Jared Padalecki slams The CW as a “cheap content” factory

We often tend to associate certain celebrities with the shows they were on and the characters they played, no matter what else they do or how they try to branch out. But it’s far rarer to link a star to a network. But that’s kind of how it is with Jared Padalecki, who made a name for himself on The CW with shows like Supernatural and, most recently, Walker. But now, for Padalecki, CW might stand for “choice words.”

In a new interview with Variety in the wake of Walker – a reboot of Walker, Texas Ranger – being canceled just last month, Jared Padalecki called out the network for how it has shifted recently. “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 CEO] Mark Pedowitz for that entire, almost 20-year stretch. 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!’” Padalecki would particularly call out the network greenlighting TV versions of board games like Scrabble and Trivial Pursuit, both set to debut in the fall.

Jared Padalecki wrapped up his tear into The CW by saying, “And I hate to say that, but I’m just being honest. I mean, f*ck it. They can’t fire me again. I’m just being brutally honest. I think it felt to me like they were looking for really easy, cheap content that they could fill up time with.” That should be about the end of the relationship between Padalecki and The CW, but that probably won’t bother him at this point. Still, that’s a bit of a shame considering their long relationship, with Supernatural standing as the network’s longest-running series, hitting 14 seasons there (with the first having aired on The WB).

And while there were some rumblings of a 16th season of Supernatural, Jared Padalecki might now be out for good if this is his stance on The CW. But at least that clears up his schedule for a spot on The Boys.

What do you think of Jared Padalecki’s words towards The CW? Will they come back to bite him or can he carry on without the network?