Jensen Ackles Confirms Winchesters Is Done After Rescue Efforts Fell Through: ‘That’s Some Unfortunate Timing’

BY CLAIRE FRANKEN

Courtesy of The CW
Jensen Ackles has admitted defeat in his campaign to save The Winchesters.

On Saturday, the EP tweeted confirmation that the Supernatural prequel series has failed to find a new home after The CW cancelled it on May 11. As previously reported, efforts to shop the show around have stopped.

Ackles thanked fans for their support before explaining, “timing is everything. With a massive network shift coupled with an industry strike… welp… that’s some unfortunate timing.”

Despite a disappointing end to the #SaveTheWinchesters campaign, which was started by fans mere hours after the cancellation was announced, Ackles said he “couldn’t be more proud of what we all did together.”

The Winchesters‘ freshman season averaged 794,000 total viewers and a 0.2 demo rating (with Live+7 playback). Out of the 14 dramas that The CW aired this past TV season, it ranked No. 6 in audience and landed a four-way tie for No. 2 in the demo (trailing only All American).

During a post-mortem interview, showrunner Robbie Thompson told TVLine, “There’s so much more story to tell about where these two kids go. And because now, as Dean says at the end of the [Season 1 finale], they have a chance to write their own story that doesn’t have to be necessarily what happened on our version of Supernatural, we have an opportunity to really go into some interesting places.”

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Newer Comments »
Henry
June 3, 2023 at 12:40 PM
I just couldn’t get into the show. Of course, I wasn’t a massive fan of the original either but I did give it an effort. Sometimes it does come down to timing, but I think the lack of chemistry between the leads was a factor as well. I liked them both separately but didn’t enjoy it when they were on screen together for some reason. They could always try to revisit it in a few years, but it might be best to let the IP rest for a while.

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Elsie
June 3, 2023 at 12:42 PM
Excuses, excuses. It wasn’t the strike that killed it. It was the low ratings and poor quality.

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Carrie
June 3, 2023 at 12:52 PM
It’s not just excuses. If it were the old CW network, the show would’ve been renewed.

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M1n4
June 3, 2023 at 1:05 PM
The old CW renewed a lot of crap, so that is a very poor defence. Makes Winchesters look even worse. Must be embarasing for JA, trying to peddle sloppy reboot for an easy paycheck and failing… But then again, that’s what happens when you take a fanbase for granted.

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Pete5125
June 4, 2023 at 3:28 AM
True, WB could of lowered the liscence, offered back catalog of season 1 for free to Cw app, and sold repeats to netflix or Amazon to get the show a 2nd season.

They weren’t willing to do that nor were they willing to go with a Max exclusive show, so it was over.

Ratings were mid grade, nexstar CW probably would of gave a yr 2 if price was lowered.

Old cw probably would of gave a yr2 if WB wanted it back, but yr 1 shows that didn’t start big and didn’t get back 9 rarely got a yr 2 on old school cw, especially fall shows that didn’t get beyond 13.

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Brian
June 4, 2023 at 12:13 PM
Correct word is: Could HAVE lowered —not could “of”

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Liz
June 3, 2023 at 1:25 PM
Supernatural ended during the start of COVID. So, it seems these guys keep getting hit by bad timing and circumstances out of their control all around.

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Jane
June 3, 2023 at 1:58 PM
If there had been a second season I would have watched it bit I think it was a good one season show. I’m thankful they gave it a decent ending and not some stupid cliffhanger.

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Chris Kinney
June 3, 2023 at 2:02 PM
Hopefully this will speed up the Supernatural revival series the boys talk about doing!

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Jaye
June 3, 2023 at 2:02 PM
While a Supernatural Prequel seems like an interesting idea at best, it’s ultimately a doomed project since it’s like all these other Prequel shows like Walker: Independence, 1883, 1923, House of Dragon, Young Sheldon, Star Trek: Discovery/Strange New Worlds etc. They are Dead-End Stories that fail to push their Franchises Forward in any proper Meaningful Way. I mean, wouldn’t the more interesting and appealing concept be Sequel Series to all those Franchises?
I mean, a Supernatural: The Next Generation or a Game of Thrones Sequel Series would be a frankly better Narrative to tell. It would be open to more Narrative breathing room as opposed to these Prequels that have nowhere to go but back to the Main Show’s Pilot Episode anyway.
STOP MAKING PREQUELS!

