The CW’s Walker to Have Surprise Crossover With Walker: Independence Spinoff

Walker is about to get an appearance by a familiar face. Earlier this week, reports revealed that Justin Johnson Cortez, who stars on The CW’s spinoff series Walker: Independence, will be crossing over with the flagship sister series. While he currently plays Calian on Walker: Independence, he will be playing a new, and potentially-recurring role of Detective Sonny Alcala. Sonny is described as a shrewd Homicide Detective who got his start working closely with Cordell Walker (Jared Padalecki) and Captain James (Coby Bell) on a case years ago. The Detective initially calls Walker as a courtesy to let him know of a death relating to a case, but something doesn’t quite add up. 

This will be the latest instance of the two Walker series crossing over, with Matt Barr portraying characters on both shows, and Walker star Jared Padalecki cameoing as an unnamed man.

What is Walker: Independence about?

In Walker Independence, in the late 1800s, Abby Walker (Katherine McNamara), an affluent and tough-minded Bostonian, embarks on a journey out west with her husband Liam (guest star Brandon Sklenar), when her husband is murdered before her eyes. After crossing paths with Calian (Justin Johnson Cortez), a curious Apache tracker, Abby arrives in the town of Independence, Texas, where she encounters diverse and eclectic residents running from their pasts, chasing their dreams, and keeping their own secrets, including Kate Carver (Katie Findlay), an idiosyncratic burlesque dancer with perhaps too keen an interest in Abby’s origins, and Kai (Lawrence Kao), a soulful Chinese immigrant who runs a local restaurant/laundry and offers Abby friendship without agenda. Abby also literally runs into Hoyt Rawlins (Matt Barr), a slippery rogue, thief and con artist with a dented heart of gold who quickly eyes Abby as a mark, until she turns the tables on him. In seeking justice for her husband, Abby encounters Independence’s noble deputy sheriff, Augustus (Philemon Chambers), and his new boss, Sheriff Tom Davidson (Greg Hovanessian), who she has reason to believe is a very bad man indeed. Abby and Hoyt soon find themselves precariously aligned, both seeking to uncover the truth about the identity of Abby’s husband’s killer, and vow to save Independence – a frontier boomtown where nothing is what it seems.

What shows are currently on The CW this season?

At the moment, The CW’s crop of original shows for the 2022-2023 season include the final season of Riverdale, as well as new seasons of The Flash, Superman & Lois, All American, Nancy Drew, Stargirl, Walker, Kung Fu, and All American: Homecoming. The network also has a trio of new shows for this upcoming fall season — the Supernatural prequel The Winchesters and the Walker prequel Walker: Independence, as well as the DC-inspired Gotham Knights.

The network already made headlines earlier this year when it cancelled over half a dozen of its new or veteran shows — DC entries Naomi, Batwoman, and Legends of Tomorrow, as well as In the Dark, the Vampire Diaries spinoff Legacies, and the network’s reboots of Charmed, Dynasty, 4400, and Roswell, New Mexico.

What do you think of this new Walker crossover? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

h/t: Deadline