Casting News: Station 19 Star Returns To ABC, Jason Momoa Gears Up For Kurt Sutter Biker Drama And More
A "Station 19" favorite is returning to ABC. Jaina Lee Ortiz, last seen on the network as firefighter Andy Herrera, has been cast as a series regular opposite Scott Speedman ("Grey's Anatomy") in the upcoming drama "RJ Decker," Deadline reports.
Based on Carl Hiaasen's 1987 novel "Double Whammy," the series follows RJ Decker (Speedman), a disgraced 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," per ABC's official logline.
Ortiz will portray Emi Ochoa, described as the "shrewd-if-unpredictable" daughter of an extremely powerful — and equally corrupt — senator who shares a complicated history with Decker.
The rest of the cast includes Adelaide Clemens ("Under the Banner of Heaven") as Decker's ex Catherine Delacroix; Kevin Rankin ("Justified") as Decker's former cellmate Aloysius; and Bevin Bru ("Batwoman") as Melody Romero, a Fort Lauderdale Police Department detective — who's now married to Catherine.
Slated to premiere sometime in 2026, "RJ Decker" hails from "Elementary" creator Rob Doherty. He'll executive-produce alongside pilot director Paul McGuigan, Hiassen, Carl Beverly and Sarah Timberman.
In other recent casting news...
* Jason Momoa ("Chief of War") is set to star in "Nomad," an Apple TV biker drama co-created by Kurt Sutter ("Sons of Anarchy") and Chris Collins ("The Wire"), Deadline reports. Set "in the violent underworld of New Zealand's outlaw bikers, a warrior torn between two lives, two callings and two families must decide which path defines his true destiny," according to the report. Collins will serve as showrunner, executive-producing alongside Sutter, Momoa and Brian Mendoza.
* Michelle Monaghan ("The White Lotus") has been cast in a yet-untitled hockey drama for Netflix, TVLine has learned. Monaghan will star as Harper Sullivan, a hockey coach tasked with rebuilding a Minnesota high school team after it suffers a "tragic loss." The eight-episode series is created by Nick Naveda, with Bridget Bedard ("Love Life") serving as showrunner.