‘R.J. Decker’ Season 2 Release Date, Time, Where to Watch and Trailer
‘R.J. Decker’ is coming back for a second run, and ABC has now locked in exactly when fans can expect the crime drama to return. The network has paired the premiere with one of its biggest nights of the fall calendar, giving Scott Speedman’s private investigator series a considerable lead in audience.
With a premiere date now confirmed and a new trailer in circulation, here is what is known about when ‘R.J. Decker’ season 2 airs, where to stream it, and what the new episodes are expected to cover.
‘R.J. Decker’ Season 2 Release Date and Time
ABC has announced that R.J. Decker season 2 will premiere on Tuesday, September 15, at 10 p.m., following a two night premiere of Dancing With the Stars at 8 p.m. The series first premiered in March 2026, quickly winning over critics and audiences, and the network renewed it for a second season in May, with production starting up again in July in the Wilmington, North Carolina area.
Both seasons of the series were filmed in and around Wilmington and Carolina Beach. The return to the same North Carolina location suggests the production kept its established look and crew largely intact for the new season.
ABC picked up the show for season two in May 2026, just a few weeks after season one wrapped its nine episode run, as part of a broader lineup renewal for the 2026 to 27 schedule. That quick turnaround left the show on track for one of the earliest fall premieres among the network’s scripted series.
The September 15 date makes ‘R.J. Decker’ one of the earliest of ABC’s scripted primetime programs to return, with the next closest being the Scrubs season 2 premiere on September 30. The scheduling gives the show a running start before the rest of the fall slate fills in.
Where to Watch ‘R.J. Decker’ Season 2
Season two is set to premiere on ABC and will be available to stream on Hulu. New episodes are expected to hit Hulu the day after they air on ABC.
All of ABC’s new fall shows, including R.J. Decker, are set to stream the day after broadcast on Hulu and Disney Plus. That gives viewers who miss the live broadcast a next day option without needing a cable subscription.
Viewers who want to catch the show as it airs will need access to ABC through a traditional cable package or a live TV streaming service. Those who prefer to catch up later can rely on Hulu for on demand viewing shortly after broadcast.
‘R.J. Decker’ Season 2 Trailer and the DWTS Crossover
ABC is pairing ‘Dancing With the Stars’ and ‘R.J. Decker’ for an unexpected crossover on premiere night, airing the Season 35 opener of ‘Dancing With the Stars’ first before moving directly into the Season 2 debut of ‘R.J. Decker’. That scheduling puts Speedman’s crime procedural directly in front of one of television’s largest unscripted audiences.
Three ‘Dancing With the Stars’ favorites are set to appear on the Season 2 premiere, with pro dancers and real life married couple Jenna Johnson and Val Chmerkovskiy joining season 33 Bachelor champion Joey Graziadei. The pairing gives the premiere a built in promotional boost from an established hit.
A new teaser for the season has already surfaced online, built around the guest appearances from the ‘Dancing With the Stars’ cast. The show’s official social accounts have also been teasing the return, with the account posting promotional content ahead of the September 15 premiere.
A second episode titled Manos, Hands of Fate follows R.J. tracking down a missing man connected to a strange object and an even stranger person of interest, while someone close to him becomes tangled up in a separate mystery. A third episode, Arms and Armadillos, is set to air September 29.
‘R.J. Decker’ Season 2 Cast and Story
Scott Speedman returns as the title character, rejoined by Jaina Lee Ortiz, Bevin Bru, Kevin Rankin, and Adelaide Clemens. The wider cast also includes David Zayas, Enya Flack, Donny Boaz, Pej Vahdat, Drew Rausch, Hunter Burke, Kevin Bigley, and Keith Brooks, among others.
Season one followed the title character, a former newspaper photographer, after his release from prison for a crime he did not commit, as he takes up work as a private investigator solving unusual cases across South Florida while searching for a bit of personal redemption. The season one finale saw R.J. and Emi, played by Jaina Lee Ortiz, uncover that her father Victor Ochoa, played by David Zayas, had been behind R.J.’s original downfall, with R.J. and his team, including ex wife Catherine, played by Adelaide Clemens, staying one step ahead of Ochoa.
The finale closed with Ochoa found floating face down in his swimming pool, leaving little doubt that whatever comes next will not be simple. With an official synopsis still unannounced, season two will likely center on solving Ochoa’s murder, working through the fallout in R.J. and Emi’s relationship, and continuing other cases across South Florida.
The show has been a strong performer for ABC so far, holding 78 percent and 73 percent scores on Rotten Tomatoes from critics and audiences respectively, and premiering to an audience of 3.69 million viewers, which made it the network’s most watched drama debut in the 10 p.m. slot in over five years. Those numbers help explain why ABC moved quickly to bring the series back and gave it a premiere date ahead of the rest of its fall lineup.
With Victor Ochoa’s death hanging over every character and a crossover audience primed to discover the show for the first time, there is plenty for longtime viewers to unpack once R.J. starts working his next case. What do you think actually happened to Ochoa, and who do you suspect had the most reason to want him gone?
