A show like RJ Decker doesn't always fare well with ponytail critics, but it seems they like this one.
It’s a show that’s as lekker as extra-buttered popcorn. RJ Decker on Disney Plus is a murder, case-of-the-week private investigator drama in the tradition of Magnum PI, Tales of the Goldend Monkey (somewhat), The A-Team and other classics. It’s just yum TV that asks nothing of its audience except to be entertained.
The show is based on author Carl Hiaasen’s 1987 novel Double Whammy and stars Scott Speedman as R.J. Decker. He plays Decker, a disgraced former photojournalist and ex-con who is trying to rebuild his life as a private investigator in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
When we meet him in the first episode, his trailer headquarters are perched on the edge of a giant sinkhole. His ex-wife is married to a cop and, well, luck has not really been on his side.
The cases Decker takes on every week are just as dodgy and left-of-centre as his life, which is surrounded by characters that elevate the series to top shelf. His former wife is a journalist, by the way, and her wife is the detective. Then there’s politician-cum-businessman-cum-gangster’s daughter Emi Ochoa, who first played a part in his incarceration and later becomes the part-time lover who’s got his back. Go figure.
But the PI is not what you’d expect. Decker’s not a hard-drinking, ag-shame kind of guy. Instead, he’s a decent human, and the empathy he tends to have for his clients and their situations is well etched into the narrative. It’s a pleasing, very entertaining, often funny set of circumstances and characters that’s as surprising as a milkshake that’s delicious despite a curious mix of ingredients.
Speedman’s performance really pulls it all together. The sunny, laid-back charm with which he plays Decker, along with a bit of fray around the edges, hooks viewers immediately. The cases and the chemistry between the characters, especially with his best friend and former cellmate, Wish, played by Kevin Rankin, give it a buddy-cop feel without detracting from the main relationship driver with Emi.
RJ Decker’s a whole lot of fun. Picture Supplied
A show like RJ Decker doesn’t always fare well with ponytail critics, but it seems they like this one. Even Rotten Tomatoes scores it at an 80% approval rating.
But of course, with the yum there’s always the bum. RJ Decker is not groundbreaking television. It’s a procedural drama that relies a lot on the eccentricities of its milieu. Without them, it risks being somewhat like two-day-old bread.
The characters and side-step cases – think Magnum PI’s Higgins or Murdock in The A-Team – make it very watchable. Then the floral-shirt cool of Hawaii Five-O married with Don Johnson’s suave in the original Miami Vice adds the sunshine.
Yet the bum in the yum is precisely why it’s also super-enjoyable TV. It’s somewhat of a dichotomy, but frankly, who wants to be challenged intellectually every night after a hard day at the office? Shows like Bridgerton are there for the eye candy and plot complexity. RJ Decker is there to take the edge off.
RJ Decker is a show that knows exactly what it is and, more importantly, never tries to be anything else. It doesn’t gaslight its audience. It’s sunshine, strange people, weird-ish cases, easy and enough grit to make it binge-worthy. This is probably why the show was already commissioned for a second season, which is good news.
Sometimes television doesn’t need to change your life, rearrange your brain or leave you staring thoughtfully at the credits. Sometimes it just needs to be lekker. And RJ Decker is very lekker.
Follow the story
