From murder mysteries to sexy attorneys, Hulu’s “Reasonable Doubt” is a juicy soap opera that black viewers will absolutely love.
Written by Raamla Mohamed and co-executive produced by Kerry Washington, the show is almost like a crossroads between Scandal and How To Get Away With Murder. “Reasonable Doubt” stars Emayatzy Corinealdi as a high-powered defense attorney who loves criminals—featuring stellar performances from Michael Ealy, Sean Patrick Thomas, Emayatzy Corinealdi, Mckinley Freeman, and Pauletta Washington.
In an exclusive interview with Baller Alert, Sean Patrick Thomas talks about working with Kerry Washington again, his role as Brayden Miller, and more.
We last saw Thomas in “Save The Last Dance” and “Barber Shop,” so he’s no rookie when it comes to acting. In fact, this will be his second time working with Kerry Washington and Michael Ealy. When asked what it was like working with the Scandal star after two decades, Thomas said, “it felt like coming home.”
“When Kerry and I first started working together back in the day — we hit it off right off the bat,” he said. “To bring it back around 20 years later and to have her be the director of this show was so exciting to me. And I was just thrilled to get the opportunity to see her in another capacity.”
Many were excited about the sexy new legal drama hitting Hulu and became even more intrigued when it was revealed that Washington was behind it. “She’s a phenomenal director. She knows exactly what she wants. She knows how to communicate it. And she has excellent taste,” Thomas said.
In the series, Thomas plays Brayden Miller, an arrogant businessman on track to becoming a billionaire dealing with recent sexual assault and murder accusations.
Since many viewers expressed a mix of love/hate emotions for Brayden Miller, Thomas breaks down what type of viewer would love his character. “The type of person that is unapologetic about getting what they want would love my character,” said Thomas. “That’s something Brayden exhibits, and if you’re the type of person who admires or respects that, you’re gonna like him.”
Brayden and Jax go toe-to-toe in the series, and although it’s business, it seems as if there’s a bit of ego involved. Thomas shares his opinion about their tension. “I think both of them are accustomed to walking into the room and being the only black person and the smartest person in the room…. So I think they kind of challenge each other in that way,” he said. “When you’re used to being the only person in the room that’s like that, you wanna kind of knock the other person down a peg.”
The show explores Baldwin Hills and different parts of the city from the lens of a black professional. Los Angeles is also showcased as its own “character” in the series, and Thomas details the importance of black viewers seeing LA from that perspective of LA. “I think showing LA in that way grounds the show in an authenticity and a reality that people in Los Angeles will latch on to.”
Reasonable Doubt has an inclusive lens of blackness throughout the show, making it authentic and unique. Mohamed and Washington created a show that didn’t shy away from the originality of black dialect in professional settings. “There’s a certain way that we black people talk amongst each other when we’re alone that we may not necessarily talk the same way when we’re around white folks. But this show puts all that out there, and I admire that. I don’t think we’ve seen that on TV before.”
The 9-episode legal drama premiered on Tuesday, September 27, on Hulu with two episodes. Episodes 1-7 are currently streaming on the platform, with the season finale airing on November 15.
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