Jared Padalecki isn’t throwing in his hat just yet, as The CW has officially ordered a fourth season of Walker! According to TVLine, Season 4 will only consist of 13 episodes as opposed to the average 18-20 episodes the series has gotten the last three seasons. But nonetheless, a renewal is a renewal.
Walker‘s renewal counts as only the second renewal made by The CW, the first being , which was announced at the beginning of the year. This season, Walker ranks number one in viewers and is tied for number two in the demo, averaging about 1.3 million total viewers and a 0.2 demo rating. With The CW very likely making many cancellations in the days to come due to its new owners, Nexstar, no show is safe on the network, so it’s a relief to hear another renewal.
Videos by PopCulture.com
The Walker reboot initially premiered in January 2021, and while it has gotten mixed reviews, ratings will say otherwise as it quickly dominated the network. The pilot marked The CW’s most-watched telecast since January 2018, and the series premiere is also the most-watched season premiere since The Flash Season 4 in 2017. It’s been a hit on Thursday nights, seemingly taking over the timeslot from Jared Padalecki’s other CW show, Supernatural, after that ended in November 2020.
As if that wasn’t enough, a prequel series was announced in December 2021, and last fall, Walker: Independence, which stars Katherine McNamara and takes place in the late 1800s, premiered. Unfortunately, not long after Walker‘s renewal was announced, Independence‘s demise was announced as well. Of course, there’s always the possibility that it could find a new home elsewhere, but for now, Abby Walker’s story is no more.
News of Walker‘s renewal comes just two days before the Season 3 finale, so fans will be able to watch it knowing that Cordell and the others will be coming back. Due to the writers’ strike, it’s unclear if Walker will premiere in the fall or if they will save it for midseason since it is only 13 episodes. The CW has been acquiring multiple series, including one with Gilmore Girls alums Scott Patterson and Chad Michael Murray, so it’s hard to predict where in the schedule the series will be. Once the network finishes its decisions, it’s possible they will announce a schedule then, but anything can happen.