''Reasonable Doubt'' is an American streaming

legal drama A legal drama is a genre of film and television that generally focuses on narratives regarding legal practice and the justice system. The American Film Institute (AFI) defines "courtroom drama" as a genre of film in which a system of justice play ...

television series created by Raamla Mohamed for

Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television seri ...

. The series stars

Emayatzy Corinealdi Emayatzy Corinealdi ( ; born January 14, 1980) is an American actress. She starred in the Ava DuVernay 2012 drama film '' Middle of Nowhere'' for which she won Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Performer and received Independent Sp ...

as a corporate defense lawyer navigating challenging high-profile cases. The series also stars McKinley Freeman, Tim Jo, Angela Grovey, Thaddeus J. Mixson, Aderinsola Olabode, and

Michael Ealy Michael Brown (born August 3, 1973), professionally known as Michael Ealy, is an American actor. He is known for his roles in '' Barbershop'' (2002), ''2 Fast 2 Furious'' (2003), '' Takers'' (2010), ''Think Like a Man'' (2012), '' About Last N ...

. It premiered on September 27, 2022.

Plot

Jax Stewart is a successful defense lawyer at an up-scale Los Angeles law firm. She navigates difficult cases amid a separation from her husband and the reappearance of a former client she worked with in her previous job as a public defender.

Cast

as Jacqueline "Jax" Stewart (née Nicholas), a defense lawyer, mother to two children, and wife currently separated from her husband, Lewis *

McKinley Freeman McKinley Freeman (born June 9, 1973) is an American actor and producer. He has appeared in films and on television series, including the starring role of Derek Roman in the drama series '' Hit the Floor'', portraying the role of Dominic in the OWN' ...

as Lewis, Jax's husband * Tim Jo as Daniel, Jax's investigator * Christopher Cassarino as Rich Reed, a colleague of Jax's * Angela Grovey as Krystal Walters * Aderinsola Olabode as Naima, Jax's tween daughter *

as Damon Cooke, a previous client of Jax's recently released from prison * Thaddeus J. Mixson as Spenser, Jax's teenage son * Sean Patrick Thomas as Brayden Miller, a billionaire and new client of Jax's * Perri Camper as Kaleesha Moore, a murder victim who accused Brayden Miller of sexual assault * Tiffany Yvonne Cox, Nefetari Spencer, and

Shannon Kane Shannon Elizabeth Kane (born September 14, 1985) is an American actress best known for portraying her roles as Traci Madsen on the Nick at Nite series '' Hollywood Heights'' (2012) and Natalia Fowler on the ABC daytime soap opera ''All My Child ...

as Autumn, Sally, and Shanelle, Jax's closest friends

Episodes

Production

The series was created by Raamla Mohamed, a former ''

Scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way. Th ...

'' writer. It is loosely based on the experiences of celebrity attorney

Shawn Holley Shawn Katherine Holley is an American defense attorney. Holley attended UCLA and Southwestern University School of Law. She began her career in the Los Angeles public defender's office before being hired by Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr. She eventually ...

, who is also a producer for the show.

Kerry Washington Kerry Marisa Washington (born January 31, 1977) SidebarCertificate of Live Birth: Isabelle Amarachi Asomugha(County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health). Gives Kerry Washington birth dateArchivedfrom the original on May 2, 2016.Note: Fi ...

directed the series pilot. ''Reasonable Doubt'' was produced through the

Walt Disney Television Disney General Entertainment Content, doing business as Walt Disney Television, is an American entertainment company that oversees television content and assets owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company. Forming the company's General Enter ...

Onyx Collective Onyx Collective is a content brand owned and operated by Disney Entertainment, which primarily consists of projects from creators of color and other underrepresented groups. The brand was first launched on May 17, 2021, with several projects unde ...

. The show premiered on September 27, 2022 on

. The season has nine episodes.

Critical reception

''Reasonable Doubt'' received positive critical reception. It holds a 100% on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

with an average rating of 7.8/10 based on seven critic reviews. In a mainly positive review Daniel D'Addario described the series in ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'': "“Reasonable Doubt” plays like the juicy soap

Shonda Rhimes Shonda Lynn Rhimes (born January 13, 1970) is an American television screenwriter, producer, and author. She is best known as the showrunner—creator, head writer, and executive producer—of the television medical drama ''Grey's Anatomy'', it ...

would never write; its excesses, often, grab and hold our attention." Kristen Baldwin rated the show a B+ in '' EW'' and stated, "''Reasonable Doubt'' is enjoyably Shonda-esque, in that it's a steamy, speed-plotted soap built around a morally ambiguous female power player whose life is filled with ridiculously attractive men. But Mohamed also weaves in frank and nuanced stories about marriage, parenting, and the importance of (and challenges with) female friendships." ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...

'''s Angie Han praised the lead actress's performance, "Corinealdi is lots of fun to watch as Jax, and she’s blessed with scripts that allow her to embody multitudes. Depending on the scene, Jax can be prickly or tender, sensuous or funny, and Corinealdi plays all her many facets with equal gusto. She’s also, importantly, able to generate chemistry with seemingly everyone in the ensemble."

References

External links

Official website
* {{Hulu 2022 American television series debuts 2020s American black television series 2020s American drama television series 2020s American legal television series American legal drama television series English-language television shows Television shows set in Los Angeles Television series by ABC Studios African-American television Hulu original programming Onyx Collective original programming