Hooch Is the Same Dog Breed in Both the TV and Film Versions of 'Turner & Hooch'
Published July 21 2021, 5:47 p.m. ET
Almost exactly 31 years after the buddy cop comedy Turner & Hooch debuted in movie theaters, a TV show adaptation of the same name launched on Disney Plus.
In the series, Josh Peck (Drake & Josh, Grandfathered) stars as Scott Turner Jr. The U.S. Marshal is named after his father aka the main character played by Tom Hanks in the 1989 film.
Shortly after his dad's untimely passing, Scott Jr. learns that he has been given his dad's trusty dog, Hooch (who is not the same canine as the one featured in the original movie). While Scott Jr. isn't thrilled to be saddled up with such a large responsibility, especially since he's trying to get a promotion at work, he soon discovers that Hooch is a formidable partner.
The new Turner and Hooch duo begins to work together to figure out what really happened to Scott Sr. — as it becomes clear that his death may not have been an accident.
While the circumstances surrounding Scott Sr.'s death are puzzling, there's no mystery surrounding how the cast and crew handled working with a pup as a co-star.
Read on to find out everything you need to know about Hooch, and to learn what Josh Peck had to say about his frequent scene partner.
What kind of dog is Hooch in 'Turner & Hooch'?
Though the original Hooch was long gone by the time Disney Plus greenlighted the Turner & Hooch reboot, the breed of the dog remained the same.
Hooch is a Dogue de Bordeaux aka a French Mastiff in both the movie and the TV versions of Turner & Hooch. Bordeaux dogs are known for being strong and muscular, and they can move heavy objects.
Because Hooch is meant to be a law enforcement partner of sorts for Scott Turner and, eventually, for Scott Turner Jr. — which requires a lot of stamina and brute strength — it makes sense that this would be the breed utilized on the screen.
While the canine character is one of the main stars on the Disney Plus comedy series, Hooch was actually played by several dogs.
Josh Peck confirmed that Hooch was played by five different dogs in 'Turner and Hooch.'
Ahead of the show's debut, Josh Peck, and creator Matt Nix spoke with Full House star John Stamos for 92nd Street Y. Josh and John played a father and son duo on the first and only season of Grandfathered in 2016, and the two have remained close ever since.
John asked his former co-star whether he enjoyed working with him better, or the dog in Turner & Hooch. Josh then admitted that there were multiple dogs who portrayed his pet on the show.
"The only sad part is there are five Hooches and there's only one Stamos," Josh joked. "I think the world might explode if there was more of you."
Though the amount of dogs appearing on the show could indicate that they were tough to handle, Josh shared that the crew members understood what they were getting into by using real animals.
"They said, 'Be ready. There will be a real dog there... There's going to be a real dog there because that's such an important piece of it, and we want to make sure that that works. Feel free to improvise and act around because we're not crazy. We know that the dog is going to do its own thing to a certain extent,'" he shared. "Immediately, I remember thinking, 'I'm working with very smart people.'"
You can catch Josh and the five dogs playing Hooch in Turner & Hooch (and you can see how the show compares to the movie).
The first episode is now available to stream on Disney Plus. New episodes come out on Wednesdays.
