Sons of Thunder is an American action crime drama television series created by Aaron and Chuck Norris that aired from March 6 to April 17, 1999 on CBS. It was a spin-off of Walker, Texas Ranger.^[2]

Series overview

Pilot

The two-hour pilot, Sons of Thunder, was shown as episode 4.24 of Walker. This episode introduced the characters of childhood friends Carlos Sandoval, a Dallas PD Detective, and Trent Malloy, an Army sergeant and a protégé of Walker's.

When Rev. Thunder Malloy, a close friend of Walker's, dies from a heart attack, his son Trent returns home and, eventually, quits the Army to stay. Walker and his partner Trivette go after a serial cop killer who has Carlos on his list, which Trent ends up getting involved in by accident when he saved Carlos's life and later helped Walker and Carlos take down the criminal.^[3]

Seasons 5 and 6 of Walker

During Seasons 5 and 6 of Walker, Carlos appeared on 15 episodes and Trent for 12 episodes (one of these episodes included a Hayes Cooper story in which both actors appeared in a dual role). During these episodes, Trent opens his own martial arts dojo as well as a protection agency to either help people who are too scared to go to the police or who the police can't help. Sometimes he has Carlos assist him in some of his cases and, at other times, they help Walker on several of his cases, which often involve personal issues, or Trent turns over his current case

The spin-off series

Finally, in 1999, they got their own spin-off series, which only lasted six episodes. Carlos resigns from the PD after his partner is murdered by a serial killer, who was a failed police applicant. He teams up with Trent to find the assassin, and they later decide to form their own private investigation firm called Thunder Investigation.

Cast

Main

• James Wlcek as Trent Malloy
• Marco Sanchez as Detective Carlos Sandoval
• Dawn Maxey as Kim Sutter
• Alan Autry as Butch McMann
• Shane Meier as Thomas "Tommy" Joseph Malloy

Recurring

• Chuck Norris as Ranger Cordell Walker
• Clarence Gilyard as Ranger James Trivette

Cancellation

Sons of Thunder aired in the same timeslot as "Walker, Texas Ranger" (Saturdays at 10pm ET). Producers Chuck and Aaron Norris assumed that the show would be renewed but CBS passed, citing budget concerns.^{[citation needed]}

Episodes