Jury Duty (The Office)

"Jury Duty" is the thirteenth episode of the eighth season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's 165th episode overall, airing on NBC in the United States on February 2, 2012. It was written by Aaron Shure and directed by Eric Appel, and guest starred Jack Coleman, Lindsey Broad, and Mark Proksch.

The series, presented as if it were a real documentary, depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. In this episode, Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) returns from jury duty and Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) questions him on every detail of his case. However, Jim later comes under fire when Dwight reveals he only served half a day on his single case then took the rest of the week off to spend time with his wife, Pam Halpert (Jenna Fischer), looking after their toddler and new baby, Phillip. Meanwhile, Angela (Angela Kinsey) and the state senator welcome an infant son.

"Jury Duty" marks the first appearance of Fischer since "Gettysburg", when her character went on maternity leave. "Jury Duty" received mostly positive reviews from critics, with many reviews noting that the episode was a step in the right direction for the show. According to Nielsen Media Research, "Jury Duty" drew 5.31 million viewers and received a 2.8 rating/7% share in the 18–49 demographic, marking a 10% drop in ratings from the previous episode, "Pool Party". Despite this, it was the highest-rated NBC series of the night.