Supernatural is an incredibly
Angst-heavy show based around a
Monster of the Week structure topped off with an
over-reaching arc, while simultaneously retaining humor through various means of
Leaning on the Fourth Wall. It features Dean (
Jensen Ackles) and Sam Winchester (
Jared Padalecki), two brothers who hunt creatures based on
Urban Legends,
Classical Mythology and
Judeo-Christian theology. The first season featured the brothers searching for their missing father, but, for the most part, the series features them
Walking the Earth as they
travel from town to town
◊ in search of supernatural problems to solve. Though the
Big Bads get bigger with each season, it's more common that Dean and Sam already have their hands full with each other. It uses a diverse score of classic rock songs that feature heavily throughout, to encapsulate the gritty rock-and-roll life they lead, and features Dean's
1967 Chevy Impala as
almost another character.
Other main characters include Castiel (
Misha Collins), an
angel that enters in the fourth season, and Bobby Singer (Jim Beaver),
father figure and
Knowledge Broker to the main characters.
It originally aired on
The WB, but moved to
The CW