ABC’s “RJ Decker” delivers exactly what you want out of this kind of show. Mysteries that wrap up with the satisfaction of completing a 500-piece puzzle. Characters with depth, charisma, and chemistry. A unique setting that colors it all.
Scott Speedman plays RJ Decker, a fundamentally good guy, whose life goes sideways at such a steep angle that he goes to prison, losing his career as a photojournalist in the process. We see the relevant parts of his downfall via flashback. Based on Carl Hiaasen’s character of the same name, the Decker of this series is stumbling along, living in a dilapidated trailer and working as a private investigator.
He is not edgy or wounded like PIs of stories past. Instead, I’d venture to say he’s downright wholesome. But in a modern way, where he can, say, stay friends with his ex-wife (Adelaide Clemens)–and his ex-wife’s new wife (Bevin Bru), who, as a cop, happens to be a useful source for him. The show and the character don’t see anything salacious in this setup, but rather the common human messiness that makes for good TV. And Bru and Speedman play well off each other with her toughness colliding with his slipperiness to make a satisfying study in contrasts.
SCOTT SPEEDMAN, KEVIN RANKIN
A network star for nearly three decades, Speedman is well cast in this role as an unlucky good guy who’s made his fair share of mistakes. And he’s paired well with Jaina Lee Ortiz as his love interest Emi Ochoa. The “Station 19” alum is confident and alluring as part of a corrupt, powerful Florida family who has her own moral compass–and the cross to bear that comes with it. And it helps that after an initial hook-up, the show builds up a believable will-they-won’t-they dynamic between the two of them. There’s a reason it’s such a favorite troupe of serialized storytelling: it works, giving the audience something uncertain to wish for.
Because clearly, RJ Decker is going to solve the mystery every week. That much is known. But how the clues mount up is satisfying, thanks in large part to the show’s use of its Fort Lauderdale setting. The primetime drama gently teases and clearly takes inspiration from South Florida culture, building a mystery in the world of pirated Venus Fly Traps, for example, or making its own “Florida Man” jokes.
Florida’s gotten a lot of small-screen time lately, with varying degrees of success. Shows like “Florida Man” and “Griselda” exoticize the Sunshine State, exaggerating the place’s weirdness. In contrast, “RJ Decker” lets Florida breathe. So, when a man walks by in a speedo and a cowboy hat and our principles react in different ways, we understand that we’re in a place where weird things happen regularly–but that doesn’t make them less weird.
SCOTT SPEEDMAN
It’s the type of subtle, effective move that this show delivers so well. And the thing is, “RJ Decker” is fun too. There’s joy and a silliness to this show’s world, even as our characters are busy solving murders and trying to get by.
So, for example, in the first two episodes sent to critics for review, characters joke about how common a stint in prison is on their show–this is a show about an ex-con, after all. But the ABC procedural, for all its light tone, doesn’t shy away from what that means. Decker’s friend and former cellmate Aloysius ‘Wish’ Aiken (Kevin Rankin, doing what he does so well) had to literally win the lottery to get the economic security of having a small business –aka what most shows still pretend is normal for white guys in the U.S.
It’s a delightful mix, one that acknowledges the pratfalls of our reality while building a story all its own out of Florida shenanigans, Speedman’s warm heart, and as much whimsy as makes sense in a murder-mystery.
Two episodes screened for review. It premieres tomorrow, March 3rd.