led to believe the entire thing was real. Gladden was put in some awkward situations throughout the series and even befriended fellow “jury member” James Marsden. America quickly fell in love with Gladden, so fans will be excited to learn that his TV days aren’t over. According to Variety, Gladden has struck an overall deal with Amazon MGM Studios. The two-year deal will see Gladden working with the studio to produce, develop, and star in various projects. 

“Words cannot express how excited I am to officially be a part of the Amazon family,” Gladden shared. “Jury Duty was a remarkable experience for me, and one that introduced me to so many creative and inspiring people. I’m now looking forward to utilizing those new relationships to develop projects for Amazon MGM Studios.”

Before becoming the star of Jury Duty, Gladden worked as a solar contractor in San Diego. 

“At the heart of Jury Duty was a story about the power of human kindness, selflessness, and empathy,” Lauren Anderson, head of AVOD, unscripted and targeted programming for Amazon MGM Studios, said in a statement. “Ronald exemplified this in his ability to genuinely connect with everyone around him, no matter their background, celebrity, or idiosyncrasies. We’re excited to collaborate with Ronald and create more opportunities to bring joy, positivity, and inspiration to Amazon customers.”

What Would Have Happened If Ronald Gladden Had Figured Out The Jury Duty Twist: 

As the events of Jury Duty continued to unfold, the producers had to consider what would happen to the show if Gladden discovered he was actually the subject. While speaking to Collider, showrunner Cody Heller revealed that there was a plan in place for Gladden to turn the tables on the cast. 

“There were several things that we floated around,” Heller said. “There was one version that Nick Hatton, one of the amazing executive producers came up with, which was, if Ronald [Gladden] found out, we would pull him aside and turn the tables and be like, ‘Look, okay, you’re right. This is what it is. Can you play along, and now we’re gonna turn it onto the actors?’ It was just constantly evolving and fluid and we had to be open to making changes constantly throughout the whole process. That’s what made it so exciting.”

Are you excited Ronald Gladden will be returning to TV? Tell us in the comments!