Ex-con photographer RJ Decker becomes a PI in South Florida, solving strange cases with help from his journalist ex, her cop wife, and an enigmatic woman from his past who may help or destroy him.
RJ Decker slides in perfectly with ABC's Tuesday lineup of procedurals. It has a certain whimsical quality informed by its South Florida setting and overall mentality. RJ certainly faces some discrimination for being an ex-con. Others see that as typical of the environment. They don't judge him differently at all. Moreover, he meets people exactly where they are. He doesn't pass along any sort of judgment. Everything that could be seen as peculiar is instead normalized. RJ accepts it all. This is the world he chooses to inhabit. That stands in opposition to the idea that he lost it on the guy breaking into his car because he was grieving the murder of a colleague. That shows how he has an inner rage that can explode at any potential moment. It's hard to know if that's a key component of who he is or if it was determined by that particular situation. That led to him spending 18 months in prison. He was sentenced on the word of a convincing eyewitness. Emi Ochoa is the daughter of a prominent and corrupt politician. She had sex with RJ before convicting him. It's implied it was on her father's orders. She needed to protect her stepbrother. She reemerges in RJ's life because she feels guilty. He's more than willing to accept any help she provides. That arrangement isn't done simply because he finally solves the murder that triggered him several years ago.
The specificity in the unique details that make up this world allow the show to establish itself as more than your average procedural. The format needs that in order to work. Something new must be offered in a genre with so many past examples where the catalogues are readily available. The show doesn't make a big deal out of Wish needing to win the lottery in order to have a chance at starting a small business. It's no problem that RJ's ex-wife is now married to a woman. Mel clashes with RJ. She gives him a hard time about being an ex-con. She also appreciates his help when it comes to the case. He became a private investigator in order to see the world honestly again. He could do so previously through his camera lens. Everything changed when his colleague was murdered. The crime was personal. He didn't know her well. It wasn't a meaningful connection. He saw the humanity amidst the violence. A change in perspective suddenly occurred. That was followed quickly by incarceration. The darkness of this world is never too far removed. That could catch up to him eventually. Right now, he embodies a laidback quality that allows the audience to delight in him working out of a trailer that has fallen into a sinkhole. That's unique. Everything is so neatly wrapped up too. The central tragedy that informs RJ's backstory doesn't become a drawn out mystery. It's introduced and resolved in the span of one episode. Sure, the show will need to demonstrate competency and purpose as an ongoing story. That's possible given the way the narrative eases through this world.
