Celebrations are in order for ABC and its latest new drama series! The network has been on something of a winning streak lately with the early renewals of High Potential, 911, 911: Nashville, and Abbott Elementary, and the exciting launch of the Scrubs revival. Between ABC's dramas and comedies, the network has hit its stride, most especially in the drama department.
In addition to the success of ABC's 911 franchise and the enduring popularity of returning hits like Grey's Anatomy, Will Trent, and The Rookie, the network has also seemingly added another sparkling gem to its roster. The new detective comedy-drama RJ Decker, starring Grey's alum Scott Speedman, just notched a ratings achievement for the network that hasn't been done since Big Sky.
RJ Decker premieres with impressive ratings on ABC
As Deadline reports, RJ Decker has become the biggest 10 p.m. drama series premiere for ABC in over five years, since the premiere of Big Sky in November 2020. According to the outlet, the series premiere episode of the new show grabbed 3.69 million Live+Same day viewers, the largest debut audience at 10 p.m. since Big Sky, exceeding even High Potential and Will Trent's initial10 p.m. bows.
Unsurprisingly, RJ Decker has been able to retain much of the audience of its lead-in High Potential, likely due to the crossover appeal in the two series as well as the star power and pull of Speedman. Both shows fold in comedic elements to its dramatic crime drama procedural storylines, making for the perfect one-two punch on Tuesday nights on ABC — as well as on streaming.
The show's excellent debut on ABC gains even more traction when you factor in its performance on various platforms. In RJ Decker's first six days of availability on ABC, Hulu, Disney+, and other on-demand services, the pilot episode attracted 11.64 million combined viewers. While it took the series three more days than High Potential's pilot to reach that figure, it's still mighty impressive.
Because of the late hour, 10 p.m. has always been an increasingly difficult timeslot for broadcast networks to launch new hit series, especially in the streaming age. ABC has apparently been able to strike gold twice with High Potential and RJ Decker by debuting shows with on-the-night attention as well as massive pull on streaming. Not only is that good for the network, but it's great for viewers!
Speedman stars as the titular ex-con who was formerly a photographer for a newspaper, finding himself turning over a new leaf as a private investigator in Florida. Even though ABC has enjoyed a steady run of hit franchises and other beloved dramas, the network has repeatedly discovered its niche of character-driven crime procedurals with a mystery tilt. RJ Decker's right at home.
The show's leading man recently opened up about his future on ABC's longest-running drama series Grey's Anatomy, on which he recurs as Dr. Nick Marsh. Now that Speedman's new starring role appears to have an upward trajectory, ABC could be seeing a lot more of the actor in primetime. Keep watching RJ Decker on Tuesdays at 10/9c, streaming next day on Hulu.