ABC has another new crime show coming in the 2025–2026 TV season. Now, we think we know where it fits in the schedule.
ABC has been on a roll in the last few years with some great crime shows. That includes the hits The Rookie and Will Trent, with High Potential becoming a great success as well. The network goes for somewhat lighter-hearted shows, not the gritty fare of other channels, with some compelling characters. Now we can add a new one to the list!
Per TVLine, the network will premiere RJ Decker (that title may change in development), a new hourlong mystery dramedy based on the novel by acclaimed author Carl Hiaasen. The author’s works often focus on mysteries laced with dark humor, almost always set in Florida.
This follows the Apple TV+ series Bad Monkey, also based on a Hiaasen novel that earned a second season. ABC seems to want to follow that success and they may have a good shot with a unique tale involving an unlikely hero.
What is RJ Decker about?
The series comes from Elementary creator Rob Doherty, who also produces with Carl Beverly, Sarah Tibermann, and Hiaasen himself, and is based on Hiaasen’s second novel, Double Whammy, published in 1987.
The series stars Scott Speedman as RJ Decker, who (per the logline) is “a disgraced newspaper photographer/ex-con who 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.”
Speedman (who has a recurring role on Grey’s Anatomy) will be joined by Adelaide Clemens as Decker’s ex, Catherine Delacroix; Kevin Rankin as Aloysius, Decker’s former cellmate; and Bevin Bru as Melody Romero, a Fort Lauderdale Police Department detective who is married to Catherine.
It appears the show will start with a loose adaptation of the novel before moving into “crime of the week” storylines. It seems good, but just where in the schedule will it land?
When will RJ Decker premiere?
The show is clearly meant to come around in the midseason or perhaps as late as spring 2026. It’s not a bad idea as ABC still has a lot of programs to air, and keeping a new show for the midseason can work out (see Will Trent).
As for when it can premiere, while there are a few slots, the most likely would be Tuesdays at 9/8c. Right now, Tuesdays have Dancing With the Stars followed by the second season of High Potential. Midseason will bring the returns of The Rookie and Will Trent.
What’s important to remember is that High Potential won’t have a full 22-episode order, mostly due to star Kaitlin Olson’s schedule with It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. So it will likely end its run earlier, perhaps by March. That means a hole to plug in with Rookie and Trent both running seasons without interruptions.
RJ Decker would easily fit into that slot between the two shows. It may have a slight challenge going against NCIS: Origins on CBS, yet Speedman is a fun actor and positioned between two established hits is a boost to a new show. That can allow it to find an initial audience and then grow from there.
While ABC could try for it on another night, the network seems to prefer Tuesdays being a crime show block, making RJ Decker a natural fit there. It’s still a few months before the schedule is revealed and we see just when RJ Decker joins its fellow ABC crime series in hopefully becoming a hit.
RJ Decker is set to premiere on ABC in 2026.
Stay tuned to Precinct TV for news and updates about your favorite TV crime dramas.