Walker was a reboot of the original show Walker, Texas Ranger which starred Chuck Norris. That show lasted 9 seasons and 196 episodes and aired on CBS. Walker, aired on the CW, lasted 4 seasons and had a total of 69 episodes. Walker ended in 2024. After Nextstar purchased the CW, almost all of the lineup of shows got axed afterward. The only show that lasted at the end was All American. Walker, was one of the last few remaining shows on after the mass exodus of shows that got the ax. The decision to end Walker came after it had finished season 4. There was not time to do a proper series finale however the way the finale was structured was able to serve as a series closure. There were some loose threads to set up for a potential Season 5.
Major Spoiler Alerts
During Walker’s 4 season run, there were not many casting shakeups. In this day and age that can be a bit impressive. The show starred Jared Padelicki as Cordell Walker, Molly Hagen as Abeline Walker, Mitch Pileggi as Bonham Walker, Keegan Allen as Liam Walker, Violet Brinson as Stella Walker, Kale Culley as August Walker, Jeff Pierre as Trey Barnett, Coby Bell as Larry James, Odette Annable as Geri Broussard, Ashley Reyes as Cassie Perez, and Lindsey Morgan as Micki Ramirez. Odette Annable’s Geri was a recurring character in season 1 and was promoted as a series regular in season 2. The only major casting change was Lindsey Morgan who exited in the first few episodes of season 2 as Micki Ramirez, Cordell’s partner. After she exited the show, Ashley Reyes joined the team as Cassie Perez who went on to become Cordell’s new partner. Cassie remained with the show for the rest of its run.
I never watched Walker, Texas Ranger which starred Chuck Norris. I knew what it was and I think I probably saw parts of it on TV. I cannot compare this to that. I will say what interested me in watching Walker had to do with Jared Padelecki being the star of it. I did watch Supernatural at the beginning. I left around season 5. I also watched Gilmore Girls which he was on as well. I had seen him in some movies too over the years. I do like Jared Padalecki and that was the main reason for me wanting to check out Walker. Another reason was that Keegan Allen was on the show too. I was a fan of Keegan Allen from watching him on Pretty Little Liars.
I liked Walker a lot. It had a lot of fun storylines. It had cool dynamics. I was sad when Micki Ramirez left. I did wind up liking Cassie Perez once she joined the show as Cordell’s new partner. It was also nice that Cassie did not wind up being a love interest for Trey who was Micki’s ex-boyfriend. I also liked how the show kept Trey on even after Micki left. In Season 1 it seemed a little bit like Trey was only going to remain a main character due to his relationship with Micki whether they wound up getting married or breaking up. The show wound up going the route of making Trey a ranger which kept him on the show. It was nice that Trey got to evolve beyond the role of being the boyfriend. The dynamic between Cordell, Cassie, and Trey was fun to watch. I liked the dynamic between Cassie and Trey. I was wondering once Cassie became Walker’s new partner, if she would wind up being a love interest for Trey. It seems a lot of times shows will do that.
Another cool thing about Walker was the fact it was a modern western. The original show was a Western but that was also released in a different time. Westerns don’t seem to do as well these days as they once were. There are always exceptions to the rule. Yellowstone was a huge hit and spawned different spinoffs. Even the spinoff of Walker, Walker: Independence only lasted one season on the CW. Walker was lucky to last four seasons. I definitely feel it could have gone on longer. There was so much more story left. I also wanted to see what was going to happen to all the characters especially as things were moving forward and family dynamics were changing.
One thing that was teased in the series finale was that James VanderBeek showed up in the finale moments. Cordell, his girlfriend, and his two kids were going for a drive and pass a car with someone moving into the house next door. The final moments reveal its James VanderBeek. He drops off a little gift for the Walker family since he would become their new neighbor. Some of the big deal of the moment was supposed to be the fact that it was James VanderBeek who was best known as Dawson Leery from the WB show Dawson’s Creek. I read some articles online about potential storylines if Walker made it to a season 5. One thing that was mentioned that if the show continued, James VanderBeek would have had a heavy role in season 5. His character would have been mysterious and with the potential of being an antagonist for the season. It would have been interesting to see what that would have been like.
Overall, Walker was able to have a satisfying ending despite the fact it was more meant as a season finale. There was enough closure that it worked. It would have been nice to see the show continue for more years and see what else would have been in store for the Walker clan.
