Channel 4 launched the second season of their show The Jury: Murder Trial on Tuesday night, and viewers were not impressed.
On August 26, viewers tuned in to the brand new series of the social experiment show that evaluates how juries work in the UK.
Based on a real-life murder case, which saw a woman kill her boyfriend by stabbing him, the episode used transcripts from an actual court case. The court scene was reenacted faithfully to how it took place in real life.
The question posed by the series is whether a different jury will reach the same verdict, given all the same evidence and information as in the original trial.
The person on trial this season is Sophie, a mother who stabbed her boyfriend to death with a kitchen knife. The big question is whether it was self-defence – meaning she walks free – or murder – meaning she may spend her life in prison.
It became evident as the episode continued that the jury members were quick to leap to judgments about the people in the case, and brought their prejudices with them into their discussions.
This immediately riled fans watching the show who couldn’t believe that the jury was basing opinions on ‘assumptions’.
‘Lots of snap decision-making based on two bruises and assumptions. I know this isn’t the same for every jury but it’s concerning people can decide on so little. #thejury,’ said EloquentParrot on X.
‘#TheJury What a weird bunch of jurors!!! The (very opinionated) pink-haired lady is driving me bonkers! Too many odd assumptions by this crazy bunch of cohorts. They are all getting on my nerves to tell the truth!!! Total misfits,’ said Backstage2023.
‘How can levels of bias, as evidenced by the woman in the pink, be allowed on a jury? #TheJury #Channel4,’ said Kwame916.
‘They’re all saying what they would or wouldn’t do, but nobody knows how they will react to something until they are in that situation #thejury,’ said CherylLFC70.
”Not enough bruises’ is not an acceptable argument. #TheJury,’ said damo_war.
Despite the frustration, the consensus from viewers agreed that the sereis was absolutely riveting.
‘The Jury is utterly compelling viewing – already hooked! #TheJuryC4,’ said DavidWilletts3.
As the entire court case was recreated with actors, some eagle-eyed fans couldn’t help but notice that they had appeared in other projects ahead of the Channel 4 series.
‘Didn’t he used to be in emmerdale?#thejury,’ said LunaLocoJewels.
‘Hang on, she’s on Eastenders. #thejury,’ said EloquentParrot.
‘Recognising some of the actors is distracting #thejury,’ said emmacariad.
The series is released between Tuesday and Friday this week, with the next episode set to see the murder suspect Sophie take to the stand to defend her actions.
The Jury: Murder Trial continues on Channel 4 at 9pm on Wednesday.
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