Lee Eisenberg Does It Again
The Hollywood writer-producer had his best year yet, with two wildly different hit shows. He has no intention of taking a break.
It isnāt as though Lee Eisenberg ā99 was unfamiliar with success before 2023. He was already penning episodes of arguably the most influential U.S. sitcom of the past two decades, The Office, at 28 years old. Before 2023, he had won a Writers Guild Award and scored six Emmy nominations. He produced and co-wrote, alongside frequent collaborator Gene Stupnitsky, the hit Cameron Diaz film Bad Teacher, which made more than 10 times its budget at the box office. In other words, he had already drunk of the cup of success.
Still, itās impossible not to look at 2023 as a banner year for the writer-producer.
His headline-grabbing project, Jury Duty, followed everyman Ronald Gladden as he attempted to perform his civic duty as jury foreman of a civil case. Or at least, thatās what he thought was going on. For everyone elseāthe attorneys, the witnesses, the judge, even the fellow jurorsāincluding actor James Marsden playing an especially self-involved version of himselfāthe series was an intensive exercise in long-form improv. Thatās because there was no true case, no real trial. Gladden thought he was just one person in a documentary about serving on a jury. Everyone else knew they were putting on quite the high-wire comedy act.
While not unprecedentedā2003ās The Joe Schmo similarly surrounded one unaware man with performers in on the hoaxāJury Duty took the structure further with more dexterity and considerably more laughs. Gladden was an immediate standout, a genuinely decent guy who navigated an increasingly bizarre situation with empathy, intelligence and an impressive level of unflappability. The show debuted in April on Amazonās Freevee streaming platform, to little fanfare at first. But word of mouthāor, perhaps more accurately, word on TikTokāspread quickly, and the show became the surprise hit of the year, racking up considerable critical huzzahs and award nominations. To date, it has converted those noms to wins for Best Supporting Actor in a Streaming Series, Comedy for Marsden from the Hollywood Critics Association; Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series from the Independent Spirit Awards; and Television Program of the Year from the American Film Institute.
āI thinkāI think none of us couldāve expected it,ā Eisenberg confesses.
Despite the seriesā reliance on improvisation, Jury Duty did not happen overnight.
āWeāGene and Iāhad been kicking around ideas for something like Jury Duty for a while,ā Eisenberg says. āWe really wanted to do something in the spirit of The Office, you know, a big ensemble comedy in a very familiar environment.
