Hudson & Rex is a Canadian police procedural drama television series based on the Italian-Austrian drama Kommissar Rex or Inspector Rex. It has 3 seasons & a 4th ongoing season. Read on below for Hudson & Rex Season 1 Episode 1.
The first season begins some time after Hudson has arrived back in St. John’s, his hometown, following a divorce from his wife. The first case for the series is a kidnapping. Most of the episodes case different murders, each with unique twists. The background story of the teaming of Hudson and Rex is presented as the season three premiere episode.
Table of Contents
Hudson & Rex Premise:
Detective Charlie Hudson is a Major Crimes detective of the fictional St. John’s Police Department. He is partnered with Rex, a multi-scent trained German Shepherd with an excellent ear for unique sounds. Hudson grew up reading mystery novels and as a result always wanted to be a police detective. He is partnered with Rex after Rex’s K9 human partner, Constable Grace Lindsay, was killed pursuing a kidnapper and Rex was scheduled to be euthanized. Rex’s keen nose and ears are instrumental in helping Detective Hudson advance the investigations in each episode. The duo receive assistance from Superintendent Donovan, Forensics Chief Truong, and IT Specialist Mills every episode in gathering and interpreting evidence.
Hudson & Rex Season 1 Cast:
- John Reardon as Detective Charlie Hudson, Rex’s partner
- Mayko Nguyen as Chief of Forensics Sarah Truong
- Kevin Hanchard as Superintendent Joseph Donovan
- Justin Kelly as IT Specialist Jesse Mills
- Diesel vom Burgimwald as Rex
- Raven Dauda as Sergeant Jan Renley, Rex’s police trainer (seasons one and three)
Interesting Fact:
Diesel vom Burgimwald (Rex) is a 15th descendant from the shepherd who starred in the 1990s Austrian show Inspector Rex that Hudson & Rex is based on. Two other German Shepherds, Izzy and Iko, who are nephews of Diesel vom Burgimwald, stand-in for some of the stunts. Diesel vom Burgimwald had mobility training before being cast as Rex. This is Diesel’s first show according to his owner/handler Sherri Davis and training continues on non-shooting days in preparation for future scripts. While on set, Diesel has full star treatment with his own trailer, chef, and chauffeur. Diesel is an honorary firefighter with the St. John’s Regional Fire Department (SJRFD) as a result of the episode Fast Eddie’s.
Hudson & Rex Season 1 Episode 1 – The Hunt
It starts with Hudson & Rex doing their morning run for exercise. As they were resting from their exercise, they witnessed a kidnapping of a teenage girl who was biking. Rex chases after the van, while Hudson calls it in. Rex is able to catch up with the kidnappers & use his hearing to track where they went, inside a parking lot. Rex finds the kidnappers & notices they will switch cars. While the kidnappers were moving stuff, Rex checks the kidnapped girl, then sneakily boards the small truck they’ll be using. Police cars passed by the parking lot. Rex pops his head up from the truck as it drives on. The kidnappers drove to a house undergoing construction. Rex gets down from the truck & checks his surroundings, there’s an ocean view.
At the St. John’s Police Department (SJPD), Superintendent Donovan announces to all the police officers that time is not on their side & an Amber Alert was released. Detective Charlie Hudson identified the kidnappers as one male & one female. As the officers disperse to work on the case, Detective Hudson worries about Rex as he hasn’t come back yet. Donovan assures that Rex is a smart dog. Forensics Chief Truong comes & tells Hudson that partial prints from the bike & it being secondhand weren’t helpful in identifying the girl. Then, Donovan got a call that the van the kidnappers used was found. As they look through the van, Forensics Chief Truong finds Grade 10 books & Hudson identifies the girl as aged 15-16.
Mills found out her name is Evelyn Boonstra. Mills narrowed it down to 3 girls missing from school. One girl was at a dentist, the other one was at home sick, so that leaves Evelyn. The other two girls were called & checked. The Boonstra home was also called but no one answered. So, Hudson decides to go to Boonstra’s home to check.
Hudson identified himself as he went inside Boonstra’s home. Evelyn’s father, Lennard Boonstra, is nowhere to be seen. Hudson managed to find a gun compartment filled with guns except one missing.
