Jared Padalecki and Genevieve Cortese Embrace in Sweet Photo Ahead of ‘Walker’ Premiere

The next chapter of Jared Padalecki‘s career starts on Jan. 21 with the premiere of Walker, a reboot of Walker, Texas Ranger, but there is one constant the Supernatural actor can lean on, his family. His wife, actress Genevieve Padalecki, celebrated her 40th birthday last week with Padalecki by her side. She also celebrated the new year by sharing a fun photo of the couple on Jan. 2.

Last year was “up sh—’s creek, but looking forward to more family adventures in 2021… [especially] with you,” Genevieve wrote on Jan. 2. Genevieve has shared several fun photos with her family since then, including pictures of their younger children, Austin, 7, and Odette, 3, on a trampoline Wednesday. “No snow, no shoes, no problem. After a wild snowfall on Sunday, we’re back to 66 and sunny,” she wrote. Padalecki and Genevieve are also parents to Thomas, 8.

As for Padalecki, his post on Wednesday included photos from a small birthday party he hosted for Genevieve with some friends. “Forever grateful that my best friends also happen to be my family,” he wrote. This inspired several of his famous friends to wish Genevieve a happy birthday. “Happiest of birthday!” Jeffrey Dean Morgan wrote.

Genevieve had a recurring role on Supernatural, appearing in 13 episodes, including one in which she played herself. She has another important recurring role in Walker, playing Cordell Walker’s deceased wife in flashbacks. In the new show, Padalecki stars as a Texas Ranger who returns to Austin after working undercover for two years. He clashes with his family and is teamed up with a new partner, Micki Ramirez, played by The 100’s Lindsey Morgan. The rest of the main cast includes Keegan Allen, Mitch Pileggi, Molly Hagan, Coby Bell, and Jeff Pierre.

In October, showrunner Anna Fricke told Variety the new CW series will update the format set by Chuck Norris’ original ’90s drama. Some scripts were also changed to include references to protests for police reform. “This was always supposed to be a show that was set up to have conversations on both sides of the fence and that Walker is a character that can see things both ways — we call him the edge of the coin,” Fricke explained. She added that Bell’s Captain Larry James is “on a mission to bring progress into the department and to keep an eye on corruption.” Fricke also described the series as a “family soap,” since Walker’s home life will play a crucial role in the story.