"Walker" will not return for a fifth season at the CW.
“We want to thank the entire cast, crew, writers, directors and producers of Walker for their hard work and dedication over four incredible seasons,” the network said in a statement on Tuesday. “We also want to give a special thanks to star and executive producer Jared Padalecki, who has been a member of The CW family for over 20 years and was integral to some of the biggest hits on the network.”
Star and executive producer Padalecki, who starred on the WB/CW long-running hit Supernatural for 15 seasons before segueing to Walker, shared the news of the official cancellation with fans.
“It’s a tough piece of news to be sure, but we are SO thankful for the #WalkerFamily that has been built, both on set and off,” he wrote on IG. “I will forever smile on the years I got to spend with the cast and crew and studio and network and fandom that made this all possible. Til we ride again.”
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Under normal circumstances, a Season 5 renewal for Walker should’ve been a no-brainer — it is the CW’s most-watched series. Yet, a pickup had to come at the right price for producer CBS Studios to be able to bring the show back.
As Deadline reported last month, Walker could not continue without a significant increase in its license fee, believed to be currently at $500k-$550k an episode, the lowest among the three remaining legacy CW dramas, which also include the All-American duo, and a fraction of what an average broadcast drama costs to produce.
In search of profitability, while also spending heavily on sports, the CW has been cutting costs on the entertainment programming side, relying largely on low-cost acquisitions and co-production.
In the end, the network didn’t step up to keep Walker, the last series from former co-parent CBS Studios on the CW, in which CBS and Warner Bros. remain minority owners.
Decisions on the two All-American series from Warner Bros. TV are pending, with offshoot Homecoming more unlikely to continue.
Walker’s next original episode airs May 22, with the season and series finale on June 26.
A reimagining of the popular CBS drama Walker, Texas Ranger, Walker centers on Cordell Walker (Padalecki), a widower and father of two with his own moral code who returns home to Austin after being undercover for two years, only to discover there’s harder work to be done at home.
In addition to Padalecki, the cast also includes Ashley Reyes, Keegan Allen, Violet Brinson, Molly Hagan, Kale Culley, Coby Bell, Jeff Pierre, Mitch Pileggi, and Odette Annable.
Walker is written and executive produced by Anna Fricke, and executive produced by Dan Lin, Lindsey Liberatore, Padalecki, Steve Robin, and Russel Friend. The series is from CBS Studios in association with Rideback.
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