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Lisa H.
June 3, 2023 at 2:08 PM
Doomed shows? Just taking two of those for example: Young Sheldon is a hit and Star Trek’s Strange New Worlds is a heck of a lot of fun.

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Jaye
June 3, 2023 at 2:25 PM
And yet no matter how much they do on their own they are always tied down by the Continuity and Canon of the Main Shows that are The Big Bang Theory and Star Trek The Original Series. They have to adhere to those parameters otherwise they don’t work as Prequels at all, like The Winchesters did. They’re just Professional Fanfictions!

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CDS
June 5, 2023 at 11:30 AM
There’s nothing wrong with a prequel, it just has to be done well.

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T
June 3, 2023 at 6:23 PM
Actually this one could have worked precisely because Supernatural had many unanswered questions about the origin of hunters, the origin of witches, the origin of men of letters, why certain bloodlines mattered, etc., etc., etc.
For a 1st season, I think the show actually did a decent job introducing the characters and setting up the path for more seasons. This is the one show where I think prequel actually made sense to explore things that SPN just told you to take at faith value.

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T
June 3, 2023 at 6:28 PM
And for those who will argue but that was an alternative universe, it doesn’t matter. Multiverse was established by the original SPN. It was also established that certain things paralleled each other (like Sam and Dean becoming hunters) while other things may have been different. There was still enough continuity and enough of the sameness across the multiverses where certain things were true in all of them: like angels, demons, hunters, etc, etc. The difference was the paths that their lives took, not the basic building blocks of the story. So some elements of that exploration would have been true in all universes of the multiverse. One day I hope they get to explore it more…

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Nico.Smith
June 3, 2023 at 6:35 PM
It wasn’t a prequel. It was a sequel that took place in a new timeline with people from the Spn timeline popping up throughout

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Deborah Walker
June 3, 2023 at 2:19 PM
I was a big fan of the original, from beginning to end. .Just wanted the old team back so I never gave the new show a chance. Sorry

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Lisa Coster
June 3, 2023 at 2:21 PM
I have an idea…Sam & Dean & most hunters move thru time & interact with themselves & so both shows go on. And they should work once with the Original Charmed ones.

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Henry
June 3, 2023 at 2:47 PM
I think I’ve read this fan fiction before.

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Stephen Clouse
June 3, 2023 at 2:56 PM
Sad to see “The Winchesters” get canned like this. Maybe one day, there’ll be novels based on the series like they did with “Supernatural”. Or even a movie. Like what Joss Whedon did when Firefly got cancelled and we we got “Serenity”, which was a good movie!
One can only hope and I am not ruling out a return of “The Winchesters” (in some form or another) just yet

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JoAdele Morissette
June 3, 2023 at 2:58 PM
I hope they find a way to bring something to the screen. I’m a diehard fan of supernatural. I have them all saved on my DVR and everyday I watch them. They never get old. Jensen is so talented. Reminds me of James Dean. He can do drama, comedy, dance, sing, and overall an excellent actor. Hopefully they will capitalize on this young man’s talents and come up with a solution.

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Teresa
June 3, 2023 at 3:25 PM
I hate to say it but the Winchester’s weren’t that good

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Spikenalabama
June 5, 2023 at 8:21 AM
I agree 100%. I TRIED to like it and I loved the supporting characters but there was absolutely no chemistry between the leads.

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Nancy
June 3, 2023 at 5:07 PM
I really enjoyed The Winchesters, and was looking forward to season 2. Sad it’s not going to happen. I believe given the chance, just like Supernatural, future seasons would have opened up more storylines, and would have loved to see Crowley again…. More Rowena, etc….

