Walker, Texas Ranger Reboot Adds Pretty Little Liars Alum Keegan Allen

Pretty Little Liars actor Keegan Allen has joined the cast of the forthcoming Walker, Texas Ranger reboot coming to The CW from Supernatural star Jared Padalecki. The series, which will also feature The 100‘s Lindsey Morgan, has been ordered straight to series and will debut as part of the 2020-2021 season on The CW next fall or winter. The actor will reportedly play Walker’s brother, a gay conservative who has remained close enough to Walker to have a great relationship with his brother’s kids, according to an official character description released by industry trade Variety. You can check it out below:

Allen will play Liam Walker. Described as smart, slightly smug, but with a strong moral compass, Liam is Walker’s younger gay and conservative brother who has been recently promoted to assistant DA. Liam and Walker are close, but Liam gives his brother no shortage of tough love. Liam has always stayed close to home, often sacrificing his personal life in favor of his family duties. In Walker’s absence, he stepped up to take Walker’s kids under his wing. Liam’s close relationship with Walker’s son and daughter makes Walker slightly jealous.

In the original Walker, Texas Ranger, the character of Cordell Walker (there played by Chuck Norris) did not have a brother or a son, and his daughter was only born near the end of the series. The new series inverts that, making his kids a big part of the new mythology, as described in the official series sell:

Cordell Walker, a widowed father of two with his own moral code who returns to his home in Austin after two years of undercover work on a high-profile case, only to discover there’s more work to be done at home. He’ll attempt to reconnect with his children, navigate clashes with his conservative family, and find unexpected common ground with his new partner (one of the first women in Texas Rangers’ history), while growing increasingly suspicious about the circumstances surrounding his wife’s death.

In “Frontierland,” a 2011 episode of Supernatural, the Winchester brothers travel back in time to the Old West, and Dean (Jensen Ackles) introduces Sam (Padalecki) as “Walker, Texas Ranger” as a joke. The gag naturally caught on with fans, as news broke last year that CBS was shopping a revitalized take on the series starring Padalecki.