Exclusive Interview: Raamla Mohamed and Emayatzy Corinealdi Talk Reasonable Doubt

Reasonable Doubt., loosely based on celebrity attorney Shawn Holley who has advised an impressive roster of clients including the Kardashian and Jenner families, Lindsay Lohan, Justin Bieber, Tupac Shakur, and Katt Williams, follows Jacqueline “Jax” Stewart, a high-powered criminal defense attorney from Los Angeles, as she fiercely bucks the justice system through wild interpretations of the law and sometimes questionable ethics, all while trying to deal with a failing marriage and the pitfalls of motherhood.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to chat with showrunner Raamla Mohamed and lead Emayatzy Corinealdi about Season 1 of Reasonable Doubt.

PC: Emayatzy, throughout the first season, we’re going to see your character navigate a new space in her life where she’s less in control, and you handle that with so much nuance. As an actress, how did you create this space for yourself to dive into that emotional arc?
Emayatzy: First, it was about finding the space within myself and figuring out what I related to with Jax. That was my in into the character. Though there are things about her that I didn’t relate to, I did have that connective tissue, which made it a bit easier to go on the journey with her and understand why she would do things that maybe I wouldn’t do.

PC: Raamla, you’ve said in the past that it was really important for you to create diversity in front of and behind the camera, especially for your young actors. Can you talk a little bit about why that was so important to you and how that environment lends itself to the performances that we’re going to see throughout the season?
Raamla: I feel like there has been a lot (especially in recent years) of talk about making sure there’s diversity on screen, which is super important. Growing up, there weren’t that many shows where I could see myself, particularly in dramas, so that was important to me. But at the same time, Black writers only make up five percent of all TV writers and women are still a minority among writers and directors. But I really wanted our actors and everyone who’s on set to walk in and not feel like an “other.” I wanted to create a diverse environment where no one could say, “I’m the only Black, Brown, or Asian person.” Whatever you are, you felt welcomed!

That eliminates assumptions that people would make about what your job is. Our showrunner is Black. Many department heads are Black. Our PA is Black. We have Black line producers. It ran the gamut. Emayatzy can speak to this, but I do feel like I can imagine that being on camera, and looking out and seeing familiar faces is helpful.

Emayatzy: It absolutely makes a difference. It’s one of those things where when you’re in the moment you don’t realize, “Oh, I’ve never had this experience before.” Brittany, our sound person, was putting on my mic and I had this moment of, “I don’t think I’ve ever had a Black woman do my sound.” It shouldn’t be that. There were a lot of those moments. It created this level of comfort and ease that I hadn’t experienced before on this level. There was an effect that came as a result of Raamla’s vision where we felt like we could see ourselves reflected in the crew as well.

PC: Emayatzy, Kerry Washington directed the first episode and serves as an executive producer. Is the experience different when you’re working with a director who also has experience in front of the camera?
Emayatzy: It is different. It’s different in one of the best ways possible because there’s an unspoken dialogue that’s there. There’s a competency that comes with a director who is also an actor. When they’re speaking to an actor, they’re able to communicate more clearly and effectively what they’re trying to get out of the scene. That makes a difference. It can be very tough when you’re an actor and you’re working with a director and they’re trying to tell you where they’re trying to get you to go and you don’t understand. But there’s something to be said about a director who has that experience because it comes across much easier. It’s in you more. They understand the character from a different place, and it makes a difference.

Make sure to follow Emayatzy (Twitter/Instagram) and Raamla (Twitter/Instagram). Watch Reasonable Doubt on Hulu today.