Back at SJPD, Donovan says that Lennard Boonstra is a law-abiding citizen with no prior record. Hudson mentions the guns & Donovan says that Lennard doesn’t have a permit for those guns. Hudson assumes Lennard may be hiding something. Mills identified the female kidnapper as Amy Mazio through CCTV footage. Donovan thought up another suspect but couldn’t quite remember the name. Then, Mills found the man named Mickey Dolan. Hudson identifies Mickey as the male kidnapper. Donovan mentions that the two are under a criminal, Victor Mankiewicz, who used troubled teens. Victor is in prison for a crime. Hudson asks to check whether Lennard is the witness to Victor’s crime.
At St. John’s Penitentiary, Detective Hudson visits Victor Mankiewicz to interrogate him. But as Hudson leaves the room, Victor mentions Evelyn Boonstra, which Hudson points out he never mentioned in their earlier conversation. Victor doesn’t seem phased despite making a mistake. Victor was sure he’ll walk free.
Evelyn wakes up & tries to find a way out. She spots Rex outside. Amy comes in to feed her & warns her to not escape. Evelyn says she’s not scared of their guard dog. Amy wonders & checks outside the windows. But Rex hid himself.
Back to SCPD, Truong informs Hudson that Lennard’s partial prints were related to an unresolved case 17 yrs ago. It would explain why Lennard had some unregistered guns; he had a former life, probably a hitman. Hudson assumes that he left that life to raise Evelyn.
Rex comes near the window to check on Evelyn who’s locked inside. Back to SJPD, Donovan & Hudson talk about Lennard being forced to do a hit. But questions why Lennard & why not hire other hitmen.
Hudson went home & was thinking about Rex. But he has an unexpected visitor, Lennard. Lennard knows Hudson visited his home. Lennard talks about his past with Victor & implies doing hits for him. What changed him was that he fell in love & had Evelyn. Victor was biding his time. Hudson asks who’s the target but Lennard won’t say. Hudson promises that he’ll find his daughter & asks to give him his contact upon finding her. Lennard won’t give up his contact but says Evelyn knows it. If Evelyn is found, the hit is off. Lennard asks to give him time to get away, but Hudson says he won’t. Boonstra likes his honesty & decides to shoot him with a tranquilizer. Hudson passes out.
As the kidnapper Mickey makes a call to his boss, Rex sneaks in through the opened door & finds where the girl was locked using his hearing again as she was humming a lullaby. Rex makes some sounds & Evelyn goes by the locked door. Evelyn talks with Rex, mentions her dad & asks Red if someone’s looking for him.
Hudson visits Victor again & interrogates again. Victor reveals that Lennard was the best hitman as he’s never failed. Hudson now knows that Victor is really the one behind the kidnapping & is forcing Lennard to do a hit again.
Rex barks at the kidnapper Amy as she unlocks the door to feed the girl. Amy chases Rex down to kill him. Evelyn took the opportunity to escape. When Amy goes back, she finds Evelyn gone from the room.
District attorney is a bit uncooperative with Donovan. Mills found a CCTV of Rex in a truck & managed to narrow down where it was headed, to the ferry. Even checking the schedule, the kidnappers boarded a ferry & are hiding on an island. Since a helicopter & the Coast Guard may alert the kidnappers, Detective Hudson thinks of an idea. Hudson says that a fishing trawler will draw less attention as he helps board the equipment of the police team into the boat. As they sail off, Truong asks about Rex’s story, from being a K9 to being Hudson’s partner in Major Crimes. Hudson says that he arrived at a scene where Rex’s K9 human partner was killed & Rex won’t let anyone hear his partner’s body. For some unknown reason, Hudson was able to calm him down. Hudson decides to take him home for some days. If no one claims Rex at that time, the dog will be euthanized according to protocol. Then Hudson had Rex help in some cases. Donovan sees the potential of having Rex around & now Hudson & Rex are partners. Mills calls to inform Hudson that he managed to pinpoint which island as there’s a house under construction which was under a relative’s name of Victor.
