Jared Padalecki blames CW's move to 'cheap content' for “Walker ”cancellation: 'F--- it. They can't fire me again'
"Nexstar is going in a different direction with The CW," Padalecki said in a new interview. "They have an hour of 'Trivial Pursuit' and an hour of 'Scrabble' coming up."
From Gilmore Girls to Supernatural to Walker, Jared Padalecki has been on The CW for nearly 25 uninterrupted years, since the network was The Dubba-Dubba-Dubba WB. But their relationship has come to an end, and like most relationships that last that long, there are some bitter feelings.
Padalecki cut his teeth as a producer on the reimagining of Walker, Texas Ranger with Walker, which was just unceremoniously canceled after its fourth season finale, and the Supernatural star is pointing the finger of blame at Scrabble.
The CW
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"My understanding is — and again, this is just what I’m told — that Nexstar is going in a different direction with The CW," Padalecki told Variety, referring to the media company that operates the network. "I mean, they have an hour of Trivial Pursuit and an hour of Scrabble coming up. I don’t know why you wouldn’t just download the app or grab a board game and play with your friends."
Padalecki continued, "They’re just changing the network around, where it’s not really going to be a TV network as much as it’s going to be, 'Here’s something fun for an hour that you’ll never watch again, but hopefully you watch it. And it’s cheap!' And I hate to say that, but I’m just being honest. I mean, fuck it. They can’t fire me again. I’m just being brutally honest. I think it felt to me like they were looking for really easy, cheap content that they could fill up time with."
Walker followed the titular character, Cordell Walker, played by Padalecki as he grieved the recent loss of his wife and grappled with balancing his duties as a father and a Ranger. The Walker cast also included Ashley Reyes, Keegan Allen, Mitch Pileggi, Molly Hagan, Violet Brinson, Kale Culley, Coby Bell, Jeff Pierre, and Odette Annable.
Walker was one of the few remaining original series on the network after Nexstar took over, so its cancellation didn't come as a big surprise, though Padalecki still felt the pain of it. He addressed the "tough piece of news" in an Instagram post.
"Our gratitude and love for the entire #WalkerFamily will live forever," he wrote. "It has been a unique honor to be a part of the cast and crew (and fandom!) that helped #Walker tell the stories that we told. I will forever smile on the years I got to spend with the cast and crew and studio and network and fandom that made this all possible. Til we ride again."
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