In the first season of Raamla Mohamed’s Hulu drama “Reasonable Doubt,” attorney Jax Stewart (an exceptional Emayatzy Corinealdi) was estranged from her husband, Lewis (McKinley Freeman), and having an affair with a former client, Damon Cooke (Michael Ealy), a situation that threatened to unravel everything she’d worked so hard to achieve. Now, a soapier, even more compelling Season 2 finds a vulnerable Jax grappling with a deeply personal case, ongoing marital problems, and a new partner at work with his own motives for joining Jax’s team.

Season 2 picks up where Season 1 left off, finding Jax trying to find her footing after a tumultuous end to Damon that included a kidnapping and suicide. Now, she’s focused on healing herself and her marriage through therapy. Though prone to anxiety, Jax is reluctant to take the medication her doctor prescribed. So when her best friend, Shanelle Tucker (Shannon Kane), calls her in a hysterical state and confesses to murdering her husband, ex-NFL player Jamarion “JT” Tucker (Christopher Mychael Watson), Jax’s world is turned upside down.

Far too close to Shanelle to lead her case, Jax brings in attorney Corey Cash (Morris Chestnut), whose name alone symbolizes the show's soap operatic direction. Corey is a legal force in his own right, but his methods for handling Shanelle's defense rarely match Jax's, and the two find themselves in a battle of wills and mistrust. The tension between them illustrates how personal connections can change the way people perceive the truth. The contrast between Corey's and Jax's approaches also gives the audience a glimpse into the power plays that play out in high-profile murder trials. The show also reveals what's at stake for defendants and prosecutors when such trials are put on public display.

There’s a lot that works well about “Reasonable Doubt’s” sophomore outing. Corinealdi is terrific as a woman who makes no apologies for her needs in every area of her life. Chestnut is commanding as a hotshot lawyer willing to take Jax to task. Freeman also gets a decent story arc, giving Lewis a lot more texture than just the role of a deserted husband.