‘RJ Decker’ Series Regular: Jaina Lee Ortiz Lands Key Role Opposite Speedman

The casting news is heating up for ABC's upcoming midseason series, RJ Decker, with the addition of Jaina Lee Ortiz as a series regular.

What's Happening:

Jaina Lee Ortiz has been confirmed as a series regular on ABC’s upcoming hour-long drama, RJ Decker.
The actor, best known for her seven seasons as Andy Herrera on Station 19, is making a quick return to the network, stepping into a key role opposite leading man, Scott Speedman.
She will play Emi Ochoa, a shrewd and unpredictable character who is the daughter of a powerful, corrupt state senator and is connected to the past of the title character, RJ Decker.
This role was originally played by Weruche Opia in the pilot under the name Shay Bennett but was subject to a planned recasting following the series pickup.
The series is slated for a midseason premiere and centers on RJ Decker (Scott Speedman), a disgraced ex-con and former newspaper photographer who becomes a private investigator in South Florida.
RJ Decker is based on the 1987 satirical crime novel Double Whammy by investigative journalist Carl Hiaasen and comes from Elementary creator Rob Doherty.
Ortiz and Speedman's new project marks a reunion for the two actors, who previously shared crossover scenes while starring in ABC's Grey’s Anatomy universe (Station 19 and Grey’s Anatomy).
The established cast includes Kevin Rankin, Adelaide Clemens, and Bevin Bru.
Doherty, Hiaasen, Carl Beverly, Sarah Timberman, and director Paul McGuigan serve as executive producers, with Speedman also on board as a producer.

A Grey's Anatomy Universe Reunion

Ortiz and Speedman's shared history on ABC extends goes back to the Grey's Anatomy universe.
Scott Speedman has been a series regular and continues to recur as Dr. Nick Marsh on the flagship series, Grey’s Anatomy (currently in its 22nd season).
Jaina Lee Ortiz was the female lead, Andy Herrera, on the spinoff series, Station 19, which concluded after seven seasons.
The two actors previously appeared in at least two Grey’s Anatomy episodes together, which were part of major Station 19 crossover events, making this new collaboration a familiar reunion on the ABC schedule.

The World of Carl Hiaasen: Weird Florida Crime

The source material for RJ Decker, Carl Hiaasen's 1987 novel Double Whammy, promises a series steeped in the author's signature blend of dark humor, environmental commentary, and bizarre Floridian capers.
The novel's protagonist, R.J. Decker, a private investigator in the Everglades, is hired to prove that a celebrity bass fisherman is cheating. This investigation quickly spirals into a frame-up for murder, drawing Decker into a world of colorful, grotesque characters.
Carl Hiaasen is an investigative journalist and columnist for The Miami Herald, whose novels (Double Whammy, Strip Tease, and Skink) are known for satirizing corporate greed, political corruption, and the destruction of the Florida wilderness.
Double Whammy introduced the character of Skink (Clinton Tyree), a deranged former governor and ecological hermit who becomes a beloved recurring environmental avenger in many of Hiaasen's subsequent novels. While not confirmed for the RJ Decker series, fans will be hoping for an appearance from this quintessential "weird Florida" character.
Hiaasen's work has a history of adaptation, with his novel Strip Tease being turned into the 1996 film starring Demi Moore, and his book Hoot adapted into a 2006 family film. RJ Decker will look to capture the unique, satirical tone that makes Hiaasen's crime fiction stand out.

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