“Reasonable Doubt” stars Angela Grovey and Tim Jo said executive producer and showrunner Raamla Mohamed encourages the cast to lean into their own creativity when it comes to delivering comedic lines.
“I’d say it’s a real testament to Raamla Mohamed, who is an expert craftsman,” Jo, who plays Jax Stewart’s private investigator Daniel Kim, told TheWrap. “I can’t imagine the amount of effort and thought that goes into every word, and into the entire show that is her baby. But when she herself comes to me and says, ‘Tim, you can say whatever,’ I know that’s not glib, I know that’s her placing a lot of faith in me. So I really appreciate that, especially this season. I ran with it and said, ‘I’m going to say whatever I feel like.’ And so I did do that.”
Grovey chimed in, saying Mohamed’s greenlight gives them a freedom that has helped the already established synergy and chemistry between the actors.
“We’re lucky. Tim is really great at keeping it really fresh, and because Raamla allows us to explore a little bit, he often will start it and then if Emayatzy [Corinealdi] and I are in the room, then we can roll off of it, which is really fun,” Grovey, who plays Jax’s administrative assistant Krystal Walters, said. “And I think it’s a testament of us knowing each other and the technical part of it. You can improv for days and days if you are truly listening and responding, and thankfully we’re doing our job as actors. But that’s fun; it’s really great when we get to go off-script a bit.”
While Jo said he’s not “so confident in comedy,” he loves to adlib to keep his jokes fresh and is always looking out for a giggle or two from “Reasonable Doubt” producers, particularly Mohamed.
“The goal is, when we’re doing comedy is, if you can say a joke or deliver something in a way that you hear like a ‘aagh,’ or some sort of laugh off,” Jo said, imitating a cackle. “I heard Raamla do that kind of laugh one time, and I was like, ‘OK, now I can go home.’ But that’s what you’re always hoping for, is just to surprise them in the back. You don’t know if it’s going to make it in the cut or not, but the main goal is, can you make your bosses laugh — can you break your costar?”
Speaking of breaking a costar, Jo said there’s one castmate he was finally able to tickle with a joke on set.
“I made Emayatzy break once, and it almost caused a chain reaction,” Jo explained. “I don’t even think I talked about it in the moment. If I said, ‘I’m trying not to laugh,’ it would have been a giggle fit. But I did make Emayatzy break, and with the amount of work that she has — the complexity of the character, the responsibility that that woman carries — the fact that she broke was such a treat. Because she never breaks.”
“Never,” Grovey added.
“She never misses a line, nothing,” Jo said.
“That’s the goal. So Season 3, the goal is to break her at least three times,” Grovey concluded.
The full cast this season includes Emayatzy Corinealdi as Jax Stewart, McKinley Freeman as Lewis Stewart, Morris Chestnut as Corey Cash, Tim Jo as Daniel, Angela Grovey as Krystal, Thaddeus J. Mixson as Spenser and Aderinsola Olabode as Naima.
“Reasonable Doubt” was created, written and executive produced by Raamla Mohamed. Kerry Washington executive produces alongside Pilar Savone for Simpson Street, Larry Wilmore via Wilmore Films and Anton Cropper. Shawn Holley, Jon Leshay, Tamara Gregory, Lena Cordina, TASH Gray and Resheida Brady serve as co-executive producers. The series hails from Onyx Collective and is produced by ABC Signature, a part of Disney Television Studios.
“Reasonable Doubt” Season 2 is currently airing on Hulu.
Leave a Reply