- - ‘Reasonable Doubt’ Boss Unpacks Season 3 Finale, Why Monica Shooting at Jax ‘Makes Sense’ and Season 4 Plans: ‘My Goal is to Make the Next Season Better Than the Last’

Giana LevyNovember 13, 2025 at 11:00 PM

0

SPOILER ALERT: This story contains details from “On to the Next One,” the Season 3 finale of “Reasonable Doubt,” now streaming on Hulu.

“Who killed Wendy?” As Season 3 of Onyx Collective’s “Reasonable Doubt” came to a close, all was revealed.

More from Variety

'Reasonable Doubt' Renewed for Season 4 at Hulu

'Reasonable Doubt' Star McKinley Freeman Unpacks That Bizarre Settlement Request, Lewis Spending the Night With Toni and Grieving Jaiden's Death

Kash Doll Joins 'Reasonable Doubt' Season 3 at Onyx Collective

Season 3’s central storyline found Jax Stewart (Emayatzy Corinealdi) back in the courtroom, tackling a high-profile case involving Ozzie Edwards (Kyle Barry) — a former child star accused of murdering his girlfriend, Wendy (Rumer Willis). ​

While defending Ozzie, who was charged with second-degree murder, Jax discovered that the star was a victim of child abuse by his manager, Monica (Brandee Evans). This abuse inadvertently led him to a drug addiction, which he tried to overcome during his trial.

In the end, Ozzie managed to avoid prison time and was found not guilty. To celebrate the verdict, Jax invited Ozzie over to her house for a family dinner. Ozzie chose to attend a party thrown by his friends — but after being tempted by his friends doing drugs, Ozzie still wound up at Jax’s dinner.

Later that evening, Jax revealed to Ozzie that she called a rehab facility to pick him up from her house. When the transporters arrived, Ozzie was found unresponsive in Jax’s son’s bedroom. Medics attempted to revive him, but he died from an overdose. At Ozzie’s repass, in a shocking turn of events, his sister Kristin (Kiah Clingman) revealed that it was their father who actually killed Wendy.

While this season revolved around Jax’s latest criminal case, it also found the fictional attorney navigating some of life’s other curveballs.

Jax and Lewis were forced to face the consequences following the death of his son, born out of their previous affairs from Season 1.​ Jax confronted her childhood abandonment issues once her father reappeared in her life, alongside a half-sister she didn’t know existed. She was also seen grappling with the devastating news about her mother’s stage 2 colon cancer diagnosis.

As if her family drama wasn’t enough, she faced microaggressions inside her law firm. That included working with shady co-counsel Bill (Joseph Sikora), who achieved his goal of becoming a partner, but without Jax’s knowledge or involvement in the final decision.

Her final straw, Jax packed up her corner office and started her own law firm. In what should have been a happy moment for Jax into her new space, the season concluded with a vengeful Monica pointing a gun at Jax and pulling the trigger.

“Reasonable Doubt” showrunner Raamla Mohamed spoke with Variety about the explosive finale, how Sal became Wendy’s killer, making Ozzie’s overdose his final fate, how long she sees the show continuing and more.

We have to start with that explosive cliffhanger of Monica shooting at Jax inside her new law firm. How do you land on that twist?

Initially, you weren’t going to see who it was. It was going to be a cliffhanger. As we’re prepping the finale, I get a cut of Episode 6, and I’m watching Brandee’s performance where she’s yelling at Jax. I was like, ‘I don’t know if that anger goes away.’ And it made sense that it would be her that shows up. I told Brandee to show up and look like someone who hasn’t slept in months and is angry. I want you to look like you’re out of your mind. You lost Ozzy. You lost everything, and you just zeroed in on whose fault it is. She committed. I love endings that are both surprising, but not out of nowhere, and make sense.

Before that shocking moment, it was liberating to see Jax quit her former law firm to start her own. From the start, viewers noticed the microaggressions and toxic culture she faced as the only Black attorney at the firm. When Jax walks away, what message did you want to send at that moment?

It’s funny because I was listening to a Mariah Carey album and ‘Butterfly’ came on. There was something so freeing about that interlude. I wanted the scene to feel joyous. When Bill is like, ‘Where is she going?’ And she comes back around the corner with her box, I wanted to feel that feeling. I love the way our director, Anton Cropper, shot it. We talked specifically about what she takes and how she walks out in slow motion. We talked with our costume designer, Mercedes Cook, about what she’s wearing. She’s in red, which is power, but also anger. She pushes her braids back and is like deuces. It’s one of my favorite moments of the season. A lot of women will relate to that – not just Black women.

Fans have that Corey and Jax start their own firm together. Has that thought crossed your mind?

It crossed my mind. But it’s Jax’s moment, and what she’s been through. I won’t leave out an option for Morris [Chestnut] to come back. He’s a great character, and I love working with him. But it was about telling Jax’s story, what she’s been through over the season and giving her the victory versus going to Corey with the idea to work with him. She’s like, ‘I’m not going to be here, and I know what my worth is.’

There’s a lot to unpack here in this shocking finale. The big reveal about Wendy’s killer is that it is Ozzie’s dad. Why did you decide to have the Sal as the murderer?

Sal had been emasculated. Rosie is the alpha female in the house and is clearly making the decisions. I thought it’d be interesting to watch what happens when Wendy comes, and Sal is now confronted with a problem that he’s acted erratically. How would he handle it? My favorite moment is when Kristin says, ‘Should we call mom?’ and he says, ‘No.’ There’s this idea that he can handle this. He messes it all up in many ways, or he doesn’t, because he does get away with it until the end. But it’s this idea that he doesn’t feel like anyone appreciates him and he hasn’t been able to have any say in the managing of Ozzie.

