Color us concerned. Walker is not on The CW’s fall 2024 schedule. It’s not alone, either, with All American and All American: Homecoming missing. What does this mean for the western crime drama?
There were already concerns about Walker. While it was renewed for Season 4, it came with a 13-episode order and a push to the midseason. That was even before The CW changed up the fall 2023 schedule due to the summer strike action.
Now there are worries that the series won’t be renewed for a fifth season. This isn’t just about the linear ratings, but about the cost of producing the series. It’s something we’ve looked at just recently.
Is Walker canceled by The CW?
TVLine took a look at the chances of the series being canceled or renewed as the fall 2024 schedule was revealed. A rep for the network said that “no decisions” have been made on any of the missing titles. That’s not all that positive to hear, though. While no news is usually good news, it does mean that there is a risk of cancellation.
It is possible that The CW wants to see how the show performs in the linear ratings. This is one of the stronger shows on the network, but it is among the more expensive shows considering licensing costs, episode count, and the stars’ salaries.
Walker actually sits higher than All American in the total audience, which isn’t usually the case. All American has always been promoted as the stronger series on the network, and it still is in the core demo.
The downside is the dip in the linear ratings compared to Walker Season 3. The demo took a 31% hit and the total audience took a 28% hit on average. These are dangerous numbers, but Walker isn’t alone with this. All American took similar hits and yet was extended for this season. We have to remember that the shows moved from the fall to the midseason, which will have contributed to the dip in the ratings.
The CW has seen a huge content shift in recent years, with a lot more internationally licensed shows rather than original content. This is due to cost-reduction measures as Nexstar took over with the intent of balancing the budget, and it does have us worried about the future of the crime drama.