After The CW renewed Walker for a shortened fourth season, it was inevitable the news would not be good for the prequel series Walker: Independence.
The network officially canceled Walker: Independence Tuesday night, months after the freshman season was capped at 13 episodes.
Admittedly, interest in Walker: Independence paled compared to the original series, but the numbers were still substantial — by CW standards.
With a week of DVR viewing factored in, Walker: Independence Season 1 averaged just under one million viewers and a 0.1 rating in the demo.
It ranked as the network’s #4 most-watched series among total viewers, which was a decent metric.
Set in the late 1800s, the series followed Abby Walker (Katherine McNamara, Arrow), an affluent and tough-minded Bostonian whose husband was murdered before her eyes while on their journey out West.
After crossing paths with Calian (Justin Johnson Cortez, 911: Lone Star), a curious Apache tracker, Abby arrived in the town of Independence, Texas, where she encountered diverse and eclectic residents running from their pasts, chasing their dreams, and keeping their own secrets.
These faces included Kate Carver (Katie Findlay, The Carrie Diaries), an idiosyncratic burlesque dancer with perhaps too keen an interest in Abby’s origins/ Kai (Lawrence Kao, Wu Assassins), a soulful Chinese immigrant who runs a local restaurant/laundry and offers Abby friendship without agenda.
Abby also literally ran into Hoyt Rawlins (Matt Barr, Walker), a slippery rogue, thief, and con artist with a dented heart of gold who quickly eyes Abby as a mark, until she turned the tables on him.
The CW has only picked up All American and Walker as the current series being held over for the next season.
Deadline states that there’s a chance two more shows could get a pickup, but there’s also a chance all of the remaining bubble shows could be canceled.
The CW has already picked up imported dramas, comedies, and unscripted fare, ahead of unveiling its 2023-24 schedule.
What are your thoughts on Walker: Independence’s untimely end?
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Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.