‘Walker’ Reboot Gets Mixed Reactions From Fans on Social Media

After months of waiting, The CW’s Walker, Texas Ranger reboot premiered Thursday night, generating plenty of reactions from eager fans. Starring Jared Padalecki and Lindsey Morgan, the “reimagining” of the beloved series follows Cordell Walker, a widower and father of two who returns home to Austin after being undercover for two years and attempts to reconnect with his estranged children while growing increasingly suspicious about the circumstances surrounding his wife’s death.

Originally airing on CBS for eight seasons from 1993 to 2001, Walker, Texas Ranger, starred Chuck Norris in the lead role. It spawned the 2005 TV movie Walker, Texas Ranger: Trial by Fire, which also starred Norris. In January of 2020, The CW picked up a reboot with Padelecki headlining. Morgan was later cast opposite the Supernatural alum as Micki, a Texas-born-and-bred police officer.

Fans tuning in Thursday night for the big premiere didn’t hesitate to share their opinions on social media. While the premiere episode proved to be a good start for some, others felt the reboot was missing something the original had. Overall, the pilot debuted to mixed reviews, which you can see by scrolling down.

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Speaking with PopCulture.com ahead of the premiere, Morgan dubbed the series as “not a typical procedural cop show.” The actress, who joined the series following the conclusion of fellow CW show The 100, added, “it’s not just Walker finding the bad guy of the week. The show is at its heart a family drama. It’s about a man who suffered a great loss in his family. He’s putting the pieces of his life back together after that.”

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“I’m still in awe of [Walker],” praised another viewer. “It’s very rare when a pilot of show gets me hooked! Jared did an incredible job and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for all the different characters!”

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“She’s so fierce, strong and fearless,” Morgan said of her character. “She’s very active in her purpose and her mission. She doesn’t let anything stand in her way. Once she decides to do something, she does it. Before she joined the force, she was disenchanted with law enforcement after being a state trooper for seven years and wasn’t sure if she was going to continue in law enforcement.”

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“This show [Walker] ain’t that bad so far, gotta get use to the new cast since I’ve seen both (the OG was a family tradition every morning),” added somebody else.

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Morgan also revealed that after landing the role, she did not watch the original series. She said she was actually deterred from watching it,” the showrunner telling her, “‘No, no. Please do not watch it. We’re doing a completely new re-telling of Walker and I don’t want you to have any preconceived notions of what this is.’ …Technically, my character doesn’t exist in the original story.”

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“All these critics’ [Walker] reviews complaining that there’s not enough Chuck Norris-esque karate beatdowns,” tweeted one person. “If you guys wanna see more police brutality in the year of our lord 2021 you can look outside, but please leave me to my ‘Broody Cowboy Everwood’ show in peace.”

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New episodes of Walker, Texas Ranger air Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on The CW. Stay tuned to PopCulture.com for the latest info!