‘F**k it, they can’t fire me again’: Star slams network after show axed

Actor Jared Padalecki has sensationally slammed one US TV network after it axed his show, arguing “they can’t fire me again”.

Jared Padalecki publicly berated US television network The CW for adopting a “cheap” content strategy after his crime drama, Walker, was recently cancelled.

Just days after the final episode of Walker aired on the network, Padalecki openly criticised his longtime employer in an interview with Variety.

“I feel like The CW that I was a part of last year is not The CW that I was a part of under (former chairman and chief executive) Mark Pedowitz for that entire, almost 20-year stretch,” Padalecki said.

He continued, “They’re just changing the network around, where it’s not really going to be a TV network as much as it’s going to be, ‘Here’s something fun for an hour that you’ll never watch again, but hopefully you watch it. And it’s cheap!’”

Jared Padalecki says his network is just after ‘cheap’ content after axing his show. Picture: Alamy

Padalecki should know. He starred on the hit fantasy drama Supernatural, which ran on The CW for 15 seasons between 2005 and 2020.

“I hate to say that, but I’m just being honest. I mean, f**k it. They can’t fire me again. I’m just being brutally honest,” he said. “I think it felt to me like they were looking for really easy, cheap content that they could fill up time with.”

Walker was cancelled in May after four seasons on the network. The move comes after the network was purchased by Nexstar, ushering in a slew of series cancellations that affected over a dozen beloved shows, including Charmed, Stargirl, Legacies, Nancy Drew and more.

Padalecki told Variety that he spoke to the head of the company, who said they were “going in a different direction with The CW”.

Padalecki said he was happy to speak his mind: ‘They can’t fire me again.’ Picture: Alamy

The actor certainly had some thoughts to share about that as he took some shots at the slim programming they have left on the network: “I mean, they have an hour of ‘Trivial Pursuit’ and an hour of ‘Scrabble’ coming up,” he said sarcastically.

The actor maintains that he is still processing the cancellation and doesn’t know what’s next for him.

“There are a few things that my wife and I are in the process of developing that I would love to produce and act in,” he said. “But beyond that, I still feel like I haven’t grieved the loss of Walker, so I don’t know yet if I trust my feelings.”

This story originally appeared on Decider and is republished here with permission.

Originally published as ‘F**k it, they can’t fire me again’: Star slams network after show axed