There's just something about a procedural police drama that seems to work well on network television. From "NYPD Blue" to "The Rookie" and everything in between, there's a huge audience for that kind of stuff. That's why the CW wanted to reboot "Walker, Texas Ranger" a few years back. The original show stars Legendary actor and action hero Chuck Norris as the title character. For the reboot, the network has turned to "Supernatural" star Jared Padalecki in what will simply be called "Walker."

Unfortunately for viewers, Walker Season 4, which ended its run in 2024, was the end of the line for the show. The spin-off "Walker: Independence" is also at the end of its run after just one season. There won't be a fifth season of The Adventures of Cordell Walker, and Padalecki is left to figure out what he'd like to do with his career next. The CW has officially canceled the series in May 2024, and the network said the following in a statement (via The Hollywood Reporter):

"We want to thank the entire cast, crew, writers, directors and producers of 'Walker' for their hard work and dedication over four incredible seasons." a member of the CW family for more than 20 years and has been an integral part of some of the network's biggest hits."

Padalecki, best known as one half of the Winchesters on "Supernatural," remained in the CW family to take on "Walker." In the show, he plays Cordell Walker, a widower and father of two who returns home to his home in Austin, Texas, after being undercover for two years. He soon discovers that there is more difficult work to be done there, such as trying to reconnect with his children, deal with his family, and find a footing with his new partner, one of the first women in the history of the Texas Rangers.

All of this still begs the question, why was "Walker" canceled by the network? In short, the network that brought the show to the air in its fourth season was radically different from the one that had greenlit the show a few years earlier.

Walker, written and executive produced by Anna Fricke ("Being Human," "Valor"), was produced by The CW and first aired in 2021. The CW as we know it was a collaboration between CBS and Warner Bros. However, as the TV landscape changes rapidly in the streaming era, both companies sold a controlling stake in the network to TV giant Nexstar in late 2022. It effectively changed the future of the web in a big way.

Nexstar came in and immediately looked to maximize profits. As a result, it has led to a lot more unscripted television, which is far cheaper to produce. Scripted shows like "Walker" aren't nearly as cheap and, relative to the audiences they bring in, the cost was harder to justify for a new owner. To that end, almost all of The CW's shows have been canceled over the past few years, including all of them The DC Arrowverse shows, with that universe now something that wasrather than something that still is.

Simply put, the brass at Nexstar canceled Walker to fit the new business strategy. This is not something Padalecki took too kindly to. In a June 2024 interview with Diversitythe actor was pretty candid about his feelings about the network's decision to cancel the show.

"I feel like the CW I was a part of last year is not the CW I was a part of under (former chairman and CEO) Mark Pedowitz for that entire, almost 20-year period." They're just changing the network around, where it's not really going to be a TV network as much as it's going to be, “Here's something fun for an hour that you'll never see again, but I hope you will. And it's cheap!" And I hate to say it, but I'm just honest. I mean, fuck it. They can't fire me again. I'm just brutally honest. I think I felt like they were looking for a really easy , cheap content to fill their time with."

Walker is streaming now on Max, or you can grab the entire series on DVD through Amazon.