Discover the untold story behind Walker, Texas Ranger, the action-packed TV phenomenon that blended martial arts, Texas justice, and timeless morality.
Walker, Texas Ranger is a renowned action-crime television series starring Chuck Norris as Cordell Walker, a Dallas-based Texas Ranger who fights crime with martial arts, that aired on CBS for nine seasons (1993–2001). Inspired by the film Lone Wolf McQuade, the show became a popular staple of 90s television and spawned a 2005 reunion movie and a 2021 CW reboot. The series was noted for its moralistic style. The main characters refrained from the use of drugs and participated in community service. Martial arts were displayed prominently as the primary tool of law enforcement and occasionally as a tool for Walker and company to reach out to the community. A reboot entitled Walker, starring Jared Padalecki, debuted on The CW in 2021, where it ran for four seasons.
The series was well known during its run for its product placement deal with Chrysler, especially its Dodge division. After Walker used a GMC Sierra during the first season, he switched to the Dodge Ram (which at the start of the second season was completely redesigned for 1994), which would be advertised during commercial breaks. Other members of the cast often used other Chrysler vehicles, while villains would drive vehicles from General Motors or Ford Motor Company. This was not unlike The Andy Griffith Show, which exclusively used Ford vehicles due to a sponsorship deal with Andy Griffith. Coincidentally, the show ended just as Dodge was getting ready to redesign the Ram again for the 2002 model year, but the 2006 Dodge Ram SRT-10 was used later in the movie Trial by Fire, driven by Walker.