It’s been a rather long walkies break, but Canada’s favourite crime-solving German Shepherd is finally heading back to work!
‘Hudson & Rex‘ returns to U&alibi in November with the final six episodes of Season 8, following a rather lengthy pause after the first eight episodes began airing in May. Quite why the channel decided to split the season this way isn’t clear, particularly as the entire 14-episode run had already wrapped up in Canada back in March 2026. Still, at least Rex hasn’t forgotten where he left his police badge. Probably.
The Canadian crime drama’s eighth season marked a big change for the team in St. John’s, Newfoundland, with Luke Roberts (Black Sails, Game of Thrones) taking over as Detective Mark Hudson. A veteran of canine units in the Canadian Forces and Halifax police, Mark stepped into the Major Crimes Division and became the new human half of Rex’s crime-fighting partnership. And yes, despite the surname, Mark isn’t related to his predecessor, Charlie Hudson.
Alongside the new detective are the familiar faces of Mayko Nguyen (Killjoys) as forensic specialist Dr. Sarah Truong, Kevin Hanchard (Orphan Black) as Superintendent Joseph Donovan, and Justin Kelly (Degrassi) as the team’s technology expert, Jesse Mills. Between them, they handle the evidence, the computers and the inevitable moments when Rex figures something out before the humans do.
The first half of the season has already put that new partnership through its paces, with missing witnesses, dangerous criminals and some particularly personal threats to the team. Now the remaining episodes bring another batch of murder mysteries, beginning with an investigation that takes Mark and Rex into the world of professional wrestling.
The returning episode, ‘All the Wrong Moves’, sees a professional wrestler murdered just days before a charity event. With the future of an animal shelter hanging in the balance, Mark and Rex must work out who’s playing the villain and bring the killer to the mat. Given Rex’s ability to take down a fleeing suspect, we wouldn’t fancy the murderer’s chances in a wrestling ring either.
After that, the cases include a suspicious death in the art world, a corpse discovered during a firefighter training exercise and a distinctly fishy investigation when a body turns up in a morning catch. The season then rounds things off with a two-part festive mystery, ‘Heist for the Holidays’, involving a gang of masked Newfoundland mummers. Apparently even Christmas isn’t enough to earn the Major Crimes team a quiet shift.
Of course, there’s another interesting twist for UK fans. While we’re only just getting the end of Season 8, Canada has already moved on to Season 9, which began airing on Citytv in October. That season sees John Reardon (Continuum) return as original detective Charlie Hudson, reuniting him with Rex after his absence from the eighth season.
Reardon had undergone treatment for tonsil cancer during Season 7 and subsequently said the production had chosen to move forward without him for Season 8, prompting a… strong reaction… from fans. His return was confirmed in May, and Roberts is also continuing as Mark, so the show isn’t simply reversing the change. Instead, it’s bringing both Hudsons into the picture, which should make for a rather interesting situation for Rex and the rest of the team.
There is no confirmed UK premiere date for Season 9 just yet, so we’ll have to see how long U&alibi keeps us waiting for that reunion. In the meantime, the remaining Season 8 episodes will also be available on demand through Sky, Virgin Media and NOW.
‘Hudson & Rex‘ Season 8, Part 2 premieres Sunday, 8th November 2026 at 8pm on U&alibi.
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