ABC Series Recasting Role Ahead of Premiere

One of ABC’s newest shows is already recasting a role before the series even airs.

RJ Decker, a new series starring Grey’s Anatomy star Scott Speedman, is set to air on ABC sometime during the 2025-26 season.

The series was ordered after a successful pilot, and stars Speedman as the titular character alongside Kevin Rankin, Bevin Bru, and Adelaide Clemens. But the character of Shay Bennett, who was played by Weruche Opia in the pilot, will be recast.

It is not yet known why Opia was replaced, but the series’ mix of crime drama and comedy shown in the pilot was apparently very well received by the network, according to a report from Deadline. It seems like the series will slot in nicely with ABC’s other crime procedurals like Will Trent, The Rookie and High Potential.

An official synopsis from ABC describes the series as a drama about RJ Decker, a former newspaper photographer and ex-con who “starts over as a private investigator in the colorful-if-crime-filled world of South Florida, tackling cases that range from slightly odd to outright bizarre, with the help of his journalist ex, her police detective wife and a shadowy new benefactor — a woman from his past who could be his greatest ally… or his one-way ticket back to prison.”

The series is based on Carl Hiaasen’s novel Double Whammy. This is the second recent TV series based on one of his books, after Apple TV+’s Vince Vaughn-starring Bad Monkey released late last year.