This week’s streaming slate is wrapped in mystery. A brand-new makes its debut. The world’s most famous detective gets an origin story. And a horror trilogy reaches its brutal conclusion.
RJ Decker on Hulu
RJ Decker premieres this week on ABC and streams on Hulu. The series stars Scott Speedman as R.J. Decker, a former newspaper photographer and ex-con who reinvents himself as a private investigator in South Florida. The show is based on Carl Hiaasen’s novel Double Whammy and picks up with Decker after serving time in prison, trying to rebuild his life. Of course, rebuilding your life in Florida is never simple.
Decker takes on a string of quirky, odd and often obscure cases, the kind that land squarely in a PI’s lap. He gets help, and sometimes something resembling help, from his ex-wife, a journalist who is now married to a police detective. He also leans on former prison acquaintances and others orbiting his chaotic world. Then a mysterious woman from his past resurfaces, someone who could either help him get his life back on track or send him straight back to jail.
I have not seen the show yet, but this is one I have been curious about since I first started hearing rumblings. Tonally, it feels part Fletch with Chevy Chase, part Bad Monkey with Vince Vaughn, sun-soaked crime with a wink, but with its own spin. If it finds its audience, RJ Decker feels like it could be in it for the long haul. Only time will tell.
Young Sherlock on Prime Video
Also debuting this week is Young Sherlock on Prime Video. The eight-episode mystery series follows another detective, though at the very beginning of his legend. Hero Fiennes Tiffin portrays a 19-year-old Sherlock Holmes during his first year at Oxford University, nowhere near the polished genius he will eventually become. Colin Firth plays Sir Bucephalus Hodge, a mentor and one of the most influential figures in shaping young Sherlock’s life.
The series centers on Holmes’ first murder case, one that threatens his own freedom and pulls him into a sprawling conspiracy. Along the way, he encounters early brushes with Moriarty. The show promises to explore how the curious, unrefined student begins evolving into the calculating detective the world will one day know.
Young Sherlock streams this week on Prime Video.
The Strangers – Chapter 3 on VOD
And finally, coming to streaming is The Strangers Chapter 3.
The film stars Madelaine Petsch and Gabriel Basso and is intended to serve as the final installment in the recent Strangers trilogy. After surviving previous attacks, Maya is once again hunted by the masked killers known as Scarecrow, Dollface and Pin Up Girl. As she tries to escape, she also seeks revenge.
The terror unfolds in the small town of Venus, Oregon, where deeper connections between the killers and local law enforcement begin to surface. Maya is pushed to her limits in what promises to be a relentless conclusion. If you invested in the first two chapters, this is the one that closes the loop.
Side note: I spoke with Madelaine Petsch a couple of weeks ago about the film, and she mentioned there is a supercut version that stitches all three movies together into one continuous experience. That is something I would absolutely love to see.
Until then, The Strangers Chapter 3 streams this week.