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[NOT Paula Annette]
June 3, 2023 at 5:31 PM
[COMMENT REMOVED BY MODERATOR]

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🗨 Paula Annette
June 4, 2023 at 2:19 AM
An important question for the moderators – are 2 separate posters allowed to have the same (distinct) username here on TV Line? I have been bewildered as to why I was intermittently banned from posting over the course of the past several months. Now I have surmised the reason. It’s distressing not knowing exactly what ‘tone’ this new poster using MY USERNAME might apply to topics. Can’t the moderators please note the difference in IP addresses for instance? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

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🗨 Paula Annette
June 4, 2023 at 9:25 AM
I’m so relieved – thank you, moderator! You’re the best!!

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Lord Vader
June 3, 2023 at 5:48 PM
It’s a shame the show was cancelled. It felt like once the big “different universe” angle was revealed, it freed the show from being tied to fan expectations. They could have gone off to become their own thing.

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Renee
June 4, 2023 at 1:39 PM
I thought the same thing….once it became an alternate universe it lost all connection to Supernatural. The story lines were very convoluted. It did not pull at the heartstrings the way that Spn could …the heart was always the brothers chemistry. It’s a shame.

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Matty Si
June 3, 2023 at 8:19 PM
the unfortunate timing was that they didn’t let any actual time pass between the two shows. They should have taken a break for a few years and then come back with the prequel. And the CW sale didn’t help either.

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Dakota67
June 3, 2023 at 9:10 PM
It’s too bad really. With the talent involved with this series (that wasn’t a prequel or sequel) most fans expected better.
The Winchesters had poor marketing to start Dean wants to know the “truth” about his parents, then it was the EPIC love story of John and Mary, then it was Dean’s quest to defeat the giant replicators from Stargate Atlantis in order to protect his universe and oh yeah Sam…. that other guy from Supernatural.

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Bsg67
June 3, 2023 at 11:07 PM
Zero chemistry with two leads who are generally good actors and it looked cheap

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M1n4
June 4, 2023 at 12:18 AM
The whole show seemed problematic from the start, like JA was too clingy to let go of the past and too egotistical to move on. He thought his involment would both carry the new show and keep him linked to the past in case the present didn`t go his way.

In reality most viewers dont care who the producers are, they want the show to be good, or at least enjoyable. The Winchesters failed on both counts, and all it really did was to taint the OG series. Now people can`t even say it ended on its own accord, instead it all ended with a failed cashgrab.

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M1n4
June 4, 2023 at 1:03 AM
Its that same old truth: If it works you can take the credit, but if it fails you get the blame. JA made sure the talk around the show revolved around him, so now he can also take the blame for its failure.

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Christy
June 4, 2023 at 3:25 AM
NOOOOOOIIIII. I hate to see that we won’t be seeing anymore Winchester’s it was a really good show. Of course I’m a HUGE Supernatural fan but The Winchester’s really had Great potential. Sad….so Sad 😔 total bummer…

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Lou
June 4, 2023 at 6:34 AM
A major disappointment.

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Lou
June 4, 2023 at 6:45 AM
Accidentally left a few words out of my previous remark. It’s a major disappointment that the Winchesters was cancelled.

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Rhonda
June 4, 2023 at 11:35 AM
I enjoyed the history. Was really hoping it would continue!!!! Maybe, another network?? CW seems to be canceling a lot. Not happy with the network, anymore. Their losing their audience. Jmo!!

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Gloria Vega
June 4, 2023 at 12:00 PM
Networks are always canceling great shows.
they keep certain shows going year after year that I just can’t understand how they survive.
The Winchester’s was a great show with some cast being really great actors.
It’s s shame!! A travesty really. Pretty soon now we’re going to do is stream because they take away the shows we like to watch

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Dee
June 4, 2023 at 2:46 PM
Honestly it wasn’t that great. I would have preffered another attempt at something like Wayward Sisters than this. I know the only real reason this or Walker Independence was greenlit was because JA and JP were involved. We all know that if they weren’t involved both shows would have never seen the light of day

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CDS
June 5, 2023 at 11:33 AM
Maybe they should revive that Supernatural anime instead.

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