Near the end of 2019, news began to circulate that Disney+ would likely be rebooting the Tom Hanks buddy cop comedy Turner & Hooch as a TV show. Fast forward to now, where the Turner & Hooch series has not only been confirmed, but it has also cast Hanks’ role with a former Nickelodeon star. Who could it be? Hint: His most recent starring TV role was alongside Full House’s John Stamos, and his last guest-star appearance (oddly enough) was on Fuller House.
If you guessed Josh Peck of Drake & Josh fame, then you are 100% correct. The actor, who is also quite the successful YouTube star, has been cast in the role of Scott Turner, aka Tom Hanks’ character from the original 1989 Turner & Hooch movie. There is a twist, though, as Peck’s Scott Turner will be a bit different from Hanks’ version.
Instead of being a police officer, Josh Peck’s Scott Turner will be a U.S. Marshal. Described by Deadline as “ambitious” and “buttoned-up,” Peck’s Scott no doubt will share something very crucial in common with his predecessor. Peck’s Scott also inherits a “big unruly dog,” and the two become partners, thus giving the show its name.
Turner & Hooch’s first season will consist of 12 episodes, and they will be an hour each. Twelve hours of Turner & Hooch! Here's hoping the creative team gives Josh Peck and his four-footed friend a deep enough storyline to make all those hours worth viewers' time.
The only possible downside for excited viewers is they will probably have to wait for new installments of Turner & Hooch every week, per Disney+'s rollout strategy. However, if you want to watch the original Turner & Hooch for the first time or the seventieth time, Disney+ already has it available to stream right now.
And who is the main creative mind behind the series? Burn Notice creator Matt Nix is also developing the Turner & Hooch TV show. Nix will also act as the executive producer of the series alongside Bones’ Josh Levy. Hopefully, the television show goes more smoothly behind-the-scenes than the original movie apparently did for its first director and star. Now that casting has been completed for Tom Hanks’ role, what about Josh Peck’s co-star?
Hooch has not gotten cast yet. It remains to be seen if Hooch will remain a Dogue de Bordeaux as the original Hooch was, as played by Beasley. I could theoretically see Turner & Hooch using a Pit Bull to play beloved the canine. (Jean-Luc Picard has one as his best friend on Star Trek: Picard, per Patrick Stewart’s insistence.) Or perhaps the producers will choose another breed that fits the story.
With Josh Peck’s casting, the Turner & Hooch TV show is keeping a lead actor who has skills in both drama and comedy in the way that Tom Hanks was. The former Nickelodeon star has mostly gravitated towards comedies through the years with a dash of drama, and Turner & Hooch should fall within those parameters. (Check out Mean Creek, if you haven't yet, for a pummeling performance from Peck and the rest of the young cast.)
Adding to Josh Peck’s background is that he is also quite familiar with the buddy genre, thanks to Drake & Josh. (The actor regularly sees his former co-star Drake Bell, too, so the buddy idea isn't just an on-screen thing.) Turner & Hooch is going to be an hour-long show, which indicates it will not be a full-blown comedy, which tend to fit within the half-hour timespan. It seems like the Disney+ TV show could head into dramedic territory. As long as the first season steers clear of the 1989 film’s ending, fans should be good to go!
A premiere date for the Turner & Hooch series has not gotten announced yet, so stay tuned. There is a lot currently streaming on Disney+, and many premieres are set to join them throughout this winter and spring.
