Hudson & Rex

Charlie Hudson holds the rank of Detective in the Major Crimes Division of the St. John's Police Department. As a child, Charlie read many mystery novels and had always wanted to be a police detective. Rex is a German Shepherd, originally in the K9 unit, whose first human partner had been killed while the two were pursuing a kidnapper. Instead of being retired as per the department's standard operating procedure for K9 officers whose human partners have died, Rex underwent an official assessment to determine if he could remain on duty without posing a danger to the public. Rex easily passed the assessment and, after a successful trial period with Charlie, was permanently transferred from the K9 unit to the Major Crimes Division. Since Charlie had never owned a dog, he had to receive some instruction in Rex's handling. Rex has excellent senses of hearing and smell, allowing him to track suspects and materials (blood, drugs, poisons, etc.) by scent or sound. He can also comfort people in distress and chase down suspects in order to subdue them. These abilities are instrumental in helping Charlie advance the division's investigations, and the two receive further support from Superintendent Joseph Donovan, Forensics Chief Sarah Truong, and IT specialist Jesse Mills in gathering and interpreting evidence. Truong and Mills both become detectives in later seasons. The first season begins after Charlie has returned to his hometown of St. John's, following a divorce from his unfaithful wife. The first case is a kidnapping. Most episodes feature different murders, each with unique twists. The background story of the teaming of Charlie and Rex is presented in the season three premiere. Early in the seventh season, Charlie leaves St. John's in order to search for his brother, who has gone missing in Mexico. Donovan, Sarah, and Jesse look after Rex and work with him until the end of the season, when Mark Hudson – a detective with the Halifax police, and not related to Charlie – is transferred to the SJPD and partnered with Rex. ==Cast and characters==

Main • John Reardon as Detective Charlie Hudson, Rex's first partner (seasons 1–7) • Mayko Nguyen as Chief of Forensics (later Detective) Sarah Truong • Kevin Hanchard as Superintendent Joseph "Joe" Donovan • Justin Kelly as IT Specialist (later Detective) Jesse Mills • Diesel vom Burgimwald as Rex, the German Shepherd Dog K-9 officer (seasons 1–7), Hudson's partner and law enforcement animal in the Major Crimes Division of the St John's Police Department (SJPD) • Is-He (also called Izzy), and Iko (nephews of Diesel) action scene stunt doubles of Rex (Season 1–7) • Dillon, Dante, and Dreamer (relatives of Diesel) as Rex (Season 7–8) • Luke Roberts as Detective Mark Hudson (main season 8; guest season 7) Supporting • Raven Dauda as Sergeant Jan Renley, Rex's police trainer (seasons 1, 3, 5, 7) • Amanda Arcuri as Camilla Donovan (seasons 1, 2, 5) • Bridget Wareham as Dr. Karma Poole (season 5) • Lanette Ware as Superintendent Vanessa Lewis (season 5) • Richard Chevollou as P.I. David Mason (seasons 1, 2, 3, 5) • Alan Doyle as Dalton (seasons 2, 3, 4, 5) • Andrew Bushell as Michael (seasons 4, 5) == Episodes ==

Seasons one and two combined have a total of 32 episodes according to distributor Beta. Season one filmed a total of 16 episodes but the last three episodes of season one became the first three episodes of season two. Season two also filmed 16 episodes. Season 1 (2019) Season 2 (2019–2020) Season 3 (2021) Season 4 (2021–2022) Season 5 (2022–2023) Season 6 (2023–2024) Season 7 (2025) Season 8 (2025-2026) :1.Episode was preempted due to baseball, but was released October 20, 2025 on the subscription-based Citytv+ service and broadcast on November 3, 2025. :2.Episode was preempted again due to World Series baseball, but was again be released October 27, 2025 on the subscription-based Citytv+ service and broadcast on November 10, 2025. ==Reception==

Ratings The first six episodes of season one reached more than 2.5 million viewers in Canada. In the 2019–2020 time period, Hudson & Rex was Citytv's highest-rated original scripted series. Reviews Reviewer Rob Buckley, writing for The Medium Is Not Enough after the first episode in March 2019, criticized the writing and direction and described the show as "for the most part unwatchable, tedious". Some later reviews were more positive. In April 2026, Good Housekeeping described it as a "terrific detective drama". It is known as a "family-friendly" show: in 2024 the site "Up, Faith and Family" described it as "the perfect family-friendly show featuring a cute dog to stream in your next family night." ==Broadcast==

