R.J. Decker First Look: Beau Bridges Debuts As R.J.'s Estranged Father — Can He Be Trusted? (Exclusive)

"R.J. Decker" is about to tackle a mystery decades in the making: his relationship with his father. Beau Bridges begins his recurring arc as R.J.'s father Reggie Decker on the ABC drama's October 6 episode (10/9c), and TVLine has your exclusive first look at his big debut.

R.J.'s estranged father is officially described as a "garrulous, charming, and perennially optimistic 'entrepreneur' with a fondness for unintentionally empty promises and unreliable behavior," according to ABC. "He's been largely absent in R.J.'s life, with the promise that a 'life-changing' score was around the corner."

Well, Reggie is about to be extremely present in R.J.'s life, albeit not the way either of them probably hoped. When Reggie reenters the picture, R.J. is investigating a murder at a fishing tournament, one that "becomes deeply personal when a figure from his past resurfaces." (Spoiler alert: it's Reggie!)

ABC

"One of the things we wanted to do in the second season was to look more closely at who R.J. is, aside from the fact that he spent 18 months in prison for something he only sort of did," showrunner Rob Doherty tells TVLine, hence the introduction of R.J.'s father. "We had the tremendous good fortune of bringing Beau Bridges aboard. He's someone I've been watching on TV and in films my whole life, someone I look up to, someone Scott [Speedman] looks up to. We were really thrilled to get him to play R.J.'s dad."

During Reggie's visit to the show, "we'll learn a little bit more about what R.J.'s childhood was like, and we'll explore the path that led him here," Doherty says. "He's somebody who went from working for a newspaper, to an 18-month prison stint, to a career as a private eye in Fort Lauderdale. A fair amount of that can be traced back to what it was like growing up with the kind of dad he had."

Scott Speedman echoes that we'll "get to know R.J. a bit more" as Season 2 unfolds, including "his personal life, his history, and how he came to be the man that he is now."

"Bringing in his dad does that quite well," Speedman tells TVLine. "And when we got Beau Bridges, I was thrilled. I've been a fan of his for a long time. They have an estranged relationship, which we test, story-wise, in the season. I think the fans are going to really like that aspect of it. It also kind of puts R.J. on his back foot a little bit. R.J. is a pretty cool customer, so any time we get to kind of push him off-center, I think it works really well."

ABC

And could Reggie's return possibly prompt R.J. to continue rebuilding his relationship with Emi? As Rob Doherty reminds us, "Emi knows from troubled dads, so she'll be a good sounding board as R.J. starts to deal with the fact that his dad has popped up in Fort Lauderdale and is making waves."

Are you excited to meet the man who gave us R.J. Decker this week? And what do you hope will come of Reggie's visit? Drop a comment with your thoughts on Season 2 below.