For Larry Newton, Hudson & Rex was never just a show — it was a family ritual.
Before his wife died from cancer two years ago, the couple regularly tuned in with their daughter and grandson, turning the Canadian cop-and-dog drama into a weekend tradition. Even after her passing, the show remained a source of comfort and connection: “We still made a point of getting together to watch it. We just enjoyed it so much.”
But when Season 8 debuted on Citytv last month without lead actor John Reardon, everything felt different.
“We were shocked,” says the 78-year-old retired teacher from Welland, Ont.
“We couldn’t even finish the first episode.”
Reardon, who played Detective Charlie Hudson for the first seven seasons, said last week that he didn’t leave by choice. In a social media post, he explained he was diagnosed with tonsil cancer partway through Season 7 and underwent treatment. Doctors cleared him to return, he says, but “the team chose to go in a different direction.”
Hudson was replaced by actor Luke Roberts for the eighth season.
Fans worldwide have responded with a wave of backlash, flooding the official Hudson & Rex social media accounts with comments and launching petitions calling for Reardon’s reinstatement.
Newton says the situation feels personal.
“Mr. Reardon was, maybe not a part of the family, but he was in our house for seven seasons. We’re very upset to see someone we feel connected to get poorly treated,” he says.
The show’s production company says it had “many thoughtful conversations” with Reardon while he was undergoing treatment.
“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,” Shaftesbury Films said in a statement. The company declined requests for an interview.
“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.”
Shaftesbury added they “would be proud to find another series to work with him on.”
But for many viewers, Reardon isn’t someone who can simply be swapped out.
Elaine Byrne, a real estate broker from Texas, says she was so shaken by Reardon’s exit she became “physically ill” — so much so that she spent $25,000 on a full-page ad in The Toronto Star last weekend demanding answers.
The 75-year-old says Reardon’s chemistry with his four-legged friend gave her solace after her husband’s death.
“I realized about two or three episodes into it that I had finally found something that helped heal the hole in my heart,” says Byrne, who followed the show on U.S. network Uptv.
Byrne argues Shaftesbury misled fans to believe Reardon would be returning. He had a reduced role in Season 7 while undergoing cancer treatment, with writers sending Detective Hudson off to Belize in search of his missing brother. The open-ended storyline left many viewers expecting he would return.
“I will never watch that show again. I think John and the fans were poorly treated and I won’t support somebody who does that,” she says.
“I’m missing the show terribly the way it was, not the way it is. The hole is back in my heart.”
The uproar over Hudson & Rex has travelled across the globe.
Portuguese fan Joana Almeida says in an email she’s also stopped watching.
“It really affected me a lot. We didn’t ask for a new detective,” says Almeida, who caught the series on Portuguese channel AXN.
“They screwed up the show and they should fix things before it’s too late.”
Swedish viewer Frida Widegren says she feels “betrayed and hurt” by the casting shakeup.
“The production has shown they had no loyalty or care and respect for their lead actor of seven years,” says Widegren, who tuned in on Swedish network TV4.
“They have lost sight of what their own show stood for: `Hudson & Rex’ was always a comfort show and it was about love and loyalty, but there’s none of that anymore.”
This isn’t the first cast change to rattle fans. In Season 7, Diesel, the dog who played Rex, was quietly replaced before his death was made public, leaving fans feeling blindsided.
Recasting the lead of a popular series has historically been risky, says TV columnist Bill Brioux. He points to 1960s drama “Route 66,” where Glenn Corbett replaced star George Maharis after Maharis fell ill.
“People hated it and they let the network know about it. The series was gone in a year,” he says.
That’s the danger with Hudson & Rex.
“When it’s really just two leads — and one’s a dog — the guy better be the same guy,” says Brioux, a former writer for The Canadian Press.
“You’re not going to please everybody, especially if the actor who was replaced is out there publicly saying, `Hey, this isn’t cool.”‘
Still, says Brioux, it may not be too late to write Reardon back into the show.
“There’s probably a scenario where, as a cliffhanger to this season, Rex is pawing away at a door and behind it is John,” he says.
“That would be smart. This show hasn’t had this kind of publicity in years, so it might be an opportunity.”
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