‘R.J. Decker’ Is the Latest Disney Hit
Just last week, I praised Disney for its latest Hulu blockbuster, Love Story.
Seven days later, Dana Walden can celebrate yet another exceptional performance.
Hollywood Reporter PHOTOGRAPHED BY DIANA KING
Yes, R.J. Decker is the latest hit for Disney, and it’s on broadcast television and streaming.
Let’s talk about the latest procedural to pay dividends for Disney…and another one, too!
Disney and Carl Hiaasen Are Friends Now
Bestselling author Carl Hiaasen was once my mortal enemy.
He wrote a book called Team Rodent: How Disney Devours the World.
Random House
My wife, a massive Hiaasen fan, read that book and turned against Disney, which was odd.
The company had created some of her favorite stories, so she should have loved the Mouse.
CarlHiaasen.com
During the early years of our relationship, she had zero interest in vacationing at Disney.
We’ve since co-written a Disney World vacation guide that comes out in October.
Carl Hiassen
Obviously, she turned around on the topic over time, but Hiaasen cost me like ten Disney visits.
I still love him anyway because he captured the spirit of the “A Florida Man…” meme before it was even a meme.
Carl Hiassen
He’s a bona fide literary genius, albeit one whose voice is challenging to capture on film.
We’ve gotten two movies based on Hiaasen stories so far, and the better one is…Hoot. That film’s two claims to fame are earning back half its budget and introducing the world to Brie Larson.
The other movie is Striptease, which was a punchline for many years afterward.
Last year, his fortunes finally changed thanks to Apple TV’s Bad Monkey.
If you listen to my podcast, Streaming into the Void, you may have heard me singing its praises last week.
What I hadn’t realized is that Hiaasen immediately had a second television adaptation in the pipeline.
NY times
ABC debuted R.J. Decker on March 3rd. By the time the second episode aired, it was already a hit.
In fact, the show’s early performance surpassed even High Potential’s debut. So…
What’s ‘R.J. Decker’
Photo: Pexel.com
For those of you who don’t watch much network television (like me) may have missed this one.
R.J. Decker is a police procedural based on Hiaasen’s novel, Double Whammy. My wife assures me that this is an especially good book, even by the author’s lofty standards.
“It’s the one where Skink shows up,” she tells me…and that matters to Jimmy Buffett fans.
The legendary late musician – I’m a Parrothead – mentioned Skink in multiple songs.
This character has taken on an underground celebrity status that’s rare for background literary characters.
However, the star of the series is probably what matters the most here.
Actor Scott Speedman famously dated Felicity right up until she got a haircut. Iykyk.
He leveraged his newfound celebrity status into feature film work as a Vampire-Werewolf hybrid. That statement makes no sense unless you’ve watched an Underworld movie, but he was pretty famous for a while.
Credit: ABC
Since then, Speedman has demonstrated acting prowess in some really good movies like Dark Blue.
Unfortunately, none of his movie roles ever led to legitimate superstardom.
Image Credit: ABC
So, he returned to television on a little show called Grey’s Anatomy and became famous again.
Now, Speedman is playing a crime-solving detective/former crime scene reporter named R.J. Decker.
Photo: Disney
Let’s just say that this appears to be the role of a lifetime for him, at least based on early results.
‘R.J. Decker’ by the Numbers
According to Nielsen, 3.69 million people watched the premiere of R.J. Decker.
Within the first week, that number had soared to 11 million, which is stunning for a network show.
Deadline
In fact, this is “the most-watched 10 p.m. drama premiere in more than five years.”
If you’re wondering, High Potential debuted to 3.59 million, and this total beats Will Trent’s 3.61 million.
On the streaming side, Disney+ is now doing everything it can to lean into the hype.
When you load the app, R.J. Decker may be the first thing you see, depending on the day you read this.
Disney+
Disney+ is also pushing Zootopia 2, Paradise, and a new season of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives right now.
Still, the fact that Disney+ now markets this show as anchor content after just two weeks is telling.
Photo: Getty Images/Ringer illustration
The combination of a famous actor from movies and television and a Carl Hiaasen story has struck a chord.
I’ll confess that I watched ten minutes of the pilot, and something annoyed me so much I quit.
Image: The Wall Street Journal
However, I fully intend to go back as I mainly wanted to show my wife and see if it bugs her, too.
Since she’s so pro-Hiaasen, I’m sure she’ll take his side over mine, just like with Disney.
Photo: The Walt Disney Company
One thing is clear, though. We watched Bad Monkey, we watched Hoot, and we’ll be watching this.
Based on the early numbers, odds are good that you’ll be joining us.
Dana Walden will start her tenure as President and Chief Creative Officer with two straight hit programs.
I’m sure she’s disappointed she’s not Disney’s CEO, but that’s a really nice consolation prize.
Nielsen Streaming Ratings
Photo: Disney
Disney must be thrilled to watch R.J. Decker having this sort of success.
I say this because some of its reliable streaming hits have faded a bit in recent months.
Fox
Here are Disney’s top ten performers for the week of February 9th-15th, 2026.
- Bluey – 823 million viewer minutes
- Family Guy – 664 million viewer minutes
- Grey’s Anatomy – 653 million viewer minutes
- Law & Order – 617 million viewer minutes
- Predator: Badlands – 587 million viewer minutes
- Bob’s Burgers – 553 million viewer minutes
- The Rookie – 524 million viewer minutes
- Night at the Museum – 179 million viewer minutes
Family Guy
Disney should like that Predator: Badlands performance, and that’s not all.
With Fox airing new episodes of Family Guy and Bob’s Burgers, they’re trending upward, too.
Fox
I wouldn’t be surprised if American Dad returns to the charts soon, either.
After airing on TBS for multiple seasons, it just came back to Fox prime time last month.
Photo: Also Disney
Finally, I mentioned at the top that R.J. Decker is Disney’s second procedural hit.
The other is The Rookie, which continues to excel on ABC and streaming, which is Disney’s dream combo.
We’re now in season eight of The Rookie, which makes the show more accurately described as The Grizzled Veteran.
Still, this show has anchored ABC for a while now, and it’s getting spinoffs, too.
Photo: Getty
Currently, Bob Iger’s unwavering commitment to broadcast television is paying dividends.
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Photo: Disney
