Main

• Chuck Norris as Texas Ranger Sergeant Cordell Walker, a former Marine and a modern-day Ranger who believes in the Code of the Old West. He is a decorated Vietnam vet and a martial arts expert. He is the show's main protagonist.
• Clarence Gilyard as Texas Ranger Sergeant James "Jimmy" Trivette, Walker's partner and best friend. He is former professional football player for the Dallas Cowboys where he was a runningback.
• Sheree J. Wilson as Tarrant County Assistant D.A. Alexandra "Alex" Cahill, whom Walker later dates for a few seasons and finally marries.
• Noble Willingham (Gailard Sartain in the series pilot) as retired Texas Ranger Captain C.D. Parker, Walker's buddy and ex-partner who owns a bar-restaurant in Fort Worth, Texas, and is the only one to address Walker by his first name Cordell regularly. C.D. regularly assisted Walker and Trivette.
• Floyd Westerman (Apesanahkwat in three season 2 guest appearances) as Walker's paternal uncle Ray Firewalker, also known as Uncle Ray. He raised Cordell after his parents – John and Elizabeth Firewalker – were murdered. Ray disappears at the end of the second season and is later revealed to have died during the Season 5 episode "Lucas".
• Marco Sanchez as Detective Carlos Sandoval, a detective for Dallas PD, and the best friend of Trent Malloy. He often teams up with Walker and Trivette on cases. Sanchez recurs in seasons 4–5, and is part of the main cast in season 6.
• Jimmy Wlcek as Trent Malloy, son of a pastor and former martial arts student of Walker. He is a black belt in Karate and runs both his own Dojo and Protection Agency. He also often teams up with Walker and Trivette on cases. Wlcek recurs in seasons 4–5, and is part of the main cast in season 6.
• Nia Peeples as Texas Ranger Sydney "Syd" Cooke, a rookie Ranger who joins Walker in the series' seventh season.
• Judson Mills as Texas Ranger Francis Gage, another rookie Ranger who joins Walker in the series' seventh season.

Supporting

• Cynthia Dorn as M.E. Mary Williams, a medical examiner in most of the murder cases that occurred on the show.
• James Drury as Texas Ranger Captain Tom Price, Walker's and Trivette's supervisor. He only appears during the pilot season.
• Vanessa Paul as Josie Martin, who runs a 'H.O.P.E.' center created by Alex after a near-death experience. One of Alex's bridesmaids at Alex and Walker's wedding.
• Frank Salsedo as White Eagle, the spiritual leader of the Cherokee reservation Walker grew up on, who debuts during season 3.
• Rod Taylor as Gordon Cahill, the once-estranged father of Alex, who is also an Attorney.
• Eloy Casados as Sheriff Sam Coyote, the sheriff of the Cherokee reservation and a very good friend of Walker.
• Peter Onorati as Sergeant Vincent Rosetti, a New York Police Sergeant with a strong New York accent, and who is a little arrogant.
• Terry Kiser as Charlie Brooks, a clumsy and fast-talking informant for Walker and Trivette.
• Robert Fuller as Ranger Wade Harper, a retired El Paso Texas Ranger who came on board to work for Walker and Trivette. Previously, Robert Fuller appeared another character – Cabe Wallace, a 19th-century Texas Ranger – in one episode.
• Julia Nickson as Dr. Susan Lee, a geneticist who had been kidnapped three times throughout her appearances and the mother of Davey.
• Wayne Pere as Victor LaRue, one of Walker's archenemies who repeatedly tried to rape Alex until he was shot dead in his final appearance, "Trial of LaRue".

Notable guest stars

Nielsen ratings

The show was quite successful in the ratings throughout its run, ranking among the Top 25 shows from 1995 until 1999, and ranking in the Top 20 in both the 1995–1996 and 1998–1999 seasons.

• 1993–1994: 11.7 rating, No. 41
• 1994–1995: 11.2 rating, No. 41
• 1995–1996: 12.3 rating, No. 18
• 1996–1997: 11.0 rating, No. 24
• 1997–1998: 14.4 million viewers, No. 21
• 1998–1999: 14.4 million viewers, No. 15
• 1999–2000: 12.2 million viewers, No. 34
• 2000–2002: 10.3 million viewers, No. 62

Critical reception

In October 1993, Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly gave the series a C+.^[12]

Critic "Average Joe" Queenan thoroughly roasted the series, particularly over targeting a wider audience than suited for its late-night timeslot. He called the show "...so corny and predictable that it appears to be in slow-motion even when it's not...With plotlines that were old when George Burns was young, acting that makes William Shatner seem like Marlon Brando, and dialogue that could stop The Dukes of Hazzard dead in its tracks...Most episodes of the series are completely unwatchable -- although, to the producers' credit, many are scripted so that Chuck Norris doesn't need to talk much...While Norris indeed has a number of successful and well-received screen projects under his belt, here is the first and only time I recall that he was trusted with performing his own theme music. He is no Roy Orbison...I'm not sure they're even using a DP on this show; it seems that they just mount a camera on a tripod and tell Chuck to start kicking people's faces in for a solid hour, which he seems more than willing to do."^[13]

