Hit or Miss: Hulu's 'Reasonable Doubt'
In the latest trailer for the new Hulu original series Reasonable Doubt, defense attorney Jax Stewart’s picture perfect life is under threat. Just as new challenges start arising on multiple fronts of the high-powered lawyer’s life, ghosts from her past begin returning. Jax, played stylishly by Emayatzy Corinealdi (Ballers, Hand of God), must contend with trouble not only at work in the form of a new case, but also with friends, marriage, and motherhood. But if the path to success means burying secrets — so the trailer seems to ask— how long before the truth catches up to you?
Reasonable Doubt is an hour-long legal drama debuting on Hulu under Onyx Collective, a new Disney-owned content brand geared towards producing entertainment programming made by creators of color that highlights underrepresented voices. Onyx Collective is led by Freeform president Tara Duncan and releases content directly to Hulu. Emmy-nominated actress and Little Fires Everywhere producer Kerry Washington is attached to the series as an executive producer, as is Insecure co-creator Larry Wilmore. Raamla Mohamed, whose past work as a writer and producer includes Little Fires Everywhere and Scandal, is also credited as an executive producer.
The trailer opens with Jax’s inner monologue ruminating on a quote from Nelson Mandela: “I don’t lose. I either win or I learn.” Viewers are treated to a quick sequence of shots where Jax watches from behind the defense’s council table in a courtroom as her client Damon, played by Michael Ealy (Think Like a Man, Stumptown), is taken into custody. “What if learning comes at the expense of someone having to spend the rest of their life behind bars?” Jax asks herself. Damon, so Jax intimates, wasn’t just her client, but also a former romantic partner.
In the present, Jax deals with balancing her social life with motherhood and marriage. “I am a bit overwhelmed right now,” Jax admits through voice-over narration. “I’m trying to be a good friend and a good mother. Clearly, I’m not being a good wife.” This admission is followed by a short sequence where Jax speaks to her husband, Lewis Stewart, in the kitchen of their home. Through this interaction with Lewis, portrayed by McKinley Freeman (Queen Sugar, End of Watch), viewers learn the couple has separated despite Jax’s desire to salvage the relationship.
In her professional life, Jax encounters two new projects. The first comes in the form of a murder case brought against Brayden Miller, a business man played by Sean Patrick Miller (Barber Shop, The Curse of La Llorona) accused of killing his former employee-turned-lover. Jax tells her friends that while Miller may be guilty of infidelity, she doesn’t believe he’s guilty of homicide. Beyond these new challenges, Jax must also confront demons from her past; after years in prison, Damon is planning to confess to a crime he didn’t commit. “They’ll be saying you’re a criminal,” Jax warns him. “I thought you liked criminals,” he retorts flirtatiously.
Next, viewers witness a fast-paced sequence of clips highlighting the glamor, scandal, and danger they’ll enjoy if they tune in to watch Jax’s story unfold. At one point, Damon is shown standing outside Jax’s front door asking about the whereabouts of her husband. “He’s not here at the moment,” Jax replies as the couple shares a look of intense attraction. “Everyone has secrets,” Jax reminds viewers as she and Damon embrace passionately before disappearing into the house.
After three title cards introduce the series leads Corinealdi, Freeman, and Ealy, two additional slides announce “the truth belongs to those who twist it.” But how twisted will Jax Stewart’s truth become before she herself gets lost in her own lies? Judging by the trailer’s conclusion— Jax’s admission that “at the end of the day, I love criminals”— twisted enough that it will take a ten episode order to fully unravel.
All in all, the trailer for Reasonable Doubt positions the show as a striking and seductive legal thriller unafraid of confrontation and prone to electric drama. Viewers are left with the impression that Jax’s experiences are charged with a high-pressure intensity that reaches beyond the intrigue and politics of the courtroom and law firm and into every aspect of her personal life and all matters of the heart.
Reasonable Doubt premieres on Tuesday, September 27 on Hulu. Additional cast members include Christopher Cassarino (New Amsterdam, The Photograph) Eugene Byrd (Bones, Secrets of Sulfur Springs), Victor Rasuk (The Baker and the Beauty, Tom Clancey’s Jack Ryan), Toby Onwumere (Empire, Sense8), Christopher Mychael Watson (All the Queens Men, Seal Team) and Brooke Lyons (Paradise City, The Affair).
