diff --git a/nextcore/http/client/client.py b/nextcore/http/client/client.py
index 19808ae03..e98a40ee1 100644
--- a/nextcore/http/client/client.py
+++ b/nextcore/http/client/client.py
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@
 from aiohttp import ClientSession
 
 from ... import __version__ as nextcore_version
-from ...common import UNDEFINED, Dispatcher, UndefinedType
+from ...common import UNDEFINED, Dispatcher, UndefinedType, json_dumps
 from ..bucket import Bucket
 from ..bucket_metadata import BucketMetadata
 from ..errors import (
@@ -45,10 +45,12 @@
 from ..rate_limit_storage import RateLimitStorage
 from ..route import Route
 from .base_client import BaseHTTPClient
+from .client_response import ClientResponse
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
     from typing import Any, Final, Literal
 
+    # ClientResponse is still imported here because ours is "incompatible"
     from aiohttp import ClientResponse, ClientWebSocketResponse
 
 logger = getLogger(__name__)
@@ -189,7 +191,7 @@ async def setup(self) -> None:
         """
         if self._session is not None:
             raise RuntimeError("This method can only be called once!")
-        self._session = ClientSession()
+        self._session = ClientSession(json_serialize=json_dumps, response_class=ClientResponse)
 
     async def close(self) -> None:
         """Clean up internal state"""
diff --git a/nextcore/http/client/client_response.py b/nextcore/http/client/client_response.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..5df20a479
--- /dev/null
+++ b/nextcore/http/client/client_response.py
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+# The MIT License (MIT)
+# Copyright (c) 2021-present tag-epic
+#
+# Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a
+# copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"),
+# to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation
+# the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense,
+# and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the
+# Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+#
+# The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in
+# all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+#
+# THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS
+# OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+# FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
+# AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
+# LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING
+# FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER
+# DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
+
+from typing import Any, Optional
+
+from aiohttp import ClientResponse as _ClientResponse
+from aiohttp.typedefs import JSONDecoder
+
+from ...common import json_loads
+
+
+class ClientResponse(_ClientResponse):
+    """A patched version of :class:`aiohttp.ClientResponse` that decodes JSON using orjson, if installed."""
+
+    async def json(
+        self, 
+        *, 
+        encoding: Optional[str] = None, 
+        loads: JSONDecoder = json_loads,
+        content_type: Optional[str] = "application/json"
+    ) -> Any:
+        return await super().json(encoding=encoding, loads=loads, content_type=content_type)