Jared Padalecki criticises The CW network’s ‘cheap content’ after cancellation of his show ‘Walker’
Jared Padalecki, who stars in and executive produces The CWwestern crime drama Walker, has criticised the network after it cancelled his show.
“I’m just being honest,” Padalecki told Variety, “I mean, f*** it. They can’t fire me again.”
Padalecki starred as the crime-fighting Texas Ranger Cordell Walker, in a reboot of the 1990s show Walker, Texas Ranger. The CW announced in May that they would not be renewing the show for a fifth season. The final episode aired on 26 June.
Padalecki said: “I feel like The CW that I was a part of last year is not The CW that I was a part of under [the previous CEO] Mark Pedowitz for that entire, almost 20-year stretch. 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 watch again, but hopefully you watch it. And it’s cheap!’”
Before fronting Walker, Padalecki had leading roles in other The CW shows. Padalecki played the demon-hunter Sam Winchester in the fantasy show Supernatural from 2005-2019, and the student Dean Forester in Gilmore Girls from 2001-2005.
Padalecki also criticised the sorts of shows which The CW still has in the works. He said: “I think it felt to me like they were looking for really easy, cheap content that they could fill up time with.
“My understanding is — and again, this is just what I’m told — that Nexstar is going in a different direction with The CW. I mean, they have an hour of Trivial Pursuit and an hour of Scrabble coming up. I don’t know why you wouldn’t just download the app or grab a board game and play with your friends, but they’re clearly just — what’s that great quote? It’s like, ‘If somebody tells you who they are, ask questions. If somebody shows you who they are, believe them.’”
The actor also opened up about his reaction to Walker being cancelled. He decided to go on holiday to Europe with his family. He said: “It was strange, and it was both horrible and wonderful.
“But beyond that, I still feel like I haven’t grieved the loss of “Walker,” so I don’t know yet if I trust my feelings.”
The star hopes to land a role in the next season of The Boys. The superhero satire’s showrunner is Eric Kripke,who created Supernatural.
Walker was the most watched show on The CW. It aired from January 2021 until the finale on Wednesday. The CW also cancelled a prequel show, Walker: Independence in 2023 after just one season.
According to Deadline, Walker was unable to continue without increasing its licence fee for each episode from $500,000 (£395,700) to $550,000 (£435,270).
