For nine seasons in the ’90s and ’00s, Chuck Norris delivered roundhouse kicks and lessons in morality as the title character of the CBS crime drama Walker, Texas Ranger. Still broadcast multiple times a day on local digital channels and basic cable networks, Walker, Texas Ranger is a relic of a bygone era, when TV cops were uncomplicated do-gooders with no inner lives, and every case was easily solved within an hour (minus commercials) via some fisticuffs and a stern talking-to. The show ended less than 20 years ago, but it feels much more outdated than that.

So remaking Walker, Texas Ranger in 2021 is an odd prospect, and the creators of the new CW version (simply titled Walker) don’t seem to have a handle on how to update this supremely square premise for the present day, at least in the first episode, which was the only one provided for review. Supernatural’s Jared Padalecki plays the title character, a much angstier version than Norris’ stolid, taciturn lawman. Padalecki’s Cordell Walker comes with plenty of family baggage, starting with the mysterious murder of his wife Emily (Genevieve Padalecki), which is obviously being set up as an ongoing storyline.

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Walker’s first episode opens with Walker and Emily parting ways before she gets killed, and when Walker tells her to “Be safe” before she leaves, that’s a sure sign that she’s about to die. Walker sits down with his teenage kids August (Kale Culley) and Stella (Violet Brinson) and his parents (Mitch Pileggi and Molly Hagan) for a wholesome game night, but then he gets an urgent call from Emily and hears gunshots in the background. When he tries to call her back and gets no answer, he lets out a hilariously overwrought manly wail of sorrow, which is only slightly less subtle than any of the other emotional moments in the episode.

Walker -- “Pilot” -- Image Number: WLK101a_0195r -- Pictured (L-R): Genevieve Padalecki as Emily Walker and Jared Padalecki as Cordell Walker -- Photo: Rebecca Brenneman/The CW -- © 2020 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Ten months later, Walker has just returned from an undercover mission, and he’s getting drunk in a park where he and Emily used to spend time together. His family resents his absence, during which Walker’s parents and his brother Liam (Keegan Allen) had to step in to raise the kids, and his new Ranger partner Micki Ramirez (The 100’s Lindsey Morgan) admonishes him to play by the rules and not mess up her chances of success in the white male-dominated Rangers. These are all superficial problems that seem easily solved by a few heartfelt bonding moments, and there’s nothing complex about Walker, either in the plot or the character development.

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In addition to all of Walker’s trauma, the first episode offers up a perfunctory case of the week, with Walker and Ramirez investigating a roadside attack on a patrol officer. Writer and series creator Anna Fricke barely pays attention to the rudimentary investigation, which serves mainly to provide for a couple of fight scenes (yes, there’s a roundhouse kick) and to set up future plot threads about a generic drug cartel threat. There’s no suspense or mystery to the basic crime-solving story, and there’s nothing enticing about the possibilities for more generic drug-cartel action.

Walker -- “Pilot” -- Image Number: WLK101d_0125r -- Pictured (L-R): Lindsey Morgan as Micki Ramirez, Coby Bell as Captain Larry James and Jared Padalecki as Cordell Walker -- Photo: Rebecca Brenneman/The CW -- © 2020 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

The Walker family drama isn’t any better, though, with its familiar rebellious teen daughter -- who gets arrested for unspecified substance use at a party -- and disapproving yet loving parents, who of course all just want what’s best for each other. They’re upset at Walker for running off and immersing himself in a case rather than dealing with Emily’s death, but the emotions are all broad and simplistic, communicated in blunt speeches with about as much subtlety as, well, a roundhouse kick.

The original Walker, Texas Ranger was known for its conservative viewpoint, and Fricke tries to add a more progressive tone to this version, bringing in Ramirez as a pioneering Mexican-American female Ranger and giving Walker a gay brother (although Liam’s partner is offscreen and only briefly mentioned in this first episode). There’s even a subplot about Walker attempting to help the undocumented immigrant parents of Stella’s best friend. When Walker’s dad makes a slightly insensitive remark at dinner, the other family members are quick to correct him. While the original show took place in Dallas, the remake is set in the more liberal Austin, and the creators seem committed to representing Texas’ growing diversity.

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They’re doing that in the same cheesy, overstated way as everything else on the show, though. Walker’s political point of view may be slightly updated, but everything else about the show feels musty and stilted, completely out of place with the modern genre shows that are The CW’s current trademark. This version of Walker would easily fit in on CBS, and it’s hard to imagine that Supernatural fans who follow Padalecki to this new show are going to be happy with anything about it other than just seeing his face on screen again.

Padalecki fits awkwardly into the role, which isn’t the stoic action hero that Norris portrayed, but isn’t a complex, flawed protagonist, either. Walker’s fixation on his dead wife is manifested in gauzy, Hallmark-style visions of her watching over him and his family, giving the Padaleckis the chance to gaze longingly at each other.

The first episode of Walker is stuck with an origin story, and future episodes may branch out more, with more interesting cases and more fully developed supporting characters. But there’s very little here to indicate the kind of layered world-building that marks The CW’s best shows, whether that’s the Arrowverse superhero series or Riverdale or Supernatural. Walker is a hokey, old-fashioned cop show, and giving it a slightly woke facelift and putting it on The CW doesn’t change that.

Jared Padalecki in Walker (2021) tv series poster
Walker
TV-14
Action
Crime
Drama

A widowed father returns to Austin after one year, attempting to reconnect with his children, navigate clashes with his family, and find common ground with his new partner, while growing increasingly suspicious of his wife's death.

Release Date
January 21, 2021
Creator
Anna Fricke
Cast
Jared Padalecki , Molly Hagan , Keegan Allen , Violet Brinson , Kale Culley , Coby Bell , Jeff Pierre , Mitch Pileggi
Main Genre
Western
Seasons
4
Production Company
Stick to Your Guns Productions, Rideback, Pursued By A Bear Productions
Number of Episodes
57

Starring Jared Padalecki, Lindsey Morgan, Keegan Allen, Mitch Pileggi, Molly Hagan, Violet Brinson, Kale Culley, Coby Bell and Jeff Pierre, Walker premieres Thursday, Jan. 21 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.

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