Walker is an American actioncrimedrama television series developed by Anna Fricke for The CW. It is a reboot of the 1990s western drama television series Walker, Texas Ranger. The series was ordered straight to series in 2020, with Jared Padalecki portraying the title role and serving as an executive producer. It premiered on January 21, 2021.[1]
In February 2021, the series was renewed for a second season which premiered on October 28, 2021.[2][3] In March 2022, the series was renewed for a third season which premiered on October 6, 2022.[4][5] In May 2023, the series was renewed for a fourth season.[6]
Synopsis
"At the center of the series is Cordell Walker, a man finding his way back to his family while investigating crime in the state's most elite unit. Our broken widower and father of two returns home to Austin after being undercover for two years for a high profile case—only to discover that there's even more work to be done at home. In a nod to the original series, Walker and his new partner—one of the only women in Texas Rangers' history—are the modern-day heroes our world needs, following their own moral code to fight for what's right, regardless of the rules."
Cast and characters
Main
Jared Padalecki as Cordell Walker,[7] a legendary Texas Ranger who just returned home after a lengthy undercover assignment. He's also a fan of Texas Ranger Baseball.
Lindsey Morgan as Micki Ramirez (seasons 1–2[8]),[7] Cordell's partner in the Texas Rangers. After an undercover assignment led to the death of her ex-fiancé Garrison, Micki decided to leave the Rangers and return to San Antonio to start a new chapter. This was written into the show following Morgan's decision to leave during the production of the second season due to personal reasons.
Molly Hagan as Abeline Walker,[7] Cordell and Liam's mother
Keegan Allen as Liam Walker,[7] Cordell's brother and an assistant DA for the City of Austin
Violet Brinson as Stella Walker,[7] Cordell's 16-year-old daughter
Kale Culley as August "Auggie" Walker,[7] Cordell's 14-year-old son
Coby Bell as Larry Samuel James,[7] Cordell's former partner turned captain at the Texas Rangers.
Jeff Pierre as Trey Barnett,[7] Micki's army medic boyfriend
In September 2019, it was announced that a reboot of Walker, Texas Ranger starring Jared Padalecki was in development.[69]The CW picked up the project for its 2020–2021 development slate in October 2019.[70] In January 2020, it was announced that The CW had ordered the project directly to series, bypassing a television pilot, and would be titled Walker.[71] The series is written by Anna Fricke who is also expected to executive produce alongside Dan Lin, Lindsey Liberatore and Padalecki. Production companies involved with the series were slated to consist of CBS Television Studios and Rideback.[72] On February 3, 2021, The CW gave the series an additional five episodes bringing the total episodes for the first season to 18 episodes and renewed the series for a second season.[2] The second season premiered on October 28, 2021.[3] On March 22, 2022, The CW renewed the series for a third season.[4] On May 9, 2023, the CW renewed the series for a fourth season.[6]
Casting
On February 5, 2020, it was announced that Lindsey Morgan had joined Walker in the role of Micki, Walker's new partner in the Texas Rangers.[73] The same month, Keegan Allen was cast in the role of Walker's brother, Liam,[74] while Mitch Pileggi and Molly Hagan were cast as Walker's father and mother, Bonham and Abeline, respectively.[75][76] On February 28, 2020, it was announced that Coby Bell had joined the series, playing the role of Texas Ranger Captain Larry James.[77] On March 4, 2020, Jeff Pierre was cast as a series regular.[78] On March 12, 2020, Violet Brinson and Kale Culley joined the cast as series regulars.[79] On September 14, 2020, Genevieve Padalecki, Jared Padalecki's wife, was cast in a recurring role.[80] On October 30, 2020, Odette Annable was cast in a recurring role.[81] In November 2020, Chris Labadie and Alex Landi joined the cast in recurring roles.[82][83] On December 4, 2020, Gabriela Flores was cast in a recurring role.[84] On January 7, 2021, Rebekah Graf joined the cast in a recurring capacity.[85] On February 19, 2021, Alex Meneses was cast in a recurring role.[86] On April 29, 2021, it was reported that Odette Annable was promoted as a series regular for the second season.[9] On August 31, 2021, it was announced that Dave Annable joined the cast in a recurring role for the second season.[87]
On October 22, 2021, it was announced that Mason Thames will have a recurring role as Young Walker.[88] Jalen Thomas Brooks was also cast as Colton Davidson.[89] Colin Ford, who played young Sam Winchester on Supernatural, appeared several times as soldier-aged Walker in season 3.
Filming
During a meeting on October 15, 2020, the Austin City Council approved an agreement for $141,326 in incentives that would allow the reboot, Walker, to start filming in Austin.[90] The Texas Film Commission is planning to offer an incentive of $9.3 million.[91]
Release
Marketing
On December 14, 2020, The CW released the first official trailer for the series.[92]
In December 2021, it was reported that a prequel series titled Walker: Independence was in development at The CW with Padalecki as executive producer and Fricke as showrunner.[99] A pilot order was confirmed in February 2022.[100]Larry Teng would direct the pilot,[101] Justin Johnson Cortez was cast as a series regular,[102] and Matt Barr was also cast as Hoyt Rawlins.[103] In March 2022, it was announced that Katherine McNamara had been cast in the lead role. She will be portraying Abby Walker, the ancestor of Padalecki's Cordell Walker.[104] Also that month, Lawrence Kao, Greg Hovanessian, Philemon Chambers and Katie Findlay joined the cast as series regulars.[105][106][107] In May 2022, The CW picked up the series for a fall premiere and paired it with its parent series in a Thursday time slot.[108][109] In June 2022, Gabriela Quezada was cast as a series regular.[110] The series premiered in October 2022, but was canceled in May 2023 after a single season.[111]
Reception
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the first season has an approval rating of 33% based on 18 critic reviews, with an average rating of 4.93/10. The website's critic consensus states, "Despite decent performances, Walker's bland storytelling and limited action fails to fill its namesake's butt-kicking boots."[112] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 51 out of 100 based on 8 critic reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[113]
Ratings
The Walker pilot marked The CW's most-watched telecast since January 30, 2018, and its most-watched season premiere since The Flash (season 4) in October 2017. The premiere also garnered the highest viewership for any episode in its time slot in four years, since the airing of the "Invasion!" episode of the show Legends of Tomorrow.[114] It also attracted the largest Live+7-day viewership for a new series since 2016's Legends of Tomorrow.[115]
