RJ Decker Strategically Forces ABC To Renew High Potential's Best Replacement

Published Oct 29, 2026, 8:30 AM EDT

Antonella Gugliersi (she/them) has been a feature writer for Screen Rant since 2021. While studying for her bachelor’s in Economics & Management, they started writing about movies and TV shows for Turin-based The Unconventional Mag. After a brief internship at TPI, she decided she wanted to pursue journalism and graduated with a degree in International Journalism from Brunel University.

Warning! SPOILERS ahead for RJ Decker season 2, episode 7.The cliffhanger ending of RJ Decker season 2 exquisitely set up ABC to renew the crime drama for season 3. With ABC’s 2026-2027 TV cycle barely begun, it’s unlikely for RJ Decker season 3 to receive a renewal or a cancellation anytime soon. However, RJ Decker season 2’s finale ending on such an unresolved note inevitably raises the stakes and exacerbates the need for a season 3, narratively forcing the network’s hand.

RJ Decker season 2’s shorter run made it difficult for the ABC series to have a clear overarching narrative. If season 1’s cliffhanger ending posed consequential questions about Victor Ochoa’s murder, namely who killed him and why, RJ Decker season 2, episode 3 quickly resolved the matter, letting the most interesting implications of his death become meaningless once it became clear his murder had nothing to do with his shady business dealings. Reggie Decker’s arrival in the next episode provided an insight into R.J., but it still didn’t clarify what the underlying story for season 2 would be.

The introduction of Gabriel Romero in RJ Decker season 2, episode 6, and Emi’s belief that he had been convicted of a crime he didn’t commit nevertheless reintroduced a theme close to R.J.’s heart. That R.J. and Mel’s findings led to a more believable suspect after the case almost imploded one of R.J.’s most important relationships already made it into something bigger than just a case, but nothing in the season could anticipate the cliffhanger ending setting up a potentially enthralling RJ Decker season 3.

ABC Not Renewing RJ Decker For Season 3 Would Give It The Worst Possible Ending

ABC

The last seconds of RJ Decker season 2’s finale truly raised the stakes for season 3’s story. R.J. and Mel’s celebration over a painful case finally solved distracted viewers and characters alike from how dangerous Jessica Werner could be, and her ominous questions over the phone to Mel worked perfectly to establish her as a believably terrifying threat.

Were RJ Decker not renewed for season 3, the ABC crime drama would have a terrible ending. Catherine and Sofia are, after all, family to Mel, but they are also important to R.J., making their being in danger a high-intensity situation that can never pay off if there is no resolution in a potential RJ Decker season 3.

In addition to revealing what happens to Catherine and Sofia, RJ Decker season 3 also needs to unpack R.J. and Emi’s unresolved tension. While nothing romantic technically happened in RJ Decker season 2, Emi and R.J.’s bond evidently threatened his and Trudy’s relationship. It didn’t help that R.J. didn’t negate Trudy’s suggestion that he cared about Romero’s case because of Emi, making it imperative for RJ Decker season 3 to further R.J. and Emi’s story in any way.

ABC's Renewal History Makes RJ Decker's Cancellation Unlikely

ABC

Plenty of TV series have unfortunately been canceled after their last available season ended in an earth-shattering cliffhanger. However, only three ABC TV series come to mind that have suffered that fate in the relatively recent past. FlashForward’s cancellation in May 2010 after its season 1 finale showed the catastrophic event at the heart of the story happening again in the future is one of them. Despite its promise, a long hiatus diminished interest in FlashForward, resulting in its premature cancellation because of a dip in viewership, even if it had been initially planned to run for five seasons.

Similarly, Forever aired its final episode in May 2015, which threatened its protagonist’s biggest secret. Forever could never resolve that storyline as its season 2 was canceled, despite it being popular with viewers. However, because of an outdated way of tracking viewership numbers, focusing only on same-day numbers, Forever ended up being axed. ABC also consigned Marvel’s Agent Carter to the same fate in May 2016, after leaving a key character in mortal danger and deciding to cancel Agent Carter season 3 due to a fall in viewership numbers.

Such a list could easily induce fear over RJ Decker season 3 suffering the same fate. Still, RJ Decker season 2’s numbers are generally good. While TV ratings outlet TV Series Finale only made available RJ Decker season 2’s first three episodes’ same-day viewership numbers, they didn’t fall and averaged 2.886 million viewers. What’s even more relevant, 9.61 million viewers watched RJ Decker season 2’s premiere when accounting for multiplatform viewers seven days after the episode aired.

RJ Decker season 1 having only nine episodes and season 2 stopping at seven also prove the crime drama’s adaptability. After all, season 1 premiered during midseason, while season 2 debuted as part of ABC’s Fall 2026 lineup. Its shortness is an incredible advantage for ABC, as it can easily find a slot for the High Potential replacement and still make it work, given its ratings. This makes RJ Decker’s cancellation extremely unlikely, even though we won’t know about its fate for some time.

Source: TV Series Finale