Note: This story contains spoilers from “Reasonable Doubt” Season 3, Episode 10.
“Reasonable Doubt” boss Raamla Mohamed and the Onyx Collective legal drama’s lead star, Emayatzy Corinealdi, unpacked Jax Stewart’s exciting new chapter as she embarks on a journey with her own firm, and also that terrifying closing scene that shows Monica (Brandee Evans) firing off a shot at Jax, her family and friends.
Just when they thought they had it all figured out, here comes Kristen (Kiah Clingman) with the real story of what went down the night Wendy (Rumer Willis) died. Nope, it wasn’t Kristen, she was just who her father, Sal (Keith Arthur Bolden), needed to help him complete the job. In Episode 10: “On to the Next One,” Ozzie (Kyle Bary) is found not guilty, and viewers learn that Sal shot Wendy and then suffocated her after she promised to tell Ozzie about his family’s sinister ways.
When Ozzie traded in his drug-filled victory celebration for a dinner party with the Stewarts, Jax expressed her “love” for Ozzie in the form of urging him to take up drug rehabilitation. Ozzie accepted, but he met his fate during his attempt to get his last high. Viewers learn Ozzie is the person Jax found dead in her child’s room, which was teased at the beginning of the season. His funeral is attended by all, including his longtime abuser Monica, who makes eye contact with Jax from afar.
By the end of the finale, Bill (Joseph Sikora) makes partner, and Jax decides to call it quits and start her own firm after dealing with Vince (David Shae) and Stephen’s (David de Vries) continuous slights. Bill continues his fling with Sally (Nefetari Spencer), Corey (Morris Chestnut) shares his engagement to Dr. Brandy Michaels (Essence Atkins), Autumn gives birth (Tiffany Yvonne Cox) and Daniel (Tim Jo) drops Kristen like a bad habit. Oh, and Jax kicks her scammin’ father Eddie (Richard Brooks) and sister Chelsea (Lori Harvey) to the curb, and thank God Lewis (McKinley Freeman) “finally” fired that slacker Sam (Martin Jakes Jr.).
In a conversation with TheWrap, Mohamed and Corinealdi break down tackling sexual and mental/emotional abuse of child actors, Black women’s experiences dealing with microaggressions in the predominately white workplaces, Jax’s tense drama with Bill and more. These interviews were conducted separately, and they have been edited and condensed for readability and clarity purposes.
Congratulations on Season 4. “Reasonable Doubt” is such a beloved show that fans can’t get enough of. How’s it feel seeing its success?
Mohamed: It feels fantastic. I’m obviously happy for myself, but it also is special to be able to employ so many people because you decided you decided to write something and open Final Draft. I feel very happy that I get to tell people we’re coming back versus, “Sorry, it’s over.” That makes me happy.
Corinealdi: It just feels like a blessing. It feels exciting. It feels like a real opportunity to continue telling this kind of story, and just feels like a lot of fun. The fans are really in there, they’re locked in, and that has made it a lot more fun.
Talk to me about the decision to explore child stardom, drug abuse and some of the toxic culture that’s surrounding child stars in the entertainment industry?
Mohamed: I always wanted Jax to represent some kind of actor or something. The show does take place in LA, so that makes sense that she’d have a client like that. I had thought about it actually for maybe Season 2, and then ended up doing Shanelle’s case earlier. It was really about seeing a different relationship with Jax and a client, like a maternal relationship. What would it look like if she had something that she felt she kind of had to take care of as a parent, at the same time with [her son] Spencer gone.
We watched “Quiet on Set,” “Child Star,” “Finding Neverland,” different documentaries, and the one thing that I realized was that so many of these stars, it’s not just one thing that happens to them. It’s about their family life. It’s about the people around them who are exploiting them. Usually there’s some kind of trauma that happens that then leads to self-medicating with drugs. I could have told one of these stories, but for me, the nuance and the complexity is the fact that he’s experienced all of it, and that’s who’s made him who he is.
When we hired Kyle, I told him the whole storyline, so he doesn’t sign up for something he may be uncomfortable doing. I wanted to make sure that he was comfortable. Like last season with Shannon Kane playing Shanelle, we had heavy topics. We offer mental health services to our actors and crew. After we witness [scenes] or read the scripts, we have a mental health coordinator on set many days, particularly for tough scenes we have.
It almost seemed like Monica was finally reflecting on how horrible she was to Ozzie, but then she goes to Jax’s new firm and pulls a gun on her and her family. Unpack that creative decision.
Mohamed: It’s interesting the season was going to end with someone coming in and getting a shot off and you wondering who could it be, because Jax has kind of made some enemies over the season, right? And then I was watching a cut from Episode 6, and Brandee yelling at Jax in the parking lot being like, “This is all your fault. You did this,” and I said, “M’s real mad!” And it was right as we were prepping the finale. We really kept it under wraps.
It’s been three months since Ozzie’s death. What is a person who’s lost everything, what narrative are they spinning in their head or whose fault that is? As you could see Monica on the stand, she’s like, “He wasn’t a child, he was a man, he was a star.” She’s delusional. She’s the type of person who’s going to blame a person for something that is entirely her fault.
Talk to me about Bill Sterling and the moves he makes this season. There were moments where I felt like he gets it, but then other times where it felt — especially with how he’d plot behind Jax — that he was using his white privilege to get over on her.
