Line #5 Series/Supernatural


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/supernatural_poster113.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350: ''[[{{Music/Kansas}} ♫ Carry on, my wayward son... ♫]]'']]
3
4	->''"Dad wants us to pick up where he left off. Saving people. Hunting things. The family business."''
5	-->-- '''Dean Winchester'''
6
7	''Supernatural'' is an American paranormal/horror drama series created by Creator/EricKripke that ran from 2005 to 2020. Based around a MonsterOfTheWeek structure topped off with an [[MythArc over-reaching arc]] that simultaneously retains humor through various means of LeaningOnTheFourthWall, the show follows Dean (Creator/JensenAckles) and Sam Winchester (Creator/JaredPadalecki), two brothers who hunt creatures based on UrbanLegends, Myth/ClassicalMythology, and Abrahamic theology, including HeavenVersusHell.
8
9	The first season featured the brothers searching for their missing father, but for the most part, the series revolves around them WalkingTheEarth as they travel from town to town in search of supernatural problems to solve. Though the {{Big Bad}}s get bigger each season, it's more common that Dean and Sam already have their hands full with each other. The show also uses a diverse score of classic rock songs that feature heavily throughout, to encapsulate the gritty rock-and-roll life the brothers lead, and features Dean's [[CoolCar 1967 Chevy Impala]] as [[CompanionCube almost another character]].
10
11	'''''Supernatural'' is famous for five main things:'''
12
13	# The CastFullOfPrettyBoys.
14	# The sheer amount of MoodWhiplash.
15	# How it raised torturing its two leads ([[BreakTheCutie emotionally]] and [[{{Gorn}} physically]]) to a [[DeusAngstMachina fetishistic art form]] -- not that it doesn't torture other characters on a regular basis.
16	# The fact that it [[LongRunners ran for as long as it did]].
17	# The fact that the usual [[BoringButPractical four-door discount]] where vintage American sedans are substantially more affordable than their hardtop-coupe counterparts [[invoked]] [[TheRedStapler no longer applies to 1967 full-size Chevys]].
18
19	The show is a ''real'' LongRunner for its kind, running for fifteen years and airing 327 episodes. Its first season aired on Creator/TheWB during its last year on-air, but all following seasons aired on its successor, Creator/TheCW, making it by far the network's longest scripted show.[[note]]''Series/TheVampireDiaries'' is a distant second at eight years and 171 episodes. ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' ran for ten years and 217 episodes, but only half of those were on The CW.[[/note]] It was part of The CW's original scripted lineup, all of which it outlasted, and it was still airing come TheNewTwenties, by which point there was no other scripted show from the TurnOfTheMillennium on the network anymore. The show consistently drew in high ratings for the network, no doubt playing a part in its longevity. It also employs a large cast, though strangely LongRunnerCastTurnover is not practiced; other than Sam and Dean, who are regulars for the show's entire run, the only other consistent regulars are Castiel (Creator/MishaCollins), who is a cast member in nine out of fifteen seasons, and Bobby Singer (Creator/JimBeaver) who is the only cast member other than the leads to have appeared in every single season, though he is not always a common presence. The other five regulars are seasonal; Ruby (Creator/KatieCassidy, S3), Bela Talbot (Creator/LaurenCohan, S3), Crowley (Creator/MarkSheppard, S10-12), Lucifer (Creator/MarkPellegrino, S12-13), and Jack (Creator/AlexanderCalvert, S13-15). The WalkingTheEarth nature of the series might be a factor, as it's a hassle to keep track of many characters when the leads are constantly moving.
20
21	Eric Kripke, the show's creator, also served as a showrunner for the first five seasons alongside Robert Singer. Kripke envisioned a five-season plan from the beginning, and [[SeriesFauxnale the fifth season finale was supposed to be the series finale]]. He departed from the show when The CW opted to [[PostScriptSeason renew it for more seasons]], his position being replaced by a rotating series of showrunners, while Singer remained to the end.
22
23	On March 22, 2019, it was announced that the fifteenth season of ''Supernatural'' would be its last. The show aired its GrandFinale on November 19, 2020, after the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic delayed the airing of the final seven episodes from spring to fall.
24
25	[[folder:Spin-Off works]]
26
27	[[AC:AnimeAndManga]]
28	* ''Anime/{{Supernatural}}'': An [[AnimatedAdaptation anime adaptation]] created by Creator/{{Madhouse}}, the animation for which can be seen in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4tc8Do5wQA this trailer]]. It ran for 22 episodes, adapting only the first two seasons of the series. The American release of the anime came out on July 26, 2011, with Jared Padalecki returning to voice Sam, while Jensen Ackles was available only for the last two episodes because of scheduling issues (Andrew Farrar stood in for him in the others).
