The hit CW series Supernatural was a prestige title for the CW network and spawned multiple seasons exploring the various adventures of the Winchester brothers. The horror/ fantasy series was the breakout project for Erik Kripke, who has gone on to create hit Amazon hits like The Boys and Gen V.
Supernatural spawned a whopping 15 seasons over 15 years. Throughout its history, the show experienced various setbacks along the way but the show always found a way to avoid being shelved or cancelled. As admirable as that may be, it is interesting to think whether the show might have survived the turbulent times that the industry faced these past few years.
Supernatural Would Have Struggled to Survived The Modern Streaming Era
Eric Kripke‘s Supernatural was one of the most popular shows on CW. People around the world tuned in to watch Jarred Padalecki and Jensen Ackles battle supernatural creatures for over 15 seasons. The show introduced audiences to Ackles who played Dean Winchester in the show, becoming one of his most beloved roles.
However as detailed by Entertainment Weekly, the show did not have a smooth sailing development, especially during its initial seasons. The first season was made under the WB network and the show faced a network change as it switched to the CW. The show was also affected by the 2007 writer’s strike when it was in its third year. But Kripke and the team made sure the show survived.
Kripke started to experiment and introduced bold storytelling choices with the fourth season. The most popular one was the 5th episode of Season 4 titled Monster Movie (done in black and white) where the Winchester brothers faced classic monsters like Dracula, Frankenstein, etc. Ackles reflected on the show’s evolution, from trying to appease fans initially to experimenting with visual style. He told Entertainment Weekly,
“This was really when we were hitting our stride. We were in the pocket with these characters, with the storytelling, with the writing. The first year was really finding our feet, the second was like, “Okay we somehow survived a network merge, let’s not mess this up.” And then third season we started playing a little bit. So by the fourth season, we’re like, “Now we know where we need to be.” This was the perfect time to do one of these outside-the-box episodes. This is definitely one of my top 10.”
Kripke and team might have survived the network change and writers strike back in the day, however, the show wouldn’t have survived the intense competition that is now prevalent, Additionally, the pandemic and the dual strikes hugely impacted the industry.
This led to studio heads and executives cutting down unnecessary investments and canceling shows (via Rolling Stone). If Supernatural was released today, there is no way it would have gotten past 4-5 seasons.
Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles Want Supernatural Reunion To Be Earned
The Winchester brothers Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles have led the Supernatural series for 15 successful years. The show concluded in 2020 and fans are already clamoring for a reunion of the two actors. In an interview with Collider, Jared Padalecki teased that he and Ackles would absolutely agree to a Supernatural reunion if the script is right.
Padalecki further stated that he does not want to do a reunion without any valid reason. He wants the moment to be earned so that it does not ruin the legacy of the show. He said,
“It’s not that I haven’t seriously considered doing it, my single answer is yes. It’s timing. It’s availability. Jensen and I feel so strongly about our show that we had for 15 years together that we don’t wanna just do it, just to do it. We don’t wanna go, ‘Hey, I have two weeks off in June. Let’s go ahead and shoot 10 pages a day, just so we can have some more content.’”
The two actors are protective of the show and do not want to make a cheap reunion just for some paycheck. It remains to be seen if the Winchester brothers reunite in a future Supernatural-related show. Fans can watch all 15 seasons of Supernatural on Netflix.
