After the recasting of the lead human role in the Canadian police-dog show “Hudson & Rex” sparked an unusually intense and public fan backlash, the production company behind the show has updated its statement on the switch.
The controversy began when John Reardon, who plays Detective Charlie Hudson, was replaced by actor Luke Roberts for the show’s eighth season, which premiered on Sept. 22. Reardon’s departure followed a reduced role in season seven while the actor underwent treatment for tonsil cancer.
“There were many thoughtful conversations between Shaftesbury and John during those challenging months of summer 2024,” Shaftesbury Films said in a statement provided to the Star on Monday. “Given the uncertainty around John’s ability and timing to return to work on the series, producers agreed that the show would move forward without him. It was a very hard decision to make. As producers, we are responsible for hundreds of people’s livelihoods and needed to provide clarity and support to the cast, crew and community in St. John’s.
We are grateful that John is now healthy, which is great news. He is a fine actor and a wonderful human being, and we would be proud to find another series to work with him on.”
A day after the premiere, Reardon directly addressed his exit on Instagram, stating he “didn’t leave ‘Hudson & Rex’” and that after achieving a “clean bill of health,” the production team “chose to go in a different direction.” This post further fuelled allegations from the show’s vocal online fandom that Reardon was fired following his recovery.
In an earlier statement to the Star, Shaftesbury Films stated that it “could not find a workable pathway forward for (Reardon’s) return.” A Citytv spokesperson said that talent negotiations and contracts for the show are managed independently by Shaftesbury.
Reardon did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Fans react to recasting
Fan outrage surrounding the recasting decision has been widespread, dominating social media discussions and Reddit threads. Over the week, fans have shared their displeasure on the social media pages of the show’s cast and crew, as well as the official “Hudson & Rex” account.
A Sept. 3 season announcement post on the official “Hudson & Rex” Instagram account has almost 1,000 comments, with most protesting the recasting. In the most popular “Hudson & Rex” Facebook group, recent complaint posts about the recasting had collectively garnered over 2,000 comments.
Texas-based fan Elaine Byrne, a 75-year-old real estate broker, was so incensed that she took out a full-page ad in the print edition of the Toronto Star on Sept. 27.
Byrne, who credits “Hudson & Rex” as a source of comfort after her husband’s death, told the Star in an interview that she used to look forward to the show every week. “I would literally count down the days, and then the day of, I would count down the hours until I could see this show.”
When Byrne found out about Reardon’s departure, she said she felt physically ill. “The more I thought about it, the angrier I got, that this had been taken away from me,” she said. “I felt like I was being lied to, that all the fans were being lied to.”
Byrne said she received several dozens of email of support after her ad ran.
A Sept. 3 season announcement post on the official “Hudson & Rex” Instagram account received almost 1,000 comments, with most protesting the recasting. In the most popular “Hudson & Rex” Facebook group, recent complaint posts about the recasting had collectively garnered over 2,000 comments.
Heather Babcock, a Toronto-based author, is another fan who publicly announced a boycott of the new season because of the Hudson recasting. “They have ruined everyone’s favourite Canadian comfort show,” she said, in an interview with the Star.
As season seven drew to a close, Babcock started writing to Citytv, Shaftesbury and production company Beta Films explaining how important she felt Reardon was to the show. Babcock said she thinks the show’s fandom is so passionate “because ‘Hudson & Rex’ felt like family.”
This isn’t the first cast shakeup on “Hudson & Rex” to inspire fans’ ire. Last year, the show’s original canine star, Diesel vom Burgimwald, who played Rex, died at age eight. Another canine, Dillon, took over as the hero dog before Diesel’s death was announced, leading to fan complaints that Rex had been secretly replaced.
Babcock said she won’t watch the new season. “It’s not ‘Hudson & Rex’ anymore without Charlie Hudson,” she said.
Byrne won’t be tuning in, either. She said there’s a hole in her life again. “There’s nothing out there that’s gonna take the place of ‘Hudson & Rex.’”
