R.J. Decker (2026)

R.J. Decker is an American crime-comedy drama television series created by Robert Doherty and inspired by the 1987 novel Double Whammy by Carl Hiaasen. The series stars Scott Speedman in the titular role and premiered on ABC on March 3, 2026. In May 2026, the series was renewed for a second season which premiered on September 15, 2026.

Premise

The series follows R.J. Decker, discredited newspaper photographer and ex-con, convicted after false testimony, as he "starts over as a private investigator in the colorful-if-crime-filled world of South Florida, tackling cases that range from slightly odd to outright bizarre with the help of his journalist ex, her police detective wife, and a shadowy new benefactor, a woman from his past who could be his greatest ally... or his one-way ticket back to prison."

Cast

Main

Scott Speedman as R.J. Decker, a former photojournalist who was jailed for eighteen months for assault and now makes a living as a private investigator

Jaina Lee Ortiz as Emilia "Emi" Ochoa, a woman who sent R.J. to prison at the order of her corrupt father who is a state senator

Kevin Rankin as Aloysius "Wish" Aiken, R.J.'s former cellmate and a current bar owner

Adelaide Clemens as Catherine Delacroix, R.J.'s bisexual ex-wife and a journalist

Bevin Bru as Melody "Mel" Abreu, Catherine's current wife and a detective at Fort Lauderdale Police Department

Recurring

Mélodie Rose Romano as Sofia, Mel's daughter and Catherine's stepdaughter

Beau Bridges as Reggie Decker (season 2), R.J.'s estranged father

Guest

David Zayas as Victor Ochoa, Emi's father and a corrupt Florida state senator

Stephen Bishop as Bruce Vinkour

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2026)

Season 2 (2026)

Production

Development

The pilot was ordered by ABC in May 2025. In September 2025, R.J. Decker was ordered to series. The series was created by Robert Doherty who was expected to executive produce alongside Carl Hiaasen, Carl Beverly, Sarah Timberman, and Paul McGuigan. McGuigan directed the pilot.

On May 8, 2026, ABC renewed the series for a second season.

Casting

In June 2025, Scott Speedman was cast to star. In July 2025, Weruche Opia, Kevin Rankin, Adelaide Clemens, and Bevin Bru joined the main cast. In November 2025, Jaina Lee Ortiz joined the cast in recasting, replacing Opia. In April 2026, David Zayas and Stephen Bishop were cast in recurring roles. In September 2026, Beau Bridges joined the cast in a recurring capacity for the second season.

Filming

The pilot was filmed in the summer of 2025, in Wilmington, North Carolina and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Filming for the remainder of the first season commenced in November 2025, in Wilmington, and continued through April 2026. Filming also took place in Fort Fisher and Carolina Beach, North Carolina.

Release

R.J. Decker premiered on ABC on March 3, 2026. Episodes were subsequently made available on Hulu the day following their broadcast. The second season premiered on September 15, 2026.

Reception

Critical response

The series holds an 80% approval rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on 10 critic reviews, with an average of rated reviews of 6.5/10. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 67 out of 100 based on 7 critics, indicating "generally favorable".

Ratings

The premiere of R.J. Decker drew 3.69 million Live+Same Day viewers and aired behind Will Trent at 8:00 p.m. and High Potential at 9:00 p.m. The broadcast represented ABC's most-watched 10:00 p.m. drama debut in more than five years, since the premiere of Big Sky on November 17, 2020. The premiere's Live+Same Day audience was higher than those of High Potential and Will Trent, which also debuted in the 10:00 p.m. time slot. As a lead-out to High Potential, the series recorded a lead-in retention rate of 73%, exceeding that of The Rookie in the same slot. Within six days of its release, the premiere accumulated 11.64 million multi-platform viewers across ABC, Hulu, Hulu on Disney+, digital platforms, and linear encores. Over this period, it also ranked No. 1 on daily streaming charts on Hulu and Disney+.

References

External links

Official website

R.J. Decker at IMDb