The first season of RJ Decker has officially come to an end, but the show’s future at ABC remains very much up in the air. A second season has not yet been ordered by ABC, with the show’s future left up in the air at ABC in a renewal that could truly go either way for the Scott Speedman-led drama.
RJ Decker started off on a strong note, drawing in 3.69 million total viewers with its premiere to become ABC’s most-watched 10 p.m. drama premiere in five years, since Big Sky’s debut in 2020. With delayed viewership, the season premiere rose to 11.64 million total viewers across ABC, Hulu, Hulu on Disney+, digital platforms, and reruns.
As the weeks rolled by, RJ Decker’s ratings slipped slightly in the linear numbers, but the show has held relatively steady. However, the show has struggled in the 18-49 age demo, ranking as ABC’s lowest-rated scripted series and its seventh most-watched show of the network’s ten scripted series.
The show's ratings could honestly result in the renewal going either way for the network. ABC has not yet canceled a single scripted series this year, which might make fans worried that RJ Decker could be in danger. This would be a normal fear to have, given that shows that are left on the chopping block until the last minute oftentimes do not end up getting a second season. Fortunately, ABC's brass seems very keen on keeping the show going.
Multiple renewal scorecards have indicated that ABC has been pleased with RJ Decker's season 1 numbers and that the show has been generally well-received by those at the network. It certainly helps that it stars Speedman, who has a strong history with ABC and also recurs on Grey's Anatomy.
ABC has also given the show several signs of support, airing encores in the schedule when possible, including a three-episode marathon during a break in 911, 911: Nashville, and Grey's Anatomy's season this April. It also moved the show up an hour to air behind Will Trent once High Potential season 2 wrapped up to help give the show a stronger lead-in.
The show's strong start in the early run and its ability to maintain its ratings without falling off suggest that the show has room to grow. It's a show that could get a significant bump should Disney choose to license the first season out to Netflix, which would put the show in front of even more viewers and give it a chance to build its audience before a second season were to hit ABC, be it in the fall or at midseason during the 2026-2027 TV season.
With season 1 now in the books and ABC's Upfront presentation fast approaching, it seems likely that ABC will have to make a decision on RJ Decker's future sometime in the coming weeks. Hopefully when the decision comes through, it will be good news for the series, and it does look like the show is trending in the direction of a renewal. Let's just hope that the show doesn't end up joining a long list of amazing one-and-done series from ABC, which does have a track record for canceling shows after just one season.
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