ABC‘s new crime drama R.J. Decker starring Scott Speedman is fitting right in with the network’s Tuesday lineup of light character-based procedurals. The rookie’s premiere drew 3.69 million Live+Same day viewers behind Tuesday 8 PM anchor Will Trent and 9 PM’s High Potential to post ABC’s most watched 10 PM drama debut in over five years, since the premiere of Big Sky on Nov. 17, 2020.
That is above the L+SD premieres of current hits High Potential and Will Trent, which both launched in the 10 PM hour.
Additionally, R.J. Decker, which shares DNA with High Potential as both are comedic dramas about a civilian solving crimes with the help of observation, is proving to be a compatible lead-out for the Kaitlin Olson starrer. Its series premiere logged the best lead-in retention to date, 73%, higher than any episode of The Rookie has been able to hold onto in the post-High Potential slot.
Through six days, the R.J. Decker opener has amassed 11.64 million multiplatform viewers across ABC, Hulu, Hulu on Disney+, digital platforms and two linear encores and has held onto the top daily spot on Hulu/Disney+ for days. For comparison, the High Potential 2024 debut reached that viewership mark in three days.
Starring Speedman as a former newspaper photographer and ex-con starting his life over as a private investigator, R.J. Decker also logged 5.25 million viewers in Live+3.
Episode 2 airs tonight on ABC and streaming next day on Hulu. In it, Wish enlists R.J.’s help on a bizarre case when his late cellmate’s son is wrongly accused of murder.