29
30	[[AC:ComicBooks]]
31	* ''Supernatural: Origins'' (2007): A {{prequel}} to the series released by Creator/DCComics.
32	* ''Supernatural: Rising Son'' (2008)
33	* ''Supernatural: Beginning's End'' (2010)
34	* ''Supernatural: Caledonia'' (2011-2012)
35
36	[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
37	* ''Supernatural: Nevermore'' (2007)
38	* ''Supernatural: Die Dämonenjäger'' (2007) : Exclusive to Germany
39	* ''Supernatural: Witch's Canyon'' (2007)
40	* ''Supernatural: Bone Key'' (2008)
41	* ''Supernatural: Heart of the Dragon'' (2010)
42	* ''Supernatural: Unholy Cause'' (2010)
43	* ''Supernatural: War Of The Sons'' (2010)
44	* ''Supernatural: One Year Gone'' (2011)
45	* ''Supernatural: Coyote's Kiss'' (2011)
46	* ''Supernatural: Night Terror'' (2011)
47	* ''Supernatural: Rite of Passage'' (2012)
48	* ''Supernatural: Fresh Meat'' (2013)
49	* ''Supernatural: Carved in Flesh'' (2013)
50	* ''Supernatural: Cold Fire'' (2016)
51	* ''Supernatural: Mythmaker'' (2016)
52	* ''Supernatural: The Usual Sacrifices'' (2017)
53	* ''Supernatural: Joyride'' (2018)
54	* ''Supernatural: Children of Anubis'' (2019)
55
56	[[AC:LiveActionTelevision]]
57	* ''Supernatural: Bloodlines'', a proposed spin-off intended to explore both hunter and monster families in the show's universe, aired an '''extremely''' PoorlyDisguisedPilot, "[[Recap/SupernaturalS09E20Bloodlines Bloodlines]]". It was not picked up by the CW for full production.
58	* Another potential spin-off ''Supernatural: Wayward Sisters'' focusing on recurring women from the franchise aired a PoorlyDisguisedPilot in the 13th season called "[[Recap/SupernaturalS13E10WaywardSisters Wayward Sisters]]". It too was not picked up.
59	* In June 2021, [[https://tvline.com/2021/06/24/supernatural-prequel-spinoff-the-winchesters-jensen-ackles-the-cw/ it was announced]] that The CW was developing a prequel spinoff, titled ''Series/TheWinchesters'', which would focus on Dean and Sam's parents, John and Mary Winchester. Jensen Ackles and his wife, [[Creator/DanneelAckles Danneel]], were executive producers of the series, with the former returning as narrator. The project was [[https://deadline.com/2022/02/walker-independence-the-winchesters-gotham-knights-land-pilot-orders-at-the-cw-1234926214/ given a pilot order]] in February 2022, and was [[https://deadline.com/2022/05/gotham-knights-walker-independence-the-winchesters-picked-up-to-series-the-cw-1235022513/ picked up to series]] in May 2022. However, [[https://ew.com/tv/the-winchesters-canceled-cw/ in May of 2023, after 1 season, The Winchesters was canceled.]] The cast [[https://twitter.com/JensenAckles/status/1656822082519302145 launched a campaign]] to try to find the show a new network, but in June 2023, [[https://twitter.com/JensenAckles/status/1664975127019245570 Jensen announced]] the show would remain canceled indefinitely.
60
61	[[AC:TabletopGames]]
62	* ''Supernatural Role Playing Game'' (2009): A TabletopRolePlayingGame produced by by Margaret Weis Productions using the Cortex System.
63	* ''Supernatural: Join The Hunt'' (2023): Expansion for ''TabletopGame/{{Zombicide}}''.
64
65	[[AC:WebOriginal]]
66	* ''Ghostfacers'': Centered around a pair of minor recurring characters, was launched during Season Five in conjunction with the show's 100th episode.
67	[[/folder]]
68
69	There is an in-progress recap page [[Recap/{{Supernatural}} here]]. Tropes for individual episodes are listed there.
70
71	----
72	!''Supernatural'' provides examples of:
73	[[index]]
74	* Supernatural/TropesAToD
75	* Supernatural/TropesEToL
76	* Supernatural/TropesMToP
77	* Supernatural/TropesQToZ
78	[[/index]]
79	----
80	''[-Don't you cry no more...-]''

Context Series / Supernatural