Court on-air
trending genre of courtroom drama
It’s curious how, over the years, the topic of courtroom and trials comes back around in tv shows and movies… In fiction.
A lot of long standing shows are, in a way connected to this topic, Law and Order is an example, on its 25th season. And it’s easy to see on-air realities such as Judge Judy, dealing with minor cases (even fake) on tv.
The public in a way feels connected, in a way it’s cathartic. Who in their life never felt like they’ve dealt with an injustice but maybe couldn’t do anything about it. Courtroom dramas, as well as reality shows dealing with such topics give people a way to feel vindicated.
In the last few years a show that sticks out is Jury Duty (2023).
It’s a tv show portraying a sequestered jury following a trial. However, one of the participants, Ronald Gladden, was actually unknowingly participating, he wasn't acting, he thought he was part of the jury for an actual trial, filming a documentary. All the others were improv actors who were given plot lines to follow, but other than that, had free range. The lawyers in the case were the only ones who actually had a script to follow.
Jury Duty Poster ©freevee
People on Tik Tok were obsessed. Multiple clips of the show found their way on the app, it’s on jury duty which:
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Many actually try to get out of.
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It’s a sequestered jury, which not many people get to experience
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It’s all fake, other than Ronald Gladden, he was real, his reactions were real and everything was real to him.
Even he noticed how such shows have little bites of interest for everyone.
The audience that it reaches [spans generations]. I've had people tell me that their 9-year-old child watches it, and their 80-year-old mother also watches it. I think that's just the humanity ultimately— is why it's been able to reach so many people.
Ronald Gladden, Amazon News
In this case it shows the good side of humanity, he was labelled as a hero in the last episode of the show when the hoax was revealed but, as he said himself, he was just trying to be a “decent human being” and “show kindness to everyone”.
But Jury Duty isn’t the only show dealing with the topic of law and justice.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, The Lincoln Lawyer, or even the Oscar winner (for original screenplay) Anatomy of a Fall, all deal with the same topic from different points of views, the first one even being a superhero show.
But, as journalist Ailsa Chang reflected:
Courtroom dramas are more than just an opportunity for Hollywood's brightest to deliver big performances. They also push us to think about right and wrong from the safety of our couches or theatre seats.
Ailsa Chang
Movies like Legally Blonde (2001) explore the legal topic in a fun and light hearted way, and the main character, Elle Woods, of inspirations for young girls. This movie had a comeback in recent years as a way to show women that they don’t need to abandon their femininity in order to be taken seriously.
What’s dangerous is when people form parasocial relationships with the characters, especially in true crime.
It’s somewhat acceptable and normalised to have parasocial relationships with celebrities, as it’s part of fan culture, same thing with characters in tv shows.
However, shows like American Crime Story, Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story and Manhunt, portray crimes of things that actually happened, changing some details or adding for storytelling purposes.
This leads to people creating parasocial relationships with criminals, and even discussing topics such as murder in a frivolous way, taking away the horrible things they’ve done.
People online, amid the Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, were discussing the killer’s appearance, making comedy videos and such but it's important not to take away from the seriousness of this subjects, even if potrayed in a fictional environment.
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