Walker: Showrunner and Star of Cancelled CW Series Discuss the Last Episode

(Photo: Rebecca Brenneman/The CW)

Walker ended its four season run on CW last night, and now star Jared Padalecki and showrunner Anna Fricke are talking about bringing the Walker: Texas Ranger reboot series to a close.

Starring Padalecki, Ashley Reyes, Keegan Allen, Mitch Pileggi, Molly Hagan, Violet Brinson, Kale Culley, Coby Bell, Jeff Pierre, and Odette Annable, the series follows Texas Ranger Cordell Walker (Padalecki) after he returns home to reconnect with his family.

Padalecki said the following about ending the series, per Deadline:

“I’m heartbroken. I love the show. I love the cast and the crew. I am and will be eternally grateful for the four years we had with each other and the friendships and relationships that I made. But right now, It’s tough. I know it’ll be around for people to watch and rewatch. So I’m grateful for that, but I’m certainly gonna miss it.

I’ve had this job for 20 years. There’s never been a week of new television where I haven’t been No. 1 on the call sheet of an hour long show. I’m still grieving, and I probably will for a while. But I feel really excited to spend more time with my wife, our children…the rest of my family, my friends. So I’m happy for Walker, I think. I’m bummed that he’s not on the next job, because I know he loves being a dog with a bone and getting his work done, but I’m so happy he gets to take this break and reset and spend time with his loved ones.”

Fricke notes that she did have ideas for a fifth season and beyond, including having a character played by James Van Der Beek as Walker’s new neighbor. The network offered to let Fricke film an additional scene to try to give more closure to the show, but she opted to stick with what had already been filmed.

“It really was about getting the family to a good place. They are on to their next chapter. That moment when the family drives off together, the kids and Walker and Geri, feels like some sort of closure in a way. In a perfect world, [it would have] gone on and there would be more stories and more complications, but they do seem like they’re in a good place.

It didn’t sit well with me to try to wrap up the whole series with one revised scene. It seemed too rushed and too hurried, and it would have felt tacked on. So we opted to leave the finale as it was.”

While an additional scene wasn’t created, Fricke took the network’s offer to extend the finale’s run time so viewers could see some additional scenes, including one with the whole Walker family.

What do you think? Were you sad to see this CW series end? Would you like to see the characters return for a fifth season or reunion movie someday?