Jury Duty Cast Shares Moments That Made Them Break Character

Which moment made you break character the most?

Any scene with Barb [Susan Berger]. I’m so goofy in real life, so having to tap into an authoritarian, you’re in charge of these people and also you’re law enforcement, I had to really lean in because then you have Barb, who really is a hippie grandma. She was very free-spirited. For episode eight, we were in rehearsal and she would say stuff like, “I wanna go now. I wanna go to the bathroom,” and I’m like, “Barb, you cannot. You’re killing me.” It’s her voice, it’s this bewildered, I-don’t-care look that she would have, but anything with her would make me personally be like, “Come on, Sheedz. Don’t do this today.”

And then obviously, as the world saw, with Cassandra’s bag, I had a moment where my lives were doing this [crosses fingers in front of her face]. My EPs and the showrunner were like, “What do you need to keep this up?” And I said, “In real courts, the bailiffs have an office. Where am I going when I’m walking them around? I need an office so [Ronald] knows this is no game.” I was very perceptive on stuff like that. The cast would come in my office to check their phones. One day, the real Cassandra came in and wanted to check her phone, and in those little moments, we get to be ourselves, so right after that, I forgot to flip that switch. . . .

Those were two of the times I had broken. I think it’s very human to laugh from time to time. Barbara made me smile harder than I wanted to.

Is there an improvised line or moment you’re proudest of creating for your character?

There’s a couple actually. I got to show who I am and where I’m from. Oftentimes Black people, specifically Black women, get put in this box, but we’re all different; we’re multifaceted. I love who we are. Nikki was an around-the-way Black girl. I myself am from Chicago — that’s a very special breed of Black woman. An around-the-way girl is a Black woman from the hood who’s made it, and I showed a lot of that. It was a lot of Todd and Nikki moments.

One of my proudest was the whole hotel bit when I’m checking them in. I was leaning into that officer who’s done this for so long, she’s over it. Then [Todd] is behind me and I’m like, “Stop doing that sh*t. I don’t like people behind me.” That one, then the “low-key genius” part because it was so sweet yet funny, and now you’ve got people everywhere saying “low-key genius.” It was just a genuine moment of like, “For real though. Lean into that, [Todd]. Someone’s telling you some beautiful sh*t about yourself.” Ronald’s genuine smile at the end of that is a callback to the things he was pouring into Todd.

And then, of course, [Nikki’s line], “Ever since you got that new outfit.” . . . Nikki got to show that Black woman who’s like, “Y’all not gonna play with me, but I got y’all. Also I’m gonna treat you well.” That’s what Black women are about. We go so hard. We know what we want, so we want it for everybody.

How has your life changed, if at all, since the show came out?

I’m grateful. I always knew that stuff was about to pop off. I just truly didn’t know this was gonna be the one. I write and was on hit shows, “South Side” and “Sherman’s Showcase.” . . . But it has really done what it was supposed to do and it’s exploded because it’s good TV, it’s hilarious, and it’s something everybody needed. It’s that wholesome, funny show like “The Office.” As a comedic writer and a human being, I was so proud to bring all of that. To have such an ensemble, it’s beautiful. . . . Everybody did so well and supported each other.

My life has always been in position to do what it’s doing, but I appreciate the “man, you’re a natural.” I’m not a name-dropper, but I’ve got celebs inboxing me. This is cool. I receive it, and I’m praying for it to continue doing everything it needs to do and praying for spinoffs. The characters are so dope, and you can do so much with them. We also can’t ignore what’s going on in the industry with the writers’ [strike]. You would not have a “Jury Duty,” you would not have anything if you don’t do right by the creators who create.

What was your all-time favorite moment from filming the show?

This is tough. I would say Margaritaville. My friend [played] the bartender. I had to get him hired because they wanted me to flirt with a bartender, but the one they had before — no shade — I was like, [Nikki] is a very strong woman; she’s not gonna flirt with a teenager. So me sitting there, it was my friend and we were really just talking about some sh*t. We knew we were working, but also I say that was my favorite filming moment because you really got to see Ronald calm down and be him. I was like, “This dude is really kind and really sweet.” It made feel bad because I didn’t wanna yell at them about this bill.

And then certain sh*t [Ronald] would do off camera when I would ask what he needed for his hotel, and he would literally only say two things every time because he was being mindful about everybody else. We had our moments. . . . I hope everybody’s life continues to flourish from this, and I’m very, very grateful.