'Reasonable Doubt' Star Has Heard The Chatter About The Sex Scenes

Jacqueline "Jax" Stewart of Hulu's "Reasonable Doubt" has it all together. The defense attorney is the kind of person who could wear crisp white pants to her high-powered job and not get them stained. Poised and powerful, she's the kind of grown-up that grown-ups want to be one day.

But she's not put together for long.

"Reasonable Doubt," which premiered on Hulu on Sept. 27, charts her unraveling — one that includes a difficult murder case, a love quadrangle and losing the "balance" in work-life balance, to the detriment of her two kids.

What might be a chaotic time for Jax turns out to be a heck of a ride for viewers, as she revisits her past and makes some, uh, soapy decisions.

"Jax knows who she is. She stands in her truth. But on the show, her friends are starting to hold mirrors to her, her husband is starting to hold mirrors to her. She’s not expecting that. She's starting to realize, 'Maybe there's something I need to address.' It takes her a minute to even accept the possibility," Emayatzy Corinealdi told TODAY.

"Reasonable Doubt" is the first installment hailing from Onyx Collective, devoted to Black storytelling. The series was created by Raamla Mohamed, with executive producers including Larry Wilmore and Kerry Washington.

In fact, Washington took Corinealdi as her date to the 2022 Emmys. "Kerry is not afraid of sharing the limelight. She's such a giving person. She knows there's room all around and she just makes me feel so I'm just comfortable and confident," Corinealdi said.

Washington's "Scandal" character, Olivia Pope, could probably have an eventful happy hour with Corinealdi's Jax, swapping stories and ignoring the many pings on their phone — if, of course, they ever found time to sit back and relax.

In real life, Washington gave Corinealdi a single piece of advice: "Make sure you take your vitamins. She was very serious about that," Corinealdi said.

"I understood what she meant. You are going all cylinders every day while you're filming, and it's really important to kind of stay and keep your body healthy."

Corinealdi's previous roles include "Middle of Nowhere," in which she played Miles Davis' wife Frances Taylor, and "Ballers." She had almost committed to another role when she encountered the script for "Reasonable Doubt." Corinealdi resisted reading it, despite her team's encouragement.

"When I finally read it, 'I said, 'Oh, I see. This is this is good.' Because the writing just from the pilot was so clear on who this woman was, what she was possibly going to go through. It had an excitement," Corinealdi said.

And it also posed a challenge. At first, Corinealdi was daunted by what the part entailed.

"It's it's just spicy. I'm like, masturbating in the shower! I'm much more shy or reserved than Jax in that regard," Corinealdi said.

But the spiciness is also what drew her to the part. "Being able to show this grown adult side of this woman. We get to see her interpersonal world and I just thought that that was so much fun. As uncomfortable as it was going to make me, I was excited about it too," she continued.

Jax is in the middle of a separation and is exploring romantic connections — in one scene, only to make her husband jealous as he watches the footage from the living room. Her main leading men include soon-to-be ex-husband Louis (McKinley Freeman) and ex con Damon (Michael Ealy), though there is another fling.

There are sex scenes — and they are sexy. Think: “Bridgerton,” but in sleek living rooms. For Corinealdi, seeing positive feedback made all her initial nerves worth it.

"I think it's fantastic. I think it's absolutely fantastic. There's a group of people — like me —who are probably like, 'Oh, my gosh! But I'm still watching!' and another group of people who are like, 'Yes, that's me, I'm all the way out there," she said.

Ultimately, Corinealdi said, this is just the "real life" of her character. "It's realistic. This is what a woman is going through," she said.

Corinealdi appreciates the tone of the show. It's juicy and soapy, yes, but she said it's not crude.

"I love it's still told in a very classy way. She's not this tasteless woman out here just doing all this nonsense. There's a level of class about this woman where you don't feel that there's anything tawdry," she said.

Classy, perhaps — but Jax isn't perfect. At one point, Jax breaks down after she learns her 10-year-old daughter had gotten her period and didn't tell her, fearing she didn't have time for her.

Corinealdi, who has an infant daughter, thought ahead while filming the scene. "Just the idea of her not wanting to tell you because she thought you were too busy — it broke my heart to even do it," she said.

This much is for sure: Jax is confronting her mess, but it probably isn't going to be solved in nine episodes. The show hasn't been confirmed for a second season. If it is, though, Corinealdi is on board.

"There is much more runway for Jax and her world you know. I think the people would love to see what what happens after they see the finale," she said.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com