One of the reasons why there are few Black lawyers in America is that it is a difficult and expensive course to pursue. Statistics collected last year indicate that this country has about five percent black lawyers, with most of the new entrants being white males. However, the number of people joining law from female population has been increasing while nothing seems to be happening for colored people. It might not just take but also some moral compromises are given on sticky wickets for a person of color to progress in this industry where not only numbers but ideologies are against them.
Reasonable Doubt is one such series aired on Hulu and produced by Disney’s newly launched Onyx Collective aimed at promoting works by BIPOC creators. Questlove, who currently heads The Roots, directed 2021 music documentary Summer of Soul (…or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) as its first project under Onyx Collective brand exclusively available on Hulu. This label will also launch 1619 Project; however, until then much needed shows like Reasonable Doubt will find their audiences via Onyx Collective.
The show stars Emayatzy Corinealdi who acted in both The Red Line and The Young and the Restless as Jax. Tim Jo (The Neighbors) was cast shortly after the initial announcement along with McKinley Freeman and Angela Grovey joined him later. Christopher Cassarino appears through out as well as notable actors Brooke Lyons, Michael Ealy, and Sean Patrick Thomas- among others. Nevertheless majority of these characters serve as contextual background against which our leading lady does her part.
This drama series’ lead character Jax is an ambitious attorney climbing up the professional ladder. Her life is a dream come true when someone tells you they want to become a lawyer: she’s already a partner at one of those esteemed firms that have been around forever, owns an amazing home decorated perfectly for family photos. In fact during those opening scenes, she is not what one may have thought since she is tied to a chair with rope, gagged with cloth and staring at the muzzle of a gun that goes off in a momentary cliffhanger. Overall it’s not an ideal situation for someone who has spent their whole life studying the law, and there are many questions about how she got here in the first place. Also, the standard issue for any legal drama or film of this type—will be a flashback.
This rewind is not too big of a time jump; it goes back six months when Jax is assigned to a relatively high-profile case with an affinity for details. First, she takes on a client that is a famous basketball star, who is being taken to court because he made a girl feel like she has been sexually harassed. Although the basketball player is her client, Jax shockingly rolls her eyes when describing the plaintiff, calling her a “thot” and tells another woman at her office that one cannot press charges for making someone uncomfortable. It is in these moments Jax becomes a little less like a person and more like a coldhearted attorney, making her even more unlikeable as a character but it surprisingly refreshing in the sense that these are probably what law offices are like. Even if she became successful through other people’s means especially as BIPOC, chances of her becoming part of the system are higher.
At the same time, her husband and she are trying to work through the process of separation. This seemed to be the most likely option because of her devotion to her job and the sheer number of hours she puts in per week, which is his reasoning–viewers will soon learn that this is an one-sided perspective. While all this was happening ,Jax was getting to spend more time with an ex-client who had been convicted and sentenced sixteen years’ imprisonment-though how this happened was not known as he did not do what he had been convicted for but rather served as scapegoat for whoever did it. However,it is not only him that has caught Jax’s attention ;she immediately falls for every man including security guard whom her husband hired outside their home.
Everything starts spiraling out of control from there as Jax finds herself entangled between three different men and wealthy entrepreneur who turns into murder charge from sexual assault case . She now has to navigate emotional waters since suddenly taking up a case with high stakes as well as her troubles. Her husband sets up home security cameras to claim they are trying to protect his estranged wife and children, though there is something more sinister and controlling about him that makes their problems not so one-sided after all.
Reasonable Doubt is one of the best and most satisfying parts, especially when Jax acts as a girl boss calling for contemporary society’s attention. She is a woman lawyer ready to take on her antagonist even if it means someone from those who have occupied the majority of social power bases historically. Nonetheless, achievements and gradual recognition of microaggressions associated with just being black in America should not make us forget that she is the only Black female partner at her legal practice. But does this imply that Jax herself has nothing to hide? On the other hand, it may be argued that others in her position or higher such as white people doing what she does might tolerate this sort of behavior more easily.Jax would attract more scrutiny doing this, not only because she is a woman but also because she is black.
Jax says in her voiceover at one point even confesses to having an addiction to danger; admitting why she keeps finding herself involved with people she really shouldn’t be. It seems like there are conflicting feelings within Jax regarding everything she does but Reasonable Doubt might be seen as showing what it actually takes to succeed in such an industry. She isn’t just another public defender anymore; now, she got elevated to big leagues being the lone Black woman at a large law firm. However, internally struggling when one needs to climb up the success ladder shows how much depth this character possesses unlike any other part throughout the series.
The pace of this series is probably its biggest fault; not enough time was spent on presenting friends, clients, family members and colleagues in the first episode alone. Maybe it is because they fit into certain archetypes and feel kind of flat – only Jax emerges as a fully-rounded person out there. Some lewd but clever lines would never go on air twenty years ago though they fit perfectly into context here. Nevertheless, fans of Scandal may still find it worthwhile, though it doesn’t reach the level of Scandal that was created over ten years ago.
Reasonable Doubt could appeal to people who are looking for a legal drama with high intensity drama elements and a steamy set of events. It is juicy, not holding back in its content and going a step further than what other mainstream shows in the genre might not seek to do out of fear. This is quite formulaic as far as the show goes and reminds one of typical Shonda Rhimes’ work but Rhimes wouldn’t make a piece like Reasonable Doubt. However, there are fewer and fewer moments when viewers can tear their eyes away from this screen to see what happens next even if through making her protagonist unlikable she puts Jax on the losing side of some pretty unethical questions.
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