Hudson and Rex Season 9 Premiere Time USA: Release Date, Cast News, and How to Watch the 2026 Season

There is something oddly comforting about Hudson and Rex. The crimes can be grim, the suspects are usually hiding something, and the Major Crimes Unit rarely gets an easy case. Then Rex walks into the frame and somehow changes the whole mood. That mix of police procedural, action and canine charm has kept the series going long after many shows of its kind would have run out of steam.

Now Season 9 is arriving, and American viewers have one obvious question: when can they actually watch it? The Canadian schedule is straightforward. The American one is not. Citytv is launching the new season in October 2026, while viewers in the United States are facing another wait before the season reaches its regular US television and streaming outlets.

There is also plenty happening with the cast. John Reardon is back as Charlie Hudson, Luke Roberts remains part of the team, and Rex is once again at the center of the action. For longtime viewers, that combination is probably the biggest story of the new season.

Hudson and Rex Season 9 Premiere Date and Time

Season 9 is scheduled to premiere in Canada on Monday, October 5, 2026, on Citytv. The episode is set for 9:00 PM Eastern Time / 8:00 PM Central Time, with streaming availability through Citytv Plus.

That distinction matters for US fans. The Canadian premiere does not automatically mean the same-day US release. Historically, Hudson and Rex has arrived on American television after its Canadian run, leaving viewers on opposite sides of the border watching on very different schedules.

For now, the Canadian date is the firm point on the calendar. The US rollout is expected later, with early to mid-2027 being the window associated with the American release.

Why the US Release Is So Much Later

The frustrating part for American viewers is that Season 8 has only recently made its way through the US schedule. UPtv began its US cable run of Season 8 on August 6, 2026, with episodes airing through the late summer and early fall. That leaves very little room for the network to turn around and immediately launch Season 9 alongside Canada.

So the two markets are once again out of sync.

UPtv is expected to bring Season 9 to American television in early 2027, while UP Faith and Family is expected to follow a similar timetable for streaming subscribers. The streaming service has generally handled the series through weekly episode releases rather than dropping an entire season at once.

For anyone accustomed to watching a Canadian series almost immediately through a US streaming service, that delay is a little hard to swallow. But it is also nothing particularly unusual for this show.

How US Fans Are Trying to Keep Up

The release gap has predictably become a regular topic in Hudson and Rex fan communities. Reddit threads, Facebook groups and TV discussion boards are full of viewers trying to figure out how to watch the Canadian broadcast without waiting months for the American release.

Some fans have discussed Roku setups and international channel packages that can carry Canadian television feeds. Others have talked about VPNs and accessing official Canadian streaming services from outside their normal viewing region. These options can involve regional restrictions, additional subscriptions or technical complications, so viewers should check the terms and availability of any service before signing up.

The basic reason behind all this fuss is simple: American fans do not necessarily want to wait until 2027 to find out what Charlie and Rex are doing next.

That is especially true with Reardon returning. The reunion between Charlie and Rex is one of the major attractions of the new season, and waiting several months to see it while Canadian viewers are already discussing each episode is bound to test the patience of the show’s most committed audience.

John Reardon Returns as Charlie Hudson

The biggest cast development for Season 9 is John Reardon’s return.

Reardon, who plays Detective Charlie Hudson, was absent for a substantial part of Seasons 7 and 8 while he stepped away from production during treatment and recovery from tonsil cancer. His absence changed the shape of the series, forcing the writers to give Rex a different human partner and allowing another detective to move into the spotlight.

That detective was Mark Hudson, played by Luke Roberts. The character arrived with experience in military canine units and the Canadian police, giving him a natural connection to Rex. There was some understandable hesitation among viewers when Charlie’s replacement appeared, but Roberts gradually established his own rhythm with the character and the rest of the Major Crimes Unit.

Now both characters are part of the picture.

Promotional material for Season 9 has confirmed Reardon’s return, with Charlie once again working alongside Rex. The reunion is clearly being treated as a major emotional beat rather than something the show intends to rush past. At the same time, Roberts is staying on, which means Season 9 has the unusual opportunity to use both detectives rather than simply replacing one with the other.

That could give the police stories a little more room to breathe. It also gives the writers another relationship to play with instead of resetting the series completely around Charlie’s return.

What to Expect From Season 9

Season 9 is set to run for 12 episodes, down from the 14-episode order for Season 8. A shorter season does not necessarily mean less story, though. In a procedural, fewer episodes can sometimes help the pacing, particularly when the writers have several returning characters to balance.

The Major Crimes Unit is expected to handle cases involving organized crime, cyber threats and older investigations that refuse to stay buried. Those details suggest a familiar Hudson and Rex mixture: conventional detective work, technology-heavy investigations, physical danger and, sooner or later, Rex finding himself much closer to the action than any sensible police supervisor would probably allow.

The supporting cast remains important as well. Justin Kelly continues as technical analyst Jesse Mills, while Mayko Nguyen plays Dr. Sarah Truong and Kevin Hanchard returns as Superintendent Joseph Donovan. Their roles help keep the series from becoming a simple two-character police show.

And then there is Rex.

The German Shepherd remains the visual center of the series, whether he is chasing a suspect, finding evidence or simply reacting to Charlie in those quieter scenes that give the show some of its warmth. The production continues the Rex role through a lineage of trained German Shepherds following the death of Diesel vom Burgimwald in 2024. The dogs handle different demands on set, including stunt work and performance-heavy scenes, which is part of why Rex can feel like a genuine character rather than a gimmick added to a police drama.

Canada vs. United States: Season 9 Schedule

For American viewers, the difference in timing is worth keeping in mind.

The Canadian launch is the one happening first. American viewers following the show through UPtv or UP Faith and Family should expect to wait for the later release window rather than assuming the October 5 broadcast will appear on their usual US services at the same time.

That gap is annoying, particularly in an era when audiences are used to simultaneous international releases. Still, it is better to know the situation than to spend an evening refreshing a streaming app and wondering whether the episode has somehow disappeared.

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Final Word for US Viewers

Season 9 feels like something of a reset without actually being a reset. Charlie Hudson is back, Mark Hudson is staying, Rex remains the constant, and the Major Crimes Unit has another batch of cases waiting for them. That gives the show a chance to move forward while keeping the relationships that longtime viewers already know.

For Canadian audiences, the wait ends on October 5, 2026, at 9:00 PM Eastern. For viewers in the United States, the more realistic expectation is an UPtv and UP Faith and Family release in early 2027.

The interesting part will be seeing how the show handles two detectives around Rex instead of treating Charlie’s return as a reason to erase everything that happened while he was away. If the writers get that balance right, Season 9 could have a different rhythm from the previous two seasons without losing what made Hudson and Rex work in the first place.