Walker Independence, a prequel to Jared Padalecki’s Walker, will debut on The CW this fall bringing viewers the story of Cordell Walker’s ancestor, Abigail “Abby” Walker, played by Arrow alum Katherine McNamara. The series will take the story back more than a century before the events of Walker and into the Old West, but according to the series cast, the show will also offer a fresh look at the period, comparing the approach to that of Baz Luhrmann’s films such as Australia.
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Matt Barr, who plays Hoyt Rawlins in the series told TVLine that the series “[leans] into color a bit, in the way that Baz Luhrmann movies do.” McNamara explained that while there’s definitely the dust-covered aspect that you get in most Westerns, there’s also a vibrancy to the world as well.
“We’re not a subdued, beige Western covered in dust,” McNamara said. “We are covered in dust, but it’s so vibrant, and the world feels so rich.”
McNamara has previously teased that the series will also be a bit unexpected, story-wise, making it something that doesn’t exactly fit into the Western genre overall.
“It’s not the western you’re expecting,” she said previously. “Every character is not what they seem on the surface. It has the feel and the nostalgia of a western, but it’s a very modern story with characters that are going through real things that are so fascinating.”
Katie Findlay, who will play burlesque dancer Kate, added that the series is more representative of the landscape of the time, noting the diversity of the series.
“The frontier, in reality, was deeply diverse and queer, and all kinds of things,” Findlay said. “You don’t often get to see that because history is written by white guys. It’s really nice to be in a cast the represents more of the reality of the landscape of a time where so many people were coming together and struggling to survive.”
Walker Independence is set in the late 1800s and follows Abby Walker, an affluent Bostonian whose husband is murdered before her eyes while on their journey out West. On her quest for revenge, Abby crosses paths with Hoyt Rawlins, a lovable rogue in search of purpose. Abby and Hoyt’s journey takes them to Independence, Texas, where they encounter diverse, eclectic residents running from their own troubled pasts and chasing their dreams. Our newfound family will struggle with the changing world around them, while becoming agents of change themselves in a town where nothing is what it seems.
In addition to Barr, McNamara and Findlay, the series will star Lawrence Kao, Greg Hovanessian, and Justin Johnson Cortez. The series is set to debut on Thursday, October 6th at 9/8c on The CW.
