Josh
@joshmlabelle.bsky.social
2.1K followers 600 following 1K posts
Writer & Narrative Designer || Creative Director on Disney Dreamlight Valley ||"Hunter: The Reckoning - Day for Night" coming 2026 || "A Crown of Sorcery & Steel" out from Choice of Games || 1st place IFComp 2020🏆|| Opinions my own || www.joshlabelle.com
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joshmlabelle.bsky.social
I also genuinely can't tell or understand what ideological lines this story breaks down along and I prefer it that way.

I love that the central players are named things like "Mayor Arie Hoogenboom".
joshmlabelle.bsky.social
*Solving problems in gamedev*

Theory: I have one problem. I'll solve it and now I'll have no problems.

Reality: I had one problem. I solved it and now I have three problems.
Reposted by Josh
joshmlabelle.bsky.social
The old Hollywood is dying and the new one struggles to be born.
joshmlabelle.bsky.social
It's been very fun to write something that contains so many of my favorite subjects: monsters, movies, weird & obscure Hollywood lore, religion, immortality, fame, burnout, grief, and karaoke.
joshmlabelle.bsky.social
NEW DEVELOPMENT:

The Hudson & Rex fandom has taken out a *full page ad* in the Toronto Star to voice their displeasure with recent developments and seek justice for the original Hudson. (Credit to my mother-in-law for the discovery and photo.)
A full page Toronto Star ad describes the situation and demands answers from CityTV.
joshmlabelle.bsky.social
Makes a lot of sense, thank you for the context!
joshmlabelle.bsky.social
I imagine the active online fandom would be younger for sure. I just noticed that the current replies to Reardon tend to be older women who loved the show and him which I found wholesome. I'd also guess based on ads run on the show and just it being on terrestrial TV that there's a demographic skew.
joshmlabelle.bsky.social
I'm sure to a devoted fan, this experience must absolutely suck and I'm so sorry it's happening!

I hope you can appreciate how COMPLETELY BONKERS this entire behind the scenes saga is to someone watching from outside, and how comically discrepant it is with a fairly wholesome cozy mystery dog show.
joshmlabelle.bsky.social
smeatonpotatoes.bsky.social
Excellent thread, Josh! Someone once told me that in every shot where Diesel jumps over the camera, they would have to digitally remove his penis in post. Hours of someone’s life has gone into this task.
joshmlabelle.bsky.social
She says it's very nice to hear from you!
joshmlabelle.bsky.social
At least in that case they had the advantage that the guy's name wasn't in the title.
joshmlabelle.bsky.social
We watched every episode of season 5 at least 10 times before seeing an episode from any other season

I can go over the whole hostage situation one where Ricky from Trailer Park Boys is the villain from memory
joshmlabelle.bsky.social
WHY IS IT ALWAYS SEASON 5
joshmlabelle.bsky.social
The replies have exploded with nice older ladies who mainly liked watching the show for the handsome guy and the cute dog. The overall mood is grim. I am absolutely riveted to see where this goes next.
joshmlabelle.bsky.social
Hours later, the old Hudson posts on Instagram sharing that he didn't quit the show, seemingly claiming that he was essentially fired while recovering from cancer??
An Instagram caption explains that the original actor did not wish to leave Hudson & Rex, but the team chose to go in another direction with the show after his cancer diagnosis.
joshmlabelle.bsky.social
Today an article about the new Hudson and his rapport with the new Rex came out and its tone seemed slightly... odd, like they were trying to position the new Hudson as the superior Hudson. Is... is this supposed to imply the old Hudson stepped on the dog...?
Article reads: "Davis loves noticing the little kindnesses Dillon enjoys in his and Roberts' ever blooming relationship. 'He opens the door for the dog,' she said. 'And he hasn't stepped on him once.'
joshmlabelle.bsky.social
So now the "Rex" portion of Hudson & Rex has been replaced. Not long after, the actor who played Hudson began to face health challenges and the show cast a new Hudson. THAT'S RIGHT, THEY HAVE ACHIEVED A COMPLETE SHIP OF THESEUS BY REPLACING BOTH TITLE CHARACTERS
A poster shows the new Hudson with the new Rex
joshmlabelle.bsky.social
THE DOG DIED AND THEY KEPT IT A SECRET FOR SIX MONTHS. They "Paul is Dead"ed the dog!
A Toronto Star headline reads: "Why ‘Hudson & Rex’ kept the death of its canine star a secret for six months"
joshmlabelle.bsky.social
Rex was originally played by a dog named Diesel vom Burgamwald.

But this past year, my wife and I noticed that the dog looked... different.

The original
joshmlabelle.bsky.social
ANYWAY Hudson & Rex is basically a pretty standard Canadian police procedural except sometimes at the end of an episode the dog jumps through a plate glass window or something to catch the bad guy. It's cute, good folding laundry show, City TV (Toronto station) plays it literally 24/7 on weekends
joshmlabelle.bsky.social
Hudson & Rex is an oddly dramatic Canadian police procedural adaptation of a lightly comedic Austrian cop show, Kommissar Rex
Poster for Kommissar Rex, the original Austrian version  of the show