Jury Duty’s Ronald isn’t an actor — but should the Emmys make him one?

Is it possible to be an actor? Best Buy actor if they don’t know they’re acting? That’s the conundrum at the heart of Jury Duty’s Emmy push. FreeVee, Amazon’s free, ad-supported streaming service, has submitted the mockumentary sitcom’s first season for several Emmy comedy categories, including acting, writing, and directing.

But the looming question reportedly being considered by the Television Academy is whether Ronald Gladden — the solar contractor from San Diego unaware that his jury summons is fake and everyone around him is an actor — is eligible for an acting award, per a report last week from Variety. Ronald is hoping to be nominated for the comedy lead actor category, where he would compete against Bill Hader and other award-winning actors. Barry, Jason Sudeikis in Ted LassoMore.

In a week with a new Marvel movie, a new Zelda game, and Mother’s Day (PSA!), the question of whether a breakout TV performance that’s not quite performance counts as acting might not be the most pressing issue. Even if it’s just a way to drum up publicity for a show already benefiting from word-of-mouth, the decision could impact other shows like Murderville That skirts the line between comedy and variety shows. Like a good legal drama, there’s a lot to dig into in the name of justice. What should the Academy do now? Let’s hear the evidence.

The case for Jury Duty’s Ronald as a great “performance”

Amazon Freevee

Sure, Ronald doesn’t know he’s in a sitcom, and certainly doesn’t know he’s the regular Joe at the center of a lot of pageantry. But Jury DutyIt’s a scripted series, and plotlines are happening around him. Like Jenna Maroney on 30 Rock, Ronald has been living theatrically in everyday life, even if he doesn’t know it.

Ronald’s improv has been an accident. Since that’s technically the way all of us are moving through the world (though most without a camera crew), consider it this way: There are plenty of shows where performances heavily and routinely incorporate improvisation, like Curb Your Enthusiasm, Reno 911!Or The League. As Variety’s article notes, some of those performances have taken home nominations at the Emmys. Why Ronald not?

This is how it works Jury DutyAnd the completely improvised Ronald performances at its heart absolutely qualify. He has completely melded his emotions into his part, whether it’s reacting to someone trying to say they’re too racist for jury duty or telling James Marsden that the Sonic movie is funny actually. What’s more method than that?

Ronald

Of course there is the truth introduced by every promotional item and tagline for the show: He’s It is not clear how to get there. acting. There’s “12 jurors, and 11 actors;” the whole conceit is to surround a regular guy with people acting, and build a show around the way he bounces off their plotlines unknowingly. Ronald, delightful as he is, could no more be accused of acting than Mario could be of loving the color red, or Star Trek’s Worf excels at being the best guy — it’s just They do. While I love Ronald and his quiet, wide-eyed reactions to the jury’s mellow wackiness, he is just reacting.

While Larry David certainly plays an improvised, lightly satirized version of himself, Ronald’s performance is better likened to a reality star, rather than a mockumentary lead. (The premise isn’t far off from 2003’s more reality-skewing Joe Schmo Show.) Ronald runs around the whole game.

Were we to allow him to be honored for his contributions, we’d have to redraw the boundaries of performance as we (the Emmys) understand it: Are the heroes and villains of Love Is BlindAre they eligible to perform at the altar? How about the rest of them? Survivor who didn’t come here to make friends? Nathan Fielder’s home address The RehearsalWhat role does the ‘fit into this all?

The eligibility of Ronald as the Best lead actor is a question. This court (the Emmys), however, is not equipped to reverse decades of precedent.