The CW is doubling down on Jared Padalecki’s Walker.
The network announced on Wednesday that it had picked up a second season of the new drama, just two episodes into its freshman season.
And the good news didn’t stop there.
The CW also added five episodes on to Walker Season 1, bringing it to 18 episodes!
Padalecki, who plays Cordell Walker on the reboot, took to Twitter to share his thoughts on the early renewal.
“Couldn’t be prouder to announce we’ve been picked up for our 2nd season today! Grateful for the support from our friends at @TheCW, our crew, cast & most especially y’all for the tremendous support,” he wrote alongside a photo from the set.
“Ready to saddle up for this ride & give you all I’ve got. Big love from Texas.”
The former Supernatural star plays a widower and father of two with his own moral code who returns home to Austin after being undercover for two years, only to discover there’s harder work to be done at home.
He’ll attempt to reconnect with his children, navigate clashes with his family, and find unexpected common ground with his new partner (one of the first women in Texas Rangers’ history), while growing increasingly suspicious about the circumstances surrounding his wife’s death.
The series also stars Violet Brinson as Stella, Keegan Allen as Liam, Molly Hagen as Abeline, Mitch Pileggi as Bonham, Coby Bell as Larry James, and Lindsey Morgan as Micki Ramirez.
The CW also renewed The Flash (Season 8), Riverdale (Season 6), DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (Season 7), All American (Season 4), Charmed (Season 4), Legacies (Season 4), In the Dark (Season 4), Roswell, New Mexico (Season 4), Batwoman (Season 3) Nancy Drew (Season 3), and Dynasty (Season 5).
“Though we’re just a few weeks into the new season, we wanted to get a strategic head start on next season with these early renewals, which allows our production teams to start laying out story arcs and hiring staff, and at the same time, continues to provide us with a strong, stable schedule to build on for next season,” said CW Chairman and CEO Mark Pedowitz in a statement.
“As The CW’s 2020-2021 season kicks into high gear, we are thrilled creatively with the direction of our first new shows out of the gate, Walker and Superman & Lois, that we wanted to order the additional episodes to complete their first seasons, and we are particularly pleased with the huge success of the launch of Walker, which debuted as our most watched series premiere in 5 years.”
Walker Season 1 is currently averaging 2.3 million viewers and a 0.4 rating in the demo to become The CW’s most-watched and highest-rated series.
New episodes air Thursdays at 8/7c.
Walker Season 1 Episode 3, airing tonight, has the following logline:
Walker’s (Jared Padalecki) life gets more complicated when his childhood best friend, Hoyt Rawlins (guest star Matt Barr), returns to town.
Abeline (Molly Hagan) is thrilled to have Hoyt home but Geri (guest star Odette Annable) has conflicted feelings for her ex-boyfriend.
Meanwhile, Micki (Lindsey Morgan) has her suspicions about the real reason Hoyt returned to town.
What are your thoughts on Padalecki’s reaction to the renewal?
Hit the comments.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.