Hudson & Rex premiered March 25, 2019, on Canada's Citytv with season 1 planned for 16 episodes. However, only the first 13 episodes were used for season one. The remaining three episodes were broadcast as part of season two. Seven seasons have been produced and broadcast as of 2025. International Besides in Canada, Hudson & Rex has aired in the following countries (listed alphabetically): Armenia, Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, China (Hong Kong), Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates (UAE), United Kingdom, (UK), United States (USA and Puerto Rico USA), and Uruguay. It had been shown in over 100 countries and territories by 2020. Beta Film has the international English distribution rights for Hudson & Rex. Broadcaster RAI will begin showing episodes in Italy on Rai 3. In Romania, the series started airing on the channel Diva on September 3, 2019. In the Netherlands, the show airs on FOX. NBC Universal secured rights for Eastern Europe and Africa. As of July 2020, the show is being broadcast in the Czech Republic on Televize Prima. All six seasons are being broadcast on the Alibi TV channel in the UK which shows fictional and non-fictional crime series. As of January 2021, the show is being broadcast in Slovakia on Jednotka. In Switzerland (Private Channel 5+) began broadcasting Hudson & Rex in 2024. In Denmark, the show airs on TV2 Charlie. In Portugal, the show airs on AXN. In the United States, the series airs on broadcast network Ion Plus, and cable network Up. Seasons 1–5 were also shown on Amazon Prime Video. Telemundo shows the series in Spanish in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico. The European Comisario Rex / Inspector Rex aired in the United States on the V-me network with Latin American Spanish dubbing. ==Production==

Casting Diesel vom Burgimwald (Rex) is a 15th generation descendant of Santo, the first German Shepherd to star in Kommissar Rex (Inspector Rex), the Austrian-Italian television series in the 1990s on which Hudson & Rex is based. German Shepherd dogs Is-He (Izzy) and Iko, are nephews of Diesel, and are his stand-ins for some of the stunts. Diesel vom Burgimwald had mobility training before being cast as Rex. This was Diesel's first show according to his owner-handler Sherri Davis, and training continued on non-shooting days in preparation for future scripts. While on set, Diesel and his co-star-dogs get full star treatment with their own trailers, chef, and chauffeur. Diesel and his character Rex became an honorary firefighter with the St. John's Regional Fire Department (SJRFD) during the filming of "Fast Eddie's," which became part of the episode "Flare of the Dog". While news of his death was released in February 2025, Diesel vom Burgimwald (Rex) died from cancer in August 2024, during the filming of Season 7. His nephews, Dillon and Dante and his distant cousin Dreamer, who were already acting as "stand-ins" for Diesel, succeeded him in the role. Izzy and Iko continue to perform stunts on the show. Three of Diesel's real life puppies played Buster, Duff, and Kona in "Claws Out" season six, episode six. There are other episodes with several dogs in the story, but his nephews are stunt doubles and stand-ins in action scenes and at photo shoots. Diesel vom Burgimwald was a Canadian Kennel Club grand champion, and a direct descendant of the Trienzbachtal bloodlines of “German Shepherd Dogs” and related to the dog VA5 Elch vom Trienzbachtal who was the great-grandfather of the original “Rex” (Santo) in the European TV series Inspector Rex on which Hudson & Rex is based. The Canadian production of Hudson & Rex was produced after getting production rights after the end of the European TV series that was broadcast in Europe for nearly thirty years. Several actors and dog actors played the main characters in Austria and Italy. The success of Hudson & Rex in English-speaking countries led to a new production in Europe. Kommissar Rex (Inspector Rex) is expected to return to television in Europe in 2026. Filming Hudson and Rex films at various locations across the City of St. John's, most prominently on the Memorial University of Newfoundland campus. The Bruneau Centre (formerly the Inco Centre) doubles as the headquarters for the fictional St. John's Police Department, while the rest of the campus has been used to portray the equally fictional Heritage University of Newfoundland and Labrador. File:The Bruneau Centre.jpg|The Bruneau Centre, seen here standing in for the St. John's Police Department. File:Heritage University Sign 20181215.jpg|A sign for the fictional Heritage University. File:Filming School Daze 20181215.jpg|Filming at Paton College File:Filming School Daze 20181215-4.jpg|The orange muscle car belongs to protagonist Charlie Hudson, played by John Reardon. Luke Roberts as Mark Hudson now drives a turquoise EV version of the same car. File:Hudson and Rex Filming.jpg|Filming at the Bruneau Centre. ==References==