The CW announced a slew of renewals ahead of the 2022-2023 television season, and among them was their hit Western crime drama Walker. The Walker, Texas Ranger reboot series starring Supernatural‘s Jared Padalecki is currently wrapping up its sophomore outing, with the last two episodes set to air on March 31 and April 7 respectively. Since debuting back in January 2021, it has been one of the network’s most-watched shows, and now a new chapter in Walker’s journey is assured.
As a hard reboot, Walker departs from its Chuck Norris-led predecessor by taking a serious look at the grief and struggle of Walker to fit in following his return from a two-year-long undercover assignment. He tries to rekindle his relationship with his kids as a widower and make peace with his family and their traditional ranch life. Amidst it all, he finds a kindred spirit in his new partner on the job and investigates the death of his wife, which he harbors suspicions about. Season 2 found the Texas Ranger finally settling into ranch life again until the rival Davidson family settles nearby, reigniting a feud that stems back to Walker’s childhood.
Walker features Padalecki alongside Lindsey Morgan, Molly Hagan, Keegan Allen, Coby Bell, Mitch Pileggi, Violet Brinson, Kale Culley, and Jeff Pierre, though Season 2 marks the end of Morgan’s run with the show. Paula Marshall Dave Annable, and Amara Zaragoza moved into the series in its second season as members of the Davidson clan. Padalecki also serves as an executive producer on the series with Anna Fricke, Dan Lin, Lindsey Liberatore, and Jessica Yu.
The CW has gone all-in on the Walker IP following its successful initial run on the network. Alongside the renewal, the show is looking at a prequel series, Walker: Independence, that’s currently in the works at the network with a pilot ordered earlier this year. Executive produced by Padalecki, the series will be what 1883 is to Yellowstone, taking viewers back to the late 1800s to view the adventures of Abby Walker as she heads out West with her husband. The journey takes a turn for the worse though, as he’s brutally murdered in front of her. Hungry for vengeance, she teams up with an unlikely ally in Hoyt Rawlins and makes her way to Independence, Texas to plan her next move.
Walker will conclude its second season with two more episodes on March 31 and April 7.
via Collider