TV Show review
Review basis: 8 seasons, 122 episodes · through March 3, 2026
February 25, 2019 · TV-PG · Returning Series
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
Hudson & Rex is a Canadian police procedural that follows Detective Charlie Hudson and his highly trained German Shepherd Rex as they solve crimes together in St. John's, Newfoundland. The series aired for eight seasons and 122 episodes from 2019 onward, with an episodic format centered on the man-and-dog partnership and support from a small police team including forensics and tech experts. Some episodes feature guest characters who are LGBTQ+ or touch on topics like gender identity and autism as part of the case plots. The main cast includes diverse actors in prominent ongoing roles such as the forensics lead and police superintendent.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Hudson & Rex.
Woke representation / casting
Prominent ongoing roles for diverse actors, notably Mayko Nguyen as the competent forensics expert Sarah Truong (central to nearly every episode) and Kevin Hanchard as the police superintendent. Occasional guest characters include LGBTQ+ individuals. This pattern of identity-visible casting in key supporting positions stands out in the Newfoundland setting and follows modern Canadian TV norms rather than pure story necessity in every case.
Woke political dialogue
Series stays focused on standard police procedural elements like evidence, suspects, and case resolution with the dog partner. Light or incidental social topics (such as gender identity mentions in a few early-previewed or specific episodes) appear through guest characters without extended lectures, activist framing, or institutional critiques.
Identity-driven story themes
Core narrative is episodic crime-solving via the detective-dog team and police unit. A limited number of episodes incorporate guest plots with queer characters, trans references, or disability elements (e.g., autism handled with an autistic actor in at least one case). These remain background or case-specific rather than series-defining or thematically dominant across eight seasons.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Police and justice system are portrayed positively as effective at solving crimes and protecting people. No recurring activist-style attacks on institutions, traditional gender roles, patriarchy, capitalism, or Western cultural norms; stories emphasize teamwork, moral justice, and practical investigation.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant. The show adapts the concept and dog-partner premise from the Austrian Kommissar Rex to a Canadian setting and new characters; these are ordinary localization, modernization, and format updates for a new audience and production, with no identity-driven reinterpretations of source characters or real historical figures.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
The major public backlash and controversy (2025-2026) targeted the production's decision to recast lead John Reardon with Luke Roberts for Season 8 amid the actor's cancer treatment, leading to petitions, ads, and demands for his return (successful for Season 9). No significant anti-woke or right-leaning complaints accused the content, themes, casting patterns, or marketing of pushing woke, DEI, identity politics, or activist messaging.
Creator track record context
Creators Peter Hajek and Ken Cuperus show no notable activist, identity-driven, or left-political patterns—Hajek is an Austrian animal-story veteran and Cuperus focuses on light mysteries. The broader team is mixed: some writers (e.g., Jennifer Kassabian with Degrassi teen social-issue work) and directors (e.g., Sharon Lewis with cached high score for BIPOC/LGBTQ+-centered projects) bring relevant credits, while many others have standard procedural backgrounds and low profiles. No consistent production-wide activist signature.
Production