Evelyn wanders around the house & finds Rex. She hides as Amy appears. When Amy was going to shoot Rex, Evelyn hit her with a lumber stick & escaped with Rex. Mickey heard the commotion from outside & found Amy on the ground. They argued a bit, then tried to find Evelyn. Upon seeing an opened window, they assumed she ran off. Mickey decides to go look for her, while Amy stays in the house in case she comes back. What they didn’t know was that Evelyn was still inside the house hiding with Rex.
Mills made an analysis of possible sniping locations surrounding the safehouse & has a diagram of it. SJPD prepares & Donovan assigns 3 SWAT teams to look into 3 possible sniping locations.
Lennard did preparations & assembled his gun for sniping. He puts a cellphone near him. He seems to be at a different location. Decoy was sent out. Each team checks out their assigned location but no sign of Boonstra. Something is wrong.
Hudson & Truong entered the house & found some blood on the floor. Then, Amy manages to sneak up behind them & holds them at gunpoint.
Having a call with a district attorney, Donovan learns that the witness was in another safehouse elsewhere. Mills & Donovan rush to the safehouse.
Huson & Truong are held at gunpoint. As Evelyn was going out of the opened window, Rex heard his partner’s voice. Rex tries to stop Evelyn from leaving. Evelyn still leaves. Rex rushes thru the house. Rex attacks Amy before she can shoot, saving them in time. Hudson handcuffs Amy & calls his fellow officers on the island to look out for Evelyn. Then, Rex suddenly runs. Hudson follows Rex. Mickey comes back with Evelyn, dragging her. Upon seeing Hudson & Rex, Mickey took Evelyn hostage. Hudson tries to convince Mickey to let Evelyn go.
Mills & Donovan arrived near the safehouse. Mills spots the sniping shot location. Donovan leaves to do some rushed preparations.
While talking, Evelyn bits Mickey & escapes just as Hudson shoots him. Evelyn thanks Hudson for saving her. Then, Hudson asks Evelyn to help save another life, then hands her his cellphone.
Mills calls the safehouse to stop the witness from coming out. But Mills notices the witness coming out, runs to them shouting warnings & gets shot.
Just as Lennard prepares to do a second shot, Evelyn calls her dad. Lennard sounds relieved. Donovan checks Mills. A SWAT team arrives at the room where Lennard snipes from. But Lennard was gone.
Back at the island, Evelyn says she doesn’t know the dog’s name yet. Hudson reintroduces Rex to her. Hudson says that Rex is his partner, not his dog.
Mills wakes up in a hospital bed. Donovan scolds Mills but mentions that if it weren’t for him, the witness would have been shot. Hudson & Truong came to check on Mills.
At SJPD, Lennard can’t be found & there’s an alert about him in all possible escape routes. Donovan mentions to Hudson that child services will come for Evelyn. Hudson was called by Lennard & that he owes Hudson. Hudson tries to convince Lennard with Evelyn. But Lennard informs him that Evelyn’s with him. Lennard says maybe they’ll see Hudson again. After the call, Hudson comments that it’s not fair for Evelyn.
Hudson & Rex went home. Hudson makes a hand gesture to his chest & Rex hugs him. Hudson plans to treat him to some bbq rib-eye. But sees Rex taking a rest or sleeping on his bed. Hudson went by Rex’s side & pats him for a job well done.
What is an Amber Alert?
An Amber Alert (also AMBER Alert) or a child abduction emergency alert (SAME code: CAE) is a message distributed by a child abduction alert system to ask the public for help in finding abducted children.
AMBER is a backronym for America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response. Alternative regional alert names were once used; in Georgia, “Levi’s Call” (in memory of Levi Frady); in Hawaii, “Maile Amber Alert” (in memory of Maile Gilbert); in Arkansas, “Morgan Nick Amber Alert” (in memory of Morgan Nick); and in Utah, “Rachael Alert” (in memory of Rachael Runyan).
In the United States, Amber alerts are distributed via commercial and public radio stations, Internet radio, satellite radio, television stations, text messages, and cable TV by the Emergency Alert System and NOAA Weather Radio (where they are termed “Child Abduction Emergency” or “Amber Alerts”). The alerts are also issued via e-mail, electronic traffic-condition signs, commercial electronic billboards, or through wireless device SMS text messages. AMBER Alert has also teamed up with Google, Bing, and Facebook to relay information regarding an AMBER Alert to an ever-growing demographic: AMBER Alerts are automatically displayed if citizens search or use map features on Google or Bing.
