TL;DR – This opening episode shows that lightning just might be able to strike twice.

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime service that streamed this series.

Company Retreat Review Introduction

Back in 2023, something very odd happened: television created a prank show that ended up uplifting its target rather than beating them down. Jury Duty was a wild experiment that frankly should not have worked. Seriously, when you think about all the different elements that needed to come together to make it work, it is astonishing. However, once you have pulled that off, there is no way you could go in for a second bite at the apple … right? …

So, to set the scene, Anthony Norman (Anthony Norman) is working as a temp when he applied for a position at Rockin’ Grandma’s Hot Sauce company. You see, hot sauce is having a glow up at the moment, and there is a celebratory feel to the company. Well, Anthony has been brought on by the head of HR, Kevin Gomez (Ryan Perez), to assist him in running the company retreat. The only weird thing is that there is a documentary crew following them around because the CEO of the company, Doug (Jerry Hauck), is retiring and is about to hand the reins to his son Dougy Jr. (Alex Bonifer). Oh, and did I mention that everyone in the show is an actor, except Anthony Norman. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.      

Time For a New Scenario

One of the issues that I always had with a second season was that the concept of a jury duty situation gave the show so much latitude with how they proceeded and structured the series. Still, much like anyone on season 2 and onwards of Undercover Boss, people would see through the gimmick, given how popular the show was. [Though Undercover Boss got 10 seasons, so I may be wrong there]. So, keeping the vibe of the show, but changing up the wrapping was a smart choice. Thus, the company retreat framing is an inspired choice.  

It is probably very telling about the current American employment situation that this situation not only works but feels plausible. You honestly could believe that an odd family-run company would hire a documentary crew to record the company retreat where the nepotism happens. You also can believe that someone would give a poor temp only one day’s notice with the company before dragging him out into a forest retreat where he must keep his stuff together while everything around him falls apart, because you can’t turn down work.

Anthony Films a Proposal

Once again, whoever cast these shows deserves an award because they can find a group of people that can improv as well as this group and feel like a wild assortment of characters that somehow do not go over the edge into parody. I mean, they get awfully close in this first episode, but still keep it in. Then we come to the subject of the show, Anthony Norman, and I think they have somehow found another gentleman who feels like a genuinely nice human being who is somehow keeping it all together.

This is exemplified by the conclusion of the episode when Kevin Gomez’s marriage proposal goes inevitably bad, fundamentally bad, just the worst it could have gone. It is the small things like Anthony immediately stopping filming the train wreck after the no, so as to limit the embarrassment, which shows a kind judgment. I am also very interested that the show offers him an out at the end of the first episode. He doesn’t take it, but I am fascinated to know what the Plan B was if he had said: “Yep, I’m out”. But the show will live and die on if people think Company Retreat is being cruel to Anthony.    

Recommendation

In the end, do we recommend Company Retreat? I think the opening episode was a strong return to form for a series I did not think they could ever replicate. The cast is quirky and delightful, the scenario is solid, and Anthony is a delight. It also, so far, treats everyone with some dignity, and we could use more of that these days. Have you seen Company Retreat yet? Let us know what you thought in the comments below.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Bluesky at @Tldrmovrev, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

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Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Company Retreat
Directed by – Jake Szymanski
Written by – Anthony King
Created by – Lee Eisenberg & Gene Stupnitsky
Based On – Jury Duty by Lee Eisenberg & Gene Stupnitsky
Production/Distribution Companies – Picrow, Middle Child, Piece of Work, Amazon MGM Studios & Amazon Prime
Starring – Anthony Norman
With – Blair Beeken, Alex Bonifer, Warren Burke, LaNisa Renee Frederick, Jerry Hauck, Erica Hernandez, Stephanie Hodge, Rachel Kaly, Rob Lathan, Emily Pendergast, Marc-Sully Saint-Fleur, & Jim Woods
And – Wendy Braun, Ryan Perez, & Brian Farrell