R.J. Decker

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Created by Carl Hiaasen
(1953—)

An ex-con and former news photographer, disillusioned and burned-out R.J. DECKER is a rookie private eye out for what he can get, be it a big juicy case or a roll in the hay with his ex-wife, in Carl Hiaasen’s 1988 gonzo noir novel, Double Whammy.

He’s living in a trailer park, but he has high hopes — he’s recently been hired to prove that sleazy television celebrity Dickie Lockhart is regularly cheating on Florida’s professional large-mouth bass-fishing circuit, and then a corpse pops up in Coon Bog — possibly connected to his investigation. What could be better?

This being Hiaasen’s Florida, though, Decker has to deal with Skink, the Everglades-dwelling swamp rat with an appetite for road kill who just happens to be a former governor of the state (of course he is), a hooker-addicted televangelist, a few overly seductive ladies, some killers, a gun-crazy good ol’ boy with a pit bull on his arm, a couple of honest (Honest!) cops, and several other colorful Sunshine State miscreants.

You know… the usual Hiaasen cast of characters.

Double Whammy was Skink‘s first appearance in Hiaasen’s books, but it wouldn’t be the last. Like road kill, he turns up often, but usually departs before he starts to smell bad.

Sadly, Decker hasn’t returned. Except that…

TELEVISION

Following the success of Bad Monkey  on AppleTV+ in 2024, as of August 2025 ABC is seriously considerably a TV series featuring Decker. We’ll see…

Well, looks like they went ahead and did it.

RJ Decker made its debut  on ABC (and Hulu) in March 2026, and I’m still trying to get my head around it. Carl Hiaasen is one of the executive producers, but so far, this is Hiaasen-lite; a tamped down version of Florida that features plenty of the expected quirky characters, but nothing too out there; nothing that draws blood. It’s better than Tracker, but not by much.

So far.

UNDER OATH

  • “The cast of bizarre characters and the suspenseful events confirm Hiaasen’s reputation for creating singular villains and heroes. While he’s probably unpopular among some fellow citizens in his home state, he will certainly please readers who appreciate the Swiftian wit in his cautionary tales.”
    — Publishers Weekly

NOVELS

TELEVISION

  • RJ DECKER
    (2026, ABC)
    13 60-minute episodes
    Based on characters created by Carl Hiaasen
    Starring Scott Speedman as RJ DECLER
    Also starring Kevin Rankin as Aloysius “Wish” Aiken
    Adelaide Clemens as Catherine Delacroix
    Bevin Bru as Melody “Mel” Romero
    and Jaina Lee Ortiz as Emi Ochoa
    • SEASON ONE
    • “Pilot” (March 3, 2026)
    • Twenty Pounds of Clem in a Ten-Pound Bag” (March 10, 2026)
    • The Needle and the Damage Done” (March 17, 2026)
    • In Vanity Veritas” (March 24, 2026)
    • Burn Notice” (March 31, 2026)
    • Where Do I Sign Up?” (April 7, 2026)

FURTHER INVESTIGATION

Respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith.

 

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