John Reardon

Hudson & Rex

For the seven seasons that aired from 2019-2025, Reardon co-starred in Hudson & Rex with Diesel vom Burgimwald and several other pedigreed German Shepherd Dogs who were Diesel's nephews and cousins in the title roles of the Canadian hit series. They continued to film during the Covid-19 pandemic under the safety guidelines of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The show is a remake of the European hit series Inspector Rex that aired for two decades in Austria and Italy.

Charlie Hudson is a recently divorced detective in the St. John's Police Department, located in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Rex is a police dog (K-9, "highly trained law enforcement animal") whose human K-9 officer partner was killed as they chased a suspect. Hudson was the only one at the scene who was able to convince Rex to step away from his partner's body and get into a van. The two formed an unbreakable bond as they began to work cases together as partners. About their close partnership, Reardon said, "Charlie’s looking for some companionship since he’s on his own. Rex fills that void for him and they work really well together."^[4]

Reardon continued in the role and acted as an executive producer on the show from season 4 until midway through season 7. Unfortunately, he had tonsil cancer and had to take a leave of absence for treatment. During Reardon's recovery, the Hudson & Rex production team cast Luke Roberts in the role of the character named "Detective Mark." For most of season 7, Reardon appeared in episodes by phone where Hudson calls from South America where he is searching for his lost brother. After Reardon’s recovery, the producers decided to keep Roberts as Detective Mark Hudson, effectively ending Reardon’s employment on the show.

In September 2025, John Reardon let fans know through his own personal Instagram account that he would not be returning to Hudson & Rex, writing: "After taking a couple months to go through cancer treatment, I was given a clean bill of health and cleared and ready to return to work. But the team chose to go in a different direction".^[5] The announcement drew significant backlash from viewers, many of whom criticized the show's producers. One fan purchased a full-page advertisement in The Toronto Star asking why Reardon was let go.^[6] In response, Shaftesbury, the show's production company, issued a statement through The Toronto Star saying: "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,"^[7] confirming fan suspicion that the actor had indeed been fired due to his illness.

John's wife, Meghan Ory appeared on several episodes of Hudson & Rex, playing the supervisor of Hudson's boss.^{[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26]}

Film

Television