‘Reasonable Doubt’ Boss on Jax & Lewis’s Relationship in Season 2: ‘Both of Them Have to Grow’
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Reasonable Doubt Season 2, Episodes 1-4.]
When it comes to Reasonable Doubt, viewers are living in Jax Stewart’s (Emayatzy Corinealdi) world, but Season 2 is proving that the lawyer isn’t as in control as she’d like to be.
As the latest episodes unfold, Jax is tested with the variable of Corey Cash (Morris Chestnut) taking the lead on her friend Shanelle’s (Shannon Kane) defense case after she’s accused of murdering her husband JT (Christopher Mychael Watson), and now she could be facing a further fracture in her marriage to Lewis (McKinley Freeman), who realized in the fourth episode, “Primetime,” that he may have fathered a child outside of his marriage after a fling with Toni (Tristan Cunningham) in Season 1.
Disney/Crystal Power
“We’re going to see two people who really love each other and want to make it work, and also see how both of them have to grow,” showrunner Raamla Mohamed notes of Jax and Lewis’s journey in Season 2. “We focused a lot on Jax’s growth last season, but there’s going to be a focus on what Lewis needs to do and that he’s not perfect either,” she teases.
“And so I think that I’m excited to see what they go through and how the fans react and what they’re rooting for,” Mohamed adds, “because I think they have the key ingredients of a relationship. They have friendship, fun, and fire.” Along with that silver lining of friendship, Mohamed notes that when it comes to Jax and Lewis’s therapy sessions, “that’ll be a very helpful thing for both of them.”
As for the other relationship dynamics in Jax’s life at the moment, she’s struggling to find common ground with Corey despite the embrace her firm has shown to him. “I think that’s what makes it interesting, is [Jax] wants Corey’s help, but she’s used to being in charge, and so that’s going to be difficult for her,” Mohamed notes, hinting at more tension to come.
“But what was great about it, is that [Morris Chestnut] liked the complexities of the role, and he also liked the fact that even though he was kind of the ‘villain,’ he’s likable. He bonds with Daniel [Tim Jo] and Krystal [Angela Grovey], and he makes great points about what he wants to do,” she adds.
On the flip side, Jax has also had a topsy-turvy dynamic with Shanelle, but she’s remained loyal to her pal through this case. “I think that female friendships, especially close ones, and also portraying friendships where people aren’t just dismissive or judgmental is important because I do think it creates relatability with people,” Mohamed says of the picture she’s painting with Shanelle and Jax’s friendship, among others in the series.
Reasonable Doubt, Season 2, New Episodes, Thursdays, Hulu