Mohamed: When Bill wakes up, when he looks in the mirror, who does he see? What does he think he’s doing. Remember in Episode 3, he’s like, “It sounds like you want me to be a snitch, and I don’t want to be a snitch.” But guess what trumps that? Him wanting to make partner. What trumps that? If he makes partner, he’ll get his family back. So Jax in a lot of ways is collateral damage to his ambition. In the finale, he goes to the partners and stands up for her, and they’re like, “Well, maybe you don’t deserve that.” He’s like, “Whoa, whoa, whoa.” At the end of the day, this is what white privilege is. You have the privilege to choose.
After experiencing racial microaggressions all season, and being mistreated, Jax quits her job and starts a firm of her own. How was it for you portraying that real-life issue on screen, particularly when Jax tells off the partners Vince and Steven?
Corinealdi: I felt a lot of what the audience felt, which was “finally.” Getting a chance to give them a piece of my mind. It has been build up after build up. When I read the script and saw the monologue, it was just an exhale. She gets this off her chest without having to censor herself, and I was looking forward to it for Jax. I wanted her to have that moment, and I knew it would be a moment that a lot of people would resonate with, unfortunately, because a lot of us have been in that situation.
Are Bill and Sally for real? Is this a real thing? They’re both going through separations/breakups, so is it real or just them being codependent? And to be honest, they both seem like they respect and appreciate Jax but also envy her on the low.
Mohamed: I think Sally and Bill are more alike than people thing, and that’s why putting them together was great, because they enjoy each other. I think they actually bring out the fun of each other when they’re together. But look, Sally sold the house even though Chris told her not to. Sally is someone who moves selfishly and so is Bill.
Is Sally out of line for messing with Bill knowing he and Jax work together?
Corinealdi: Yes, completely out of line. Like, what are you doing? Settle down and simmer down. Jax tried to talk to her, but that was taken the wrong way. And Jax is trying to be on more of her healing journey. I think there’s things she really wants to say, but they may not be well received. But yeah, Sally is all the way trippin’.
So what did that shoulder snuggle Jax did with Corey Cash at the beginning of season, when Lewis was at Toni’s house, mean?
Corinealid: Jax is allowing herself just a moment of vulnerability, but at the same time knowing that she’s in control of that moment, knowing that it’s not going any further. She wouldn’t allow it to go any further. She loves her husband. Does she go home and tell Lewis, “Hey, I laid my head on [his shoulder]. There’s something there that she probably shouldn’t have done, but I do that it was her knowing that boundary. It’s playing with the lion. Corey, he’s engaged, but at the same time, if Jax were to say jump, he would say, “How high?”
Mohamed: I think Corey tests Jax’s messiness. I think in that episode it was the perfect opportunity for her to be messy. I’m glad she chose not. I don’t want her to do that, but I also have to honor the character. Just because someone wants to change and wants to be different, doesn’t mean they always do everything right. They’re still fighting the urge to go backwards, and I wanted to show that fight. Her husband is not answering the phone and is at this woman’s house where the baby was and she doesn’t trust Toni. “Corey’s here; I need a hug. I just need a little hug.” That’s how Jax thinks. Lewis didn’t say Toni tried to have sex with me, just just said she was still having some feelings. I think they’re disclosing as much [as they can] and having to trust each other.
Tell me about Jax and Ozzie’s relationship. Did you know initially that he was going to die?
Corinealdi: No, I did not know, and so when I did find out that it was going to be him [who died], my heart was just broken. You could feel Jax’s connection to him. You could just feel that motherly instinct. I remember doing the scene where she just realizes, and she has this guilt of, “I’m the one who invited him over. Oh my God, I’ve done it again.” So that was kind of tough. And Kyle is such a fantastic actor and fantastic scene partner.
I felt bad for my guy Daniel. Did Kristen really love him or was it just for show to make sure her secrets stayed covered?
I think it started off like keep your enemies close. Daniel, who is pragmatic and logical, he couldn’t go on like [this]. I don’t think hiding a murderer for your family is the woman that he knows he can be with, and it wasn’t worth going against Jax.
Lastly, Jax starts a new chapter with her firm and closes a chapter by letting go of her father Eddie and Chelsea. What pushes her to make these decisions.
Mohamed: As far as the firm, I’ve always wanted her to start her own firm. It was about when. It’s been three seasons, and I wanted to build that up and show that it went went from her rolling her eyes at work and just being like, “Whatever. These fools don’t get me, I’m the bomb,” to real tension. You’ve heard Beyoncé feeling like she’s not heard, Serena Williams in the hospital where doctors aren’t listening to her — these people who have fame, fortune and name recognition, don’t have a voice. What is it like for the lawyer in corporate white America not being listened to. We are showing this character who is a strong Black woman, badass lawyer, she’s still being questioned about things. I’ve heard women in general feel that way. Even when Corey tells her they’re trying to bring him in[to the firm], that’s sexism. That’s them wanting a boys club.
Corinealdi: Jax really allowed herself to be as open and as vulnerable as she could be, really wanting to have this relationship with her father. Then to realize that there were things that he’s keeping from her… I think because she’s always trying to be two steps ahead, realized that wasn’t the case, she realized, “OK, I can’t trust you. I can’t be open. There’s no way forward in that relationship.
“Reasonable Doubt” Season 3 is now streaming on Hulu and Disney+.
