Walker Season 3 Release Date, Plot, And Cast - What We Know So Far

"Walker" has been crushing it at The CW lately. With the Jared Padalecki-led crime-drama's first episode emerging as the most-watched series premiere on the network since 2016's "DC's Legends of Tomorrow," as well as the show topping the charts with the highest overall viewer count from The CW's 2021-22 season, it felt like a sure bet that "Walker" would return for a third season. Thankfully, the hopes of fans were made a reality when the series was officially renewed for another outing on March 22, standing as one of the only returning shows on The CW after an uncharacteristically brutal culling of its recent lineup.

With Season 2 now in the rearview mirror after it wrapped up in June, avid watchers may be wondering how long they have to wait for the next installment of "Walker," and what exactly they should be expecting from the series when it returns. Thankfully, a surplus of information regarding Season 3 has already been made available and, if those details are anything to go by, fans of "Walker" have a lot to be excited about.

It fortunately won't be too much longer before fans can start watching new episodes of "Walker." In fact, the show will be back on TV screens before the year is up. According to TVLine, the first episode of the show's third season is set to premiere on Oct. 6 as part of The CW's Fall 2022 line-up. The Season 3 premiere won't be the only "Walker" content that fans can look forward to that day, however. Immediately following the airing of the first episode, the new prequel series "Walker: Independence" is set to premiere as well. The show will star Katherine McNamara as Walker family ancestor Abby and her life in the American West of the late 1800s. 

"I think there are so many things that people expect from Westerns and we give you a bit of that with the expansiveness, the feel, and the nostalgia, but we also give you a lot of what you wouldn't expect," McNamara said in an interview with The Nerds of Color. "I think that's what people are going to really enjoy."

Following both premieres, subsequent episodes are expected to be released on a weekly basis. No information regarding an overall episode count for either "Walker" Season 3 or "Walker: Independence" Season 1 has yet been confirmed.

In true "Walker" fashion, Season 2 of the series ended off with a massive cliffhanger that saw Texas Ranger Cordell Walker (Padalecki) kidnapped by an unknown party, with his family none the wiser. According to an interview between TVLine and "Walker" showrunner Anna Fricke, Season 3 is set to reveal what exactly has happened to Cordell as he continues to look into the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of his wife Emily (played by Padalecki's real-life spouse Genevieve).

"I will say that Cordell has gotten too close to something in his investigation, and it's possible that something unexpected from his past comes back to haunt him," she said in the interview.

Fricke went on to mention that the rest of the Walker family will contend with Cordell's absence in some unexpected ways, while his partner Cassie Perez (Ashley Reyes) will face "bigger stories" in the wake of his disappearance. Ex-army medic Trey Barnett (Jeff Pierre) will also be a notable focal point as he decides whether or not to become a Texas Ranger following the dissolution of his relationship with Micki Ramirez (Lindsey Morgan). As for the Davidson family, their role on the show will continue to unfold. 

"Everyone makes mistakes and everyone can take steps to try and make things better, make things right," Padalecki said in an interview with TV Insider. "So I love the idea of the Davidsons sticking around and us seeing their journey to redemption."

Beyond the aforementioned names of Padalecki, Reyes, and Pierre, the vast majority of the other main cast members from Season 2 of "Walker" are also set to return for the third installment. Cordell's immediate Walker family members will all feature, including Molly Hagan and Mitch Pileggi as his parents Abeline and Bonham, Keegan Allen as his brother Liam, and Violet Brinson and Kale Culley as his children Stella and August. Other returning cast members include Coby Bell as Texas Ranger Captain Larry James and Odette Annable as the bartender Geri Broussard. Several members of the Davidson family will also continue to appear on the show, including Paula Marshall as Gale and Jalen Thomas Brooks as Colton.

The most glaring omission from the Season 3 cast is Lindsey Morgan as Cordell's former partner Micki Ramirez. Morgan exited "Walker" following the first six episodes of Season 2 and, as of now, is not set to return to the character. However, The CW and CBS Studios released a statement saying that the actress was welcome to come back in the future if she so desired (per Collider). "She is a tremendously talented actress who will certainly be missed, and we will, of course, leave the door open for 'Micki' to return," the statement reads.