Disney’s Onyx Collective’s first scripted series Reasonable Doubt has added a lineup of familiar favorites to its cast.
According to Deadline, star Emayatzy Corinealdi (Middle of Nowhere) is joined by series regulars Michael Ealy, Thadeus J. Mixson and newcomer Aderinsola Olabode, while Pauletta Washington and Sean Patrick Thomas are set to recur.
“In Reasonable Doubt, you’ll judge Jax Stewart (Corinealdi) for her questionable ethics and wild interpretations of the law…until you’re the one in trouble. Then you’ll see her for what she is: the most brilliant and fearless defense attorney in Los Angeles who bucks the justice system at every chance she gets.”
Ealy is Damon, “complex, smart, troubled, Damon is a former client of Jax’s who’s been in prison for sixteen years for a murder he didn’t commit.”
Without knowing anything else, we’re going to guess that Jax and Damon had a thing while she represented him.
Washington plays Jax’s mother Mama Lu who “is opinionated and a little overbearing. She loves Jax and she also loves Jax’s husband, Lewis. She makes it clear she thinks that Jax should work less and spend more time with her husband.”
Thomas is Brayden Mitchell, a client who rubs Jax the wrong way. “Rich, sexy, stylish, entitled, and savvy, but don’t let that fool you: underneath that is a brother from Southeast D.C. whose bite is actually worse than his bark.”
Mixson and Aderinsola Olabode are Jax and Lewis’ kids Spenser and Naima.
Kerry Washington is executive producing and will direct the first episode of the Hulu drama.
“Simpson Street was founded with the belief that we are each the lead character in the story of our lives regardless of who we are, where we are born, what we believe or who we love. Each of us deserves to be and to see ourselves at the center of the narrative,” she said in a statement when the show was picked up.
“It’s a privilege to partner with Onyx, a brand dedicated to centering creators of color and underrepresented voices, on their first scripted drama series,” Washington continued. “I am excited to be working with the great Larry Wilmore and to be once again collaborating with the brilliant Raamla Mohamed, who will lead an all-Black writers room on a series led by the phenomenal Emayatzy Corinealdi. This is a proud moment for all of us at Simpson Street and we could not ask for better partners all around.”
Maybe if we ask nicely, we can also get Washington to guest star as Jax’s mentor turned rival.
An all Black writers room for a legal drama with a big studio behind it is a major step forward, so we really hope the series is a success, because if it’s not, we all know the deal ... no studio will take that chance again.
Will you add Reasonable Doubt to your watchlist?