Onyx Collective Greenlights First Scripted Series

Onyx Collective has picked up Raamla Mohamed and Kerry Washington’s Reasonable Doubt as its first scripted series.

Reasonable Doubt follows defense attorney Jax Stewart as she bucks the justice system at every chance she gets with her questionable ethics and wild interpretations of the law.

Mohamed leads an all-Black writing team for the series. She is also an executive producer, alongside Washington and Pilar Savone for Washington’s Simpson Street and Larry Wilmore for Wilmore Films. Shawn Holley and Jon Leshay are co-executive producers.

Emayatzy Corinealdi (Middle of Nowhere) is set to star in the lead role.

Washington, who has previously directed episodes of Scandal, SMILF and Insecure, will also direct the first episode of Reasonable Doubt.

The series is produced by ABC Signature and will premiere exclusively on Hulu in the U.S.

Tara Duncan, president of Freeform and Onyx Collective, said: “It’s hard to imagine a more ideal creative partnership for our first Onyx Collective scripted series. Raamla and Kerry came to us with their passion project and a strong vision for a dynamic series that will surely get an audience talking. And to cast Emayatzy, who embodies the complexities of the lead character beautifully, was a huge get. We’re excited to bring this series to life.”

Mohamed said: “I am beyond thrilled that my first television show will be part of the Onyx Collective. As a 2012 alum of the ABC/Disney Writer’s Program, I’ve been in the Disney family for a minute now, and it has always been my dream to be able to create the kind of series based on people that look like me and made by people who look like me. I am grateful to Tara Duncan, Shawn Holley, Simpson Street, Wilmore Films and ABC Signature for believing in this project from the beginning and trusting it in my hands. And I’m especially excited to be working with Kerry as a director on what is our third project together. As the kids say, I love this for us.”

Washington added: “Simpson Street was founded with the belief that we are each the lead character in the story of our lives regardless of who we are, where we are born, what we believe or who we love. Each of us deserves to be and to see ourselves at the center of the narrative. It’s a privilege to partner with Onyx, a brand dedicated to centering creators of color and underrepresented voices, on their first scripted drama series. I am excited to be working with Larry Wilmore and to be once again collaborating with the brilliant Raamla Mohamed, who will lead an all-Black writers room on a series led by the phenomenal Emayatzy Corinealdi. This is a proud moment for all of us at Simpson Street, and we could not ask for better partners all around.”