Supernatural creator Eric Kripke has shared his view on why the fantasy horror series blew away its original five-season plan to run for 15 years and 327 episodes. Although it has been several years since the Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles-led series came to an end, talk of a revival has already been spreading across social media, and Kripke believes there is a reason why the story of the Winchester brothers continued for so long.
Like shows such as The X-Files and Buffy the Vampire Slayer before it, Supernatural played out in a “monster of the week” format with a continuing story arc playing out across multiple episodes or seasons. While the original story of Supernatural was told within its first five seasons, subsequent expansions drew mixed reviews, with some seasons performing better than others. However, though it all, those dedicated to the adventures of the Winchesters stuck with it all the way to the end. Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Kripke addressed the show’s longevity, saying:
“Supernatural was not an expensive show to produce. The Boys‘ budget is quite a lot bigger by a factor of … a couple. That’s part of the corner that I think streamers have found themselves in — for better or worse. Audiences now expect feature film quality, especially their genre stuff. Supernatural did just well enough that it just wasn’t in the red. And when we started, it was the network of Gossip Girl and 90210. We were the one Goth kid in the back of the class — but, by the time we left, the entire place was genre-nerd central.”
Will Supernatural Return to Screens in the Future?
Following the conclusion of Supernatural, the series attempted to continue with the prequel series, The Winchesters. The new spin-off saw Jensen Ackles return to bookend the show as Dean Winchester, but the story itself focused on the younger years of the Winchester brothers’ parents, Mary and John. Although the show had all the makings of another hit, dwindling viewer numbers for The CW’s scripted shows did not help the series make its mark, leading to it being canceled after just one season.
Despite that unexpected failure, calls for a revival of Supernatural have not diminished, and Kripke himself is open to bringing the show back again at some point. As with many revivals, the main crux of the matter is finding a story worth telling. Kripke previously said of a return to the Winchesters’ world:
“Of course, I’d want to see it. Whether I’m a part of it depends on, could I find something fresh about it that I have never seen before? Obviously, I’ve told a lot of those stories, but if there was something out there that really surprised me, I love that universe, and I’d be interested in looking at that.”
The real question about any chance of a Supernatural return is where it will find a home. The CW has been dramatically cutting its scripted content in recent years, from the shutting down of the Arrowverse, to the recent cancelation of All-American: Homecoming after three seasons. It seems that the most likely outcome would be for Supernatural to find a new home on a streaming platform like Netflix, where the entire 15 seasons of the show can currently be found.