Jared Padalecki Looks Back on His 24-Year TV Career and Future Plans After Walker

SPOILER ALERT: This interview contains spoilers from “See You Sometime,” the series finale of The CW’s Walker.

In 2000, at the age of 17, Jared Padalecki landed the role of Dean Forester, the first love of Alexis Bledel’s Rory Gilmore, on the hit family dramedy series Gilmore Girls. Originally contracted for only four episodes, Padalecki went on to appear in the first five seasons of Gilmore and then booked Supernatural — both of which debuted on The WB before transitioning to The CW in 2006.

For two decades, Padalecki emerged as the face of The CW. After playing Sam Winchester — one-half of a dynamic duo of monster-hunting brothers — for 15 seasons on Supernatural, the actor became the star and executive producer of Walker, a reimagining of the hit ’90s series.

The June 24 Season 4, now series finale of Walker, saw Cordell Walker take steps to repair his relationships at home. He apprehended “the Jackal” duo and solved a yearslong cold case that nearly cost him his life, taking a leave of absence for a family vacation with his kids and girlfriend Geri Broussard (Odette Annable). A proposal seemed imminent.

Jared Padalecki discussed what led to Walkers cancellation and what showrunner Anna Fricke had planned for a possible Season 5.

The writers introduced the Jackal storyline at the end of Season 3 to excavate more demons from Cordell’s past. Seeing this character depth was incredibly rewarding for fans. According to Jared, “Cordell’s role is all about facing personal battles within familiar settings. It’s not necessarily about the situations but what’s going on with the character.”

“The core theme was duty versus family. Throughout seasons we saw Cordell struggling to balance work-life crises,” Jared explains. He noted how real-life experiences influenced his portrayal, emphasizing familial responsibilities over professional ones.

A deeply personal touch came with Jared’s Instagram announcement. “Often big news feels clinical like ‘Don’t say anything until we’ve informed the outlets’. For Walker, it felt humanised – allowing me to communicate directly with our audience,” Padalecki reflected tearfully.

I feel like The CW last year isn’t what it was under Mark Pedowitz during my earlier days. The network is shifting direction toward easier-to-produce content.

After Walker, Jared opened up about his interest in other projects including Erik Kripke’s latest venture. “Am I waiting until I have 800 episodes? I need to live now,” he emphasized; touching upon planning future projects reminiscent of The Boys.