Hudson & Rex Season 1: Namesake of Amber
Amber Rene Hagerman (November 25, 1986 – January 15, 1996) was a young girl abducted while riding her bike with her brother in Arlington, Texas. Her younger brother, Ricky, had gone home without her because Amber had wanted to stay in the parking lot for a while. When he returned to go get her, Ricky found her bicycle without her. A neighbor who had witnessed the abduction called 911. On hearing the news, Hagerman’s father, Richard, called Marc Klaas, whose daughter, Polly, had been abducted and murdered in Petaluma, California, on October 1, 1993. Richard, and Amber’s mother, Donna Whitson (now Donna Norris), called the news media and the FBI. They and their neighbors began searching for Amber.
Four days after her abduction, near midnight, Amber’s naked body was discovered in a creek behind an apartment complex with severe laceration wounds to her neck. The site of her discovery was less than five miles (8 km) from where she was abducted. Her murder remains unsolved.
Hudson & Rex Season 1 Episode 1 Notes
Please pardon me if I wrote the name wrong & misspelled as it’s hard to note their names down & some were just mentioned. I may also have misheard. There’s not much info on the internet about the episode & the coming episodes.
Hudson & Rex Season 1 Episode 1 Opinion
I’ve seen the commercial about it on channel AXN. It looks interesting. A detective & K9 dog team-up is certainly unique than other team-ups I’ve seen. It’s my first time watching this kind of tv series. There may be others like it that I didn’t know. I’ve always seen in police dramas that detectives work as two people. Instead of the usual human male or female partner, Hudson chose Rex as his partner.
Rex was smart to hide from the kidnappers’ view, barked at the right time to lure Amy away just as she unlocked the door & even hid with Evelyn. I really wondered why Rex didn’t go home after reaching the kidnappers’ place, as a dog can find its way home. The ocean view didn’t click with me until later on as it took me some time to figure out that Rex was stuck on an island. So what Rex can only do is try to free Evelyn, the kidnapped victim. It’s really amazing how they show how a dog’s hearing is so helpful.
Doing some research, I’m surprised to find that the dog starring as Rex has a last name & was related to the German Shepherd that starred in the 1990s Austrian show Inspector Rex. They could’ve found any other trained German Shepherd for the role, but they chose a descendant of the original. It’s like they continued the legacy. The dog’s name is Diesel vom Burgimwald; if I didn’t know that it’s the dog’s name, i may have mistaken it for a human name or an actor’s name. I figured that there would be stand-ins for Rex as previous dog movies & series have done so. I think it’s for the dog to not be too exhausted.
Who knew an IT specialist ended up taking the shot for the witness. If Mills hadn’t, the witness may have been dead & Evelyn calling would have been too late to save the witness. With the witness saved, Victor won’t be walking out of prison.
Who knew a kidnapping would be linked to an assassination attempt. Looks like the Boonstras will be living life on the run or taking some false identities again to live peacefully. Lennard just wants to live with his daughter. He can’t risk going to prison as he could end up living a life sentence due to his past & he won’t be able to raise his daughter. His daughter is his life. As Lennard owes a favor to Hudson for saving Evelyn, we might see Lennard again in a future episode to repay the favor.
About Amber Alert, if you watch police crime series, it’ll be mentioned when a child is missing or abducted. Amber alert applies to minors from a baby to a 17-year old. I even saw in another show, The Rookie, that an abducted baby will issue an Amber Alert. Amber Alert is applied to some countries & has their own versions. Sadly, my country doesn’t have its own Amber Alert. I hope one day we have our own Amber Alert to have our children be more safe.
Hudson & Rex Season 1 Episode 1 shows promise & I look forward to the coming episodes. Doing some research, ratings must be good for it to have 3 seasons & a 4th ongoing season. Apparently, there are other international remakes of Inspector Rex, the original show. I think people who love crime drama and/or people who love dogs will love this show.
So there you have Hudson & Rex Season 1 Episode 1 recap! Let us know in the comments below what you think about this episode!