In Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat, LaNisa Renee Frederic brings Jackie to life with a mix of humor, strength, and emotional grounding amid the chaos of a corporate retreat. In this interview, the American actress reflects on the collaborative creation of the character, the challenge of grounding comedy in emotional truth, and how her work across acting, podcasting, and multiple creative spaces continues to shape a career defined by versatility and purpose.
In Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat, you play Jackie, a mother of three who sees the corporate retreat as a rare chance to breathe. What drew you most to her as a character?
What’s beautiful about this process is that creating a character within the Jury Duty Presents universe is such a collaboration. Alongside the director and writers, I created Jackie as a heightened version of myself, and as an homage to so many women in my life who are hilarious, don’t mince words, are deeply loyal, and deserve a break.
Just like the women I know and love, when it’s time for Jackie to break, she breaks. Nothing will stand between her and an hour at the pool. She doesn’t play about her self-care time, because if she doesn’t take care of herself, how can she take care of her family?
This new season takes place in a very specific corporate environment, inside a family-owned hot sauce company, while continuing to blend reality, improvisation, and comedy. What makes that dynamic so fun to experience from the inside?
Company Retreat was a high-stakes adult theatre camp for me. We showed up fully, played hard, and had to trust that everyone around us was just as committed as we were. In that way, it was a dream project and a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Throughout my life, I’ve worked as an actor, nanny, casting director, InstaCart deliverer, temp, nonprofit director, teacher, secretary, improviser, and more. This project put to the test every skill, instinct, and brain cell I have. And being surrounded by a cast and crew operating at that level, all bringing their own skills and expertise, is what made the experience so fun and special.
Jackie works in distribution and logistics and seems to bring a very grounded energy to the chaos around her. What was it like finding the tone of that character within such a particular kind of comedy?
What’s interesting is that as an actor, I’m naturally drawn to and often play broad characters and comedy. It’s one of the reasons I thrive in theatre and love physical comedy. Lucille Ball has always been my comedy role model. Her ability to deliver laugh-out-loud comedy through her antics, while also making you care about her as a person, is what draws us in.
However, with this show, I realized it wouldn’t serve the story to play things broadly all the time. I was also there to help ground Anthony in our reality, which meant I couldn’t be wacky 24/7 or he’d be able to tell something was really off. I definitely had quirks, but I needed to help sell the reality of the world.
So, for example, during filming seminar days, I legitimately took notes during the sessions… and even fell asleep (This process was tiring!) Some of the seminar speakers were real-life coaches, so in those moments, I played it as “normal” as possible to help build that reality. It really went back to acting training 101: play your circumstances truthfully.
The series has been receiving very strong reviews and appearing on Emmy contender lists. What does it feel like to be part of a project that is both so funny and so well received by the industry?
I’m still pinching myself. I’ve been in this industry for 20 years and have built a robust resume spanning theatre, voiceover, and on-camera work. So to be part of a show that’s this well-received feels incredibly validating.
It feels like all of those years of training, pivoting, and staying ready have led to this moment. I’m really proud of the work I did on this show, and proud of what we created as a cast and crew. We made something special.
I wish I could play coy and wave off the awards possibilities, but let’s be real, I want us to win. Over 200 cast and crew members made this show a reality, and we all worked incredibly hard in ways I don’t think any of us could have imagined.
Alongside your acting work, you also host the podcast Black and CULTivated, where you candidly share your experience growing up in a cult. When did you realize it was important to turn that experience into a public conversation?
I realized it was important to share this experience publicly while writing my screenplay about being in a cult. I was in the process of turning my experience into a TV comedy called Church Candy. During that process, I spoke with a few former church members and realized there were so many stories that hadn’t been told. And people wanted to talk.
Too many times, there is shame surrounding the experience of being in a cult, especially with Black and Brown people. And shame doesn’t help growth. It does nothing but allow the right voices to be silenced.
I wanted to create a safe place for folks to talk about their cult experiences without judgment, while also allowing myself to share mine. That’s how Black and CULTivated was born.
The podcast blends humor with deeply personal and sensitive stories. How did you find that balance between lightness, honesty, and care while speaking with other people who lived through similar experiences?
I knew from the start that I wanted the podcast to be comedic with heart. I listen to a lot of podcasts (like a lot!), and often the interviewers are interrogating a cult survivor without having lived through that experience themselves. Because of that, I felt like I was losing some of the absurdities that come with having been in a cult.
And some of those absurdities are, ironically, funny. Maybe it’s the old adage, you laugh to keep from crying. But it was important for me to have survivors who could share their stories, while also allowing space for humor, joy, and resilience.
Your career also spans television, podcasting, game shows, and voice work, including the milestone of becoming the first Black woman to be a major playable character in Call of Duty. How do you look at the range and strength of your career today?
I was not the first, but one of the first Black women to be a major playable character in the franchise. And what an honor and joy it has been. I’m proud of my work in that space and my work that spans so many facets of the entertainment industry.
I started out, and my heart will always be with theatre. I began my career in storefront theatres in Chicago, which eventually led to studying in England at East 15, where I earned my MA in Acting. That training, both in the classroom and in the real world, is something I credit for my ability to move seamlessly as a multi-hyphenate: writer, podcaster, and actor across theatre, television, video games, and commercials.
I used to think I had to focus on just one lane. But I’m grateful I’ve always had the team and the mindset to try new things and grow across multiple disciplines. It’s what sustains me as an artist. I know how to pivot. I know how to realign. I know how to find success and joy in every lane.
Between comedy, dramatic acting, voice work, and personal projects, what is inspiring you most at this point in your career, and what stories do you still dream of telling going forward?
As Nina Simone says, “An artist’s duty is to reflect the times.” That has stayed with me from the moment I decided to pursue artistry as my life’s work.
That sense of duty and responsibility is what inspires and drives me the most. It makes me want to tell stories that are personal to me, stories of the voiceless, stories that reflect where we are right now in the world, and stories that explore difficult histories, lest we repeat them. And to do all of it with honesty, care, and of course, a little bit of humor along the way.
What excites me right now are projects that sit in that intersection of grounded, human storytelling with a strong point of view. Shows like The Pitt, The Last of Us, and Paradise on the dramatic side, and Abbott Elementary or The Studio on the comedy side. Work that feels specific, lived-in, and culturally aware.
That’s the space I’m excited to continue growing in, stepping into roles that allow me to lead, collaborate, and build fully realized characters within stories that say something.
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