Little Dog

Pro-boxer Tommy “Little Dog” Ross (JOEL THOMAS HYNES), the favourite to win a Championship Belt, has a world-class meltdown in the middle of the fight and walks out of the ring. We meet up with him again five years later, living a life of general self-destruction, when he is caught on video in a bar fight, prompting old rival Rico “Havoc” St. George (DWAIN MURPHY) to challenge him to a title rematch.

Triggered by his mother Sylvia’s (GER RYAN) dance for the cameras as his self-appointed spokeswoman, Tommy (JOEL THOMAS HYNES) rashly accepted Rico’s (DWAIN MURPHY) challenge and quickly realizes there’s no way out of it, so he’d better find a trainer and a way to pay it all. In an attempt to gain publicity for her self-help seminars, Tommy’s sister Ginny (KATHERINE ISABELLE) sets Tommy up for public embarrassment when he attempts to raise some money for training. To make matters worse, he finds himself pulled into a charity match and ends up in the boxing ring much sooner than he intended.

After a disastrous attempt to get his old job at Devereaux’s Seafood Empire back, Tommy (JOEL THOMAS HYNES) is still short on funds and running out of time. He gets an unexpected (and unwanted) offer from Tucker (MARY WALSH), a formidable local criminal and an old crony of Lowly Sr (ANDY JONES), Tommy’s jailbird dad. Vaani (PATRICIA ISAAC) finds Ginny’s (KATHERINE ISABELLE) Luv Yourself Mean seminar to be surprisingly helpful, and later ends up in Tommy’s company at a bar - that is until he’s unexpectedly pulled away.

Pamela (JULIA CHAN) is back - in Tommy’s (JOEL THOMAS HYNES) kitchen, in fact. She visits the Ross house in a bid to mend fences before the press conference announcing the big fight, but it doesn’t go well. Tommy nearly misses the press conference running errands for Tucker (MARY WALSH) and tangling with Vaani’s (PATRICIA ISAAC) ex-husband. Rico’s (DWAIN MURPHY) dominates the room, prompt and ready to perform - and the crowd loves him. Tommy makes it, just in time, but his earlier escapades catch up with him.

In the penitentiary Tommy (JOEL THOMAS HYNES) finds himself bunking with his old man. Before long, the Ross men find their old groove and Lowly Sr (ANDY JONES) begins training Tommy inside the clink. Meanwhile, a widely circulated yet grossly misinterpreted video has Rico (DWAIN MURPHY) looking like the town pervert. Things are going surprisingly well for Tommy before Sylvia (GER RYAN) bails him out and he’s trapped under her surety - every move he makes, either Sylvia or Lowly Jr (STEPHEN OATES) is there. With the unexpected help of Lowly Jr, Tommy manages to convince Vaani (PATRICIA ISAAC) to join the Rosses at their chaotic Regatta Day dinner.

With all of the encouragement from his father and the community, Tommy (JOEL THOMAS HYNES) starts to almost believe in himself again. As Tommy’s surety, Sylvia (GER RYAN) is along for the ride and doesn’t mind catching the shine coming off Tommy one bit. While Tommy trains with Sylvia and Lowly Jr (STEPHEN OATES) watching over him, Ginny (KATHERINE ISABELLE) convinces Rico (DWAIN MURPHY) to attend one of her seminars. Tucker (MARY WALSH) learns that the odds are now in Tommy’s favour and does the math: there’s a lot more money to be made if Tommy loses than if he wins. After some tense moments at the weigh-in, the fight with Rico is officially on, and Tucker offers Tommy an impossible choice.