After the success of 2021’s Walker: Texas Ranger reboot, The CW quickly announced the new series Walker: Independence, a classic Western set in the late 1800’s. When Abby Walker’s husband is murdered on their journey out West, she finds herself in the town of Independence, where she meets a diverse cast of characters including Lawrence Kao’s Kai. Together, Abby, Kai, and the group of outcasts in town must work together to avenge the murder of Abby’s husband and save Independence from looming threats.
“Kai is a character that is trying to find a new identity for himself in Independence,” said Lawrence Kao when DOWNTOWN spoke to him about his role in the new CW show. “He worked on the railroads in San Francisco, and he has quite the backstory that people won’t understand until the season progresses.” Kao said that Kai is similar to the other characters in Independence, all trying to find themselves and find their way in life.
Walker: Independence carries on the legacy of the original Walker: Texas Ranger, a show which ran from 1993 to 2001 and is now considered a classic. “It’s cool to be a part of that universe, to be a part of that legacy, and I know we’ll do our best to continue that legacy for years to come,” Kao said. The show, like its 2021 counterpart Walker, will be produced by Jared Padalecki. Padalecki, of Supernatural fame, starred in the titular role of Cordell Walker in the reboot, but it’s unknown if he’ll also have a cameo in Walker: Independence.
The Western genre is one that has been traditionally steeped in racism, with many classic Westerns being extremely problematic, and Lawrence Kao took this into consideration for his role as Kai. “I’m definitely more cognizant about that, and I feel a lot of responsibility. There are so many diverse characters in Independence, and I think we’re all doing the best that we can to tell the story. So many things have happened during this time, and what’s interesting is we get to see these characters that have such different backgrounds navigate this together, and I don’t know what the show is going to explore further down the line, but I hope it gets gritty. I hope we get to explore racism, we get to explore the things that actually did happen, like The Chinese Exclusion Act, and all the different things that have happened in our past.”
Kai’s background is one of the things that drew Lawrence Kao to the show. “It was an opportunity to finally play someone that looks like me in a Western. I feel like stories aren’t necessarily told or fleshed out heavily for an Asian character in a Western,” he said.
Look for Lawrence Kao as Kai this Thursday, October 6th, when Walker: Independence premieres on The CW