Reasonable Doubt (TV series)

Reasonable Doubt is an American legal drama television series created by Raamla Mohamed for Hulu. The series stars Emayatzy Corinealdi 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. Reasonable Doubt is Onyx Collective's first scripted television series.  It premiered on September 27, 2022. On April 17, 2023, it was renewed for a second season which is set to premiere on August 22, 2024. The series generally received positive reviews from critics.

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

 * Emayatzy Corinealdi as Jacqueline "Jax" Stewart (née Nicholas), a defense lawyer, and mother of two children currently separated from her husband, Lewis
 * McKinley Freeman 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
 * Michael Ealy 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 as Autumn, Sally, and Shanelle, Jax's closest friends
 * Morris Chestnut as Corey Cash, a talented defense attorney Jax brings in to assist on a case (Season 2)

Production
The series was created by former Scandal writer Raamla Mohamed. It is loosely based on the experiences of celebrity attorney Shawn Holley, who is also a producer for the show. Reasonable Doubt was produced through the Walt Disney Television's Onyx Collective. Kerry Washington directed the series pilot. On April 17, 2023, it was announced that the series was renewed for a second season. Morris Chestnut will join the cast as a series regular.

Release
The show premiered on September 27, 2022, on Hulu. The first season has nine episodes. The first episode aired on ABC on November 10, 2022. Internationally, the series is available on Disney+. The second season is scheduled to be released on August 22, 2024 with two episodes.

Critical response
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating with an average rating of 7.80/10 based on 8 critic reviews. Metacritic assigned the series a weighted average score of 76 out of 100 based on 5 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Daniel D'Addario of Variety asserted, "Reasonable Doubt plays like the juicy soap Shonda Rhimes would never write; its excesses, often, grab and hold our attention." Angie Han of The Hollywood Reporter praised Emayatzy Corinealdi's performance, saying, "Corinealdi is lots of fun to watch as Jax, and she's blessed with scripts that allow her to embody multitudes," and wrote, "Reasonable Doubt serves up plenty of the juicy thrills and emotional dilemmas that wine-soaked group chats were made for."

Nina Metz of Chicago Tribune gave the series a grade of 3 out of 4 stars and said, "There's a lot to like about "Reasonable Doubt," which is sharp and fun and moves at a good clip. And it's smart about keeping things just this side of ridiculous." Kristen Baldwin of Entertainment Weekly gave the show a B+, stating, "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," and complimented Corinealdi's performance.

Accolades
Kerry Washington received a nomination for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series at the 2023 Black Reel Awards for Television.