Long post but I had to get my thoughts on Hudson & Rex (and certain fans) out.
This has been in the back of my mind for a while, and I think I've finally put my finger on what's been bothering me about the way a certain online contingent are reacting to the imagined idea that John Reardon has been forced out of Hudson & Rex.
TL;DR - We have nothing to go on that John's not returning and anyone who feels owed an answer by the studio/actors/dog handlers who have no say over the studio's decisions needs to take a good long look at everything. Use some critical thinking skills and just breathe for a second. And maybe some compassion for the fact that John nearly died half a year ago.
(And spamming every social media account related to the show demanding answers is not going to get anyone what they want. In fact, it's highly likely to do the opposite and I'm not surprised people's comments have been deleted. Especially for all the tangential people - but even for John! - they're probably pretty miserable to get yet another contact about this.)
More below the cut.
First off, let me say I'm a huge fan of the show. This is probably one of the first shows in a while that I got so into so fast. It has a lot of the things I love in media all rolled into one, I would be upset if they truly did kill off Charlie Hudson, and I've been anxiously awaiting any cast news. However...
None of us are owed a single thing by any studio, producer, or actor, especially not on our timelines.
I know we live in a day and age of constant news and instant gratification, but we certainly aren't owed what might currently be tentative, confidential information regarding an actor's contract. If both parties haven't signed a final agreement, then they likely cannot publicly publish any related details.
Maybe they're still negotiating. Maybe John is still trying to figure out how much he can commit to for a new season. Because lemme tell ya, acting might seem glamorous, but do you know how many hours they have to put in and how physically demanding even a Hallmark movie is? Let alone Hudson & Rex where Charlie is regularly jumping off of things and fighting people? More on why this is important in point 3.
We basically have never been told the regular stars were coming back.
I looked but can't find where the show announced that any of their actors were coming back for seasons 2-7. They just said the show was returning. And... that's what's happened with season 8. The promo materials thus far have been on par with every other season's promo materials. (Because I love the show, but for some reason they never really put out much until the season premiere is nearly upon us.)
Did we get an announcement that Luke joined the cast? Yes. Because he's a new addition (and it's often part of the contract that they'll promote it.) Did we get an announcement that Justin, Kevin, or Mayko are coming back? No. So... maybe hold up on assuming John's not returning just because nobody has mentioned that he is.
We've never gotten much early promo content, just that the show was back… so why are all of these people suddenly so sure that John's been punished by the studio for having cancer?
Speaking of which…
John practically just got the all-clear from his cancer diagnosis.
In late December, he posted that it was his first night out since being diagnosed. (And my heart broke at the hospital picture he included because he looked so tired and sick. His "now" picture was drastically better, but you could tell he was still recovering.) Are these fans all forgetting that the man literally almost died not even 6 months ago?
I don't know if their understanding of cancer is what they've seen on a couple of pieces of media or if the cavalier way most shows (including Hudson & Rex) handle injuries, poisonings, etc most of the time has warped any sense of what actually happens when a human being is deathly ill, but... illness wrecks your body. Chemo wipes out your immune system. Fighting cancer weakens your entire system. How are people demanding he turn around and come back to an extremely physically demanding role and spend 20+ hours a day on a set for weeks?
They might still be figuring out just how much John can physically do. For that matter, John's doctors might not have even cleared him yet and the studio is waiting it out or John may have just recently decided if he was well enough to come back.
(Also, he has a wife and three little kids. I'm pretty sure the seriousness of them losing him was a lot to deal with. Maybe he needed time to decide if he's able to fully commit to coming back?)
John's likely still dealing with a lot with having lost Diesel.
They were incredibly close. All of the interviews I've seen talk about how much they bonded (they were co-stars for 6.5 seasons!). I remember one where they talked about how they had to keep Rex off-set when they filmed scenes where Charlie was in danger or got hurt because Diesel wanted to tear people apart for touching him. So then consider that John's fighting cancer, and then Diesel gets sick and passes away - and John probably couldn't even really see him much if at all because of him also being sick. (How hard must it be to have your co-star die of the same thing you're fighting? And not even be able to grieve properly because of the sheer amount of energy you're expending just trying to stay alive yourself?)
Can we show some compassion toward the guy? And not just wail about how we're being cheated of... well, anything? Like, come on, cancer should put everything into perspective!
Luke joining the cast has 0 bearing on if John's staying.
I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Luke was added so the show could continue having a lead detective who can fall down a well for Rex to rescue while John comes back to regular episodes slowly. Maybe they'll be partners long-term. Who knows. NONE OF US DO. That's kinda my whole point here. (And yeah, the show is called Hudson & Rex, not just Inspector Rex, but I have a feeling these fans would've still lost their minds when the original show changed their human cast multiple times.)
The only thing that the show starting to film season 8 means is they have a required schedule to stick to in order to meet legal requirements with the studio. Which could also have a lot to do with why Luke was added as a series regular.
Can we all just calm down and find our thinking caps? I'm aware that might be too much to ask from the internet at large, but I'm also really tired of all the panicking fans I've seen posts from lately.
At the end of the day, this is a television show that does not actually control any of our lives, and demanding they cancel it and end everyone's jobs in a very competitive industry just because you're upset about something that may not actually be happening just feels really self-centered and unfair to me.
Maybe John's leaving after all (and if he is, I'll be sad). Maybe he's coming back eventually. But also maybe don't harass every single person related to the show and contribute to making all of them miserable just because you feel like you're owed an answer and a specific outcome?
Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent (prod. Tassie Cameron).
Rogers' very Canadian remake of the durable police procedural spin-off series adds enough Ontario flavour to its familiar "ripped from the headlines" cases of the week. Starring Aden Young and Kathleen Munroe as our TPS detectives, each episode has its own twist to the usual cop show antics, with notable locations that refreshingly don't have to stand in for another generic American city. Regarding television formats, L&OT:CI injects some fresh elements from the Canadian justice system to keep the notoriously comfortable cop show setup interesting from week to week.