Was that always the plan, or did the story evolve over time?

It was going to be Kristin. Then, as we started talking about it, it changed to the mom. As we were making changes, I was like, ‘There’s something interesting about a man’s relationship with his mother.’ It’s very telling of the kind of man that he becomes and who he is. It was going to be more interesting to watch how Ozzie shrinks with his mom. Your assumption is that it’s a patriarchal situation, but it’s matriarchal. Once we got a handle on that, it made sense for the dad to be the one because it felt like he had a reason to prove something. If Rosie had done it, I don’t think Ozzie would have been in jail and gone to prison. Rosie would have figured it out in a way where Wendy may have never been found, and none of this would have happened.

Many fans were convinced that Ozzie was the killer, but the trial made it clear that anyone could’ve been a suspect. What made you go the route for a non-guilty verdict?

Last season, Jax gave a heartfelt speech and convinced the judge not to have Shanelle go to prison, but she lost the case. I wanted to watch Jax have a win. She kept fighting, particularly with the partners, about her strategy. For her to lose, it wouldn’t feel satisfying. It’s a personal win for Jax on the legal side to validate that she does know what she’s doing, and she can win.

Ozzie’s trial raises awareness of the sexual abuse and grooming of children in the entertainment industry, which continues to be an issue in Hollywood that has historically been ignored or covered up. Why was it important for you to highlight this issue?

Ozzie is a child star, and I wanted to show all of what he was dealing with. If there’s going to be an addict, where did that come from? Usually, it comes from self-medication, an event or trauma. We started to explore what that trauma was. When it’s a man and an older woman, it’s viewed as cool when it’s not at all. Because of that, it’s sometimes difficult for young boys to understand that it’s abuse. Ozzie says to Autumn, ‘It was consensual because I enjoyed it.’ But you were a child and weren’t able to consent. It was important to show Ozzie realize that on screen where it’s not something you realize in the past, but in the present. We’re seeing that happen as he’s going through this trial, which causes the spiral.

We often hear more about cases involving women being abused by men than the other way. Can you talk about your approach to exploring this different perspective on sexual abuse?

For the most part, I start with character. For Monica, what is the narrative of someone doing something like this? What does she tell herself? What story does she need to hold on to in order to be convinced that what she’s doing is right? Then, what world does Ozzie need to live in so that this feels like it wasn’t wrong and that it could have been condoned? He had this distance with his mom. With the flashbacks of Monica in his web, how does that affect Ozzie as well? Growing up in the ’90s, we heard some of these stories about young girls and older men. Even with R. Kelly and Aaliyah, we saw it and thought it was odd, but we didn’t really get into the psyche of what that means. It’s posed as a mentor relationship, and then it’s flipped.

Ozzie’s trauma becomes the catalyst behind his substance abuse, which ultimately becomes his downfall that takes his life in the end. What led to the decision to make his addiction the final turning point of his story?

I read stories where people are on the way to rehab, they take one final hit because they’re scared that they’re not going to be able to do the drugs. Then, it ends them. That was always going to be the end of Ozzie. It was bittersweet for me. It’s the fact that he was about to be free. He was about to figure out who he is as an adult when his life was cut short. That’s a story that happens a lot. That’s the sadness that happens when people who are figuring it out and on the cusp of doing something different, their lives are cut short.

Just before his overdose, Ozzie and Jax share an emotional conversation about his addiction and recovery post-trial. What were you hoping to convey in that moment, especially given what happens to Ozzie immediately after?

Jax and Ozzie had a maternal relationship where she felt he reminded her of her son. We haven’t seen her take on that kind of client. Brayden had a different energy. Shanelle was her friend, so there’s personal history. But what about someone who could be her son? That was one of the early things that I pitched was this idea that he gets to see unconditional love without strings toward the end of the season. When a parent or someone cares about you, they what’s best for you. It’s not enabling or allowing you to be a bad version of yourself. He gets to experience that when he says, ‘I’m so mad at you, but I love you too.’ He gets to have that thing he never got.

Another pivotal moment was Jax’s dad returning to her life after her mom’s cancer diagnosis. Although his return was skeptical at first, Jax slowly embraced him. How will her having to put her guard back up with him impact her growth as a character?

In this instance, it’s ‘I love you, but there’s Chelsea, you and so many things. I need distance until I can make decisions about all of it.’ The growth is being able to set a boundary. There’s growth there because she’s coming from a vulnerable place. She’s not yelling. Old Jax would have blocked him. I don’t know if she would sit and have a conversation or at least try to figure out how she feels. As adults, we grow and are sometimes challenged by new traumas that come up. That’s what you’re going to see with Jax. Overall, she’ll move forward. But we’re going to see her take a step back and try to restabilize herself because that’s real life.

Now that the show has been officially renewed for Season 4, have you started thinking about what themes you’d want to explore for next season?

The [writer’s]room is open. We’re breaking ideas and coming up with stuff. My goal is to make the next season better than the last. It’s always a challenge to make that happen, but I’m up for it.

When you first created “Reasonable Doubt,” how many seasons did you envision for the series?

As a showrunner, you’re trying to get through the first season. When I pitched it, I liked the idea of four seasons. I was being realistic because it’s streaming, and even getting to four seasons is a feat. As the show has evolved, I’m open to however long it can go and still be good.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Best of Variety

Oscar Predictions: ‘Hamnet’ Gains Momentum as Fall Festivals Confirm It’s an Undeniable Audience Favorite

What’s Coming to Netflix in November 2025

The Best Couples Costumes to Wear This Halloween: From 'Severance' to Oasis

Sign up for Variety's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”