Recognition

On December 2, 2010, Rick Perry the 47th Governor of Texas named the Norris brothers Honorary Texas Ranger Captains for their work on the series. In his speech he said that "together, they helped elevate our Texas Rangers to truly mythical status."^[14]

Television films

CBS broadcast the television film Walker, Texas Ranger: Trial by Fire, produced by Paramount Network Television (now CBS Studios), on October 16, 2005. Chuck Norris, Sheree J. Wilson and Judson Mills reprised their roles, and Clarence Gilyard shot a cameo for the film but was not featured due to the filming's conflict with a long-planned family vacation. To fill the void, Judson Mills, who was not in the original script, returned to reprise the role of Francis Gage. Nia Peeples, who played the role of Sydney Cooke for seasons 7 and 8, was also not featured in Walker's return to prime-time television. The explanation given was that producers decided not to follow much of the original Walker Texas Ranger series, as to give the film a fresh look. Even the show's original opening credits with the theme "Eyes of a Ranger" performed by Chuck Norris, was absent from the TV movie.

Although the return of Walker Texas Ranger did not garner the ratings CBS had hoped for, indications were that CBS was green-lighting future Walker Texas Ranger "movie of the week" projects. But as of spring 2006, both CBS and the Norris camp have been silent as to the future of the franchise, leaving many to wonder if it will return. Trial by Fire ended with Sheree J. Wilson's character the victim of a courthouse shooting, leaving many viewers to believe that there would be a follow-up movie.^[22]

When they announced their fall 2006 prime-time schedule, CBS said that they would no longer be producing "Sunday Night Movie of the Week" projects, which severely impaired any hopes of Walker's return to television in the foreseeable future. On May 15, 2007, CBS announced its fall line-up, but this did not include the return of the "Sunday Night Movie of the Week". In June 2018, cast members Clarence Gilyard and Sheree J. Wilson expressed interest in reprising their roles in a potential revival of the series, particularly to address the cliffhanger at the end of the post-series film.^[23]

Spin-off

Most episodes were based on true stories. A short-lived series, Sons of Thunder, featured recurring character Carlos Sandoval, who resigns from his post with the Dallas police and teams up with childhood friend Trent Malloy (a protégé of Walker's), to start a private investigation firm.^[24]

Reboot

In September 2019, it was announced that a reboot of the series titled Walker was in development at CBS Television Studios from writer Anna Fricke, with Texas native Jared Padalecki attached to star. Fricke and Padalecki are also set to executive produce the project alongside Dan Lin and Lindsey Libertore from their production company Rideback, as well as Dan Spilo of Industry Entertainment. The CW, home of Padalecki's long-running series Supernatural, emerged as a leading contender to air the series in addition to CBS, which aired the original series. Like the original, the reboot, in which Walker would get a female partner, will explore morality, family, and rediscovering our lost common ground. The logline reads:

"At the center of the series is Cordell Walker (Padalecki), a man finding his way back to his family while investigating crime in the state's most elite unit. Our broken widower and father of two returns home to Austin after being undercover for two years for a high profile case – only to discover that there's even more work to be done at home. In a nod to the original series, Walker and his new partner — one of the only women in Texas Rangers' history — are the modern day heroes our world needs, following their own moral code to fight for what's right, regardless of the rules."^[25]

In October, it was announced that Walker would air on The CW.^[26] On January 14, 2020, it was announced that The CW had issued the reboot with a series order.^[27]

In February 2020, it was announced that Lindsey Morgan, Keegan Allen, Mitch Pileggi, Molly Hagan and Coby Bell were cast as Micki, Walker's female partner, Liam Walker, Walker's younger brother, Bonham Walker, Walker's father, Abeline Walker, Walker's mother and Captain Larry James, a Texas Ranger Captain.^{[28][29][30][31][32]} In March 2020, Jeff Pierre, Violet Brinson and Kale Culley were cast as Trey Barnett, an Army medic and Micki's boyfriend and Stella and August, Walker's teenage kids.^[33][34]

It premiered on January 21, 2021.^[35][36]

A prequel series titled Walker: Independence premiered on October 6, 2022.^[37]

Novels

Three Walker, Texas Ranger books, written by James Reasoner, were published by Berkley Publishing Group in 1999. The books are now out of print.

• Walker, Texas Ranger (1998, ISBN 0-425-16815-8)
• Hell's Half Acre (1999, ISBN 0-425-16972-3)
• Siege on the Belle (1999, ISBN 0-425-17112-4)

In other media

The show has garnered a particular cult appreciation among Conan O'Brien fans, from one of his most popular segments called the "Walker Texas Ranger Lever". He explained since NBC had recently purchased Universal, he could now show clips from Walker Texas Ranger without having to pay any money. The joke was that he would pull a giant red lever, causing a random and comically awkward scene to play. Random scenes included Walker jumping out of a plane and punching a woman in the face, or being shot in the back while proposing, or Haley Joel Osment playing a boy who is first meeting the rest of Walker's friends, and suddenly interjects "Walker told me I have AIDS". Conan would go on to riff at the bizarre nature of the scene out of context. He did this primarily on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, which prompted the show's star, Chuck Norris in character as Walker, to make a surprise guest appearance by acting out a skit in parody of the action scenes from Walker, Texas Ranger.