The week leading to the upfronts, ABC ordered its first pilot for the season, the hourlong RJ Decker from Elementary creator Rob Doherty based on the 1987 novel Double Whammy by Carl Hiaasen.
“Our hope is to have that as something we can consider for midseason,” Craig Erwich, President, Disney Television Group, told Deadline on the day ABC unveiled its 2025-26 schedule.
RJ Decker, about a disgraced newspaper photographer and ex-con who starts over as a private investigator in the colorful-if-crime-filled world of South Florida, will be looking to join fellow ABC midseason replacement, The Rookie and Will Trent, which will rejoin hot sophomore High Potential on Tuesday night in January.
That is not all RJ Decker has in common with those shows.
“I think it’s a pilot that fits very well with the formula that we have at ABC that’s working, which is a really unique way into procedural through a singular character that’s got a unique perspective and a unique take on the world, and I would say, importantly, a really good sense of humor,” Erwich said.
“You look at Rookie, Will Trent, High Potential, those are shows about characters that see the world in a different way, and they’re really funny. That’s become our franchise, and I think RJ Decker, if it comes out as well as I hope it will, it will fit really well into that.”
Also fitting into that is the hire of Paul McGuigan, who directed the pilot for Will Trent, to helm PJ Decker.
ABC had been eying ordering 1-3 pilots this spring. Are more pickups coming, including half-hour comedy?
“We make pilots year-round. RJ Decker is a pilot that’s ready to make right now, that’s why we greenlit that now. We make our shows when they’re ready,” Erwich said. “Others, as they come into full development and are fully crystallized and ready to be born, we will order them. You will see orders from us year-round.”
As part of ABC’s year-round development, the network has been picking up pilots in two cycles — one targeting fall and one midseason — largely staying away from the traditional pilot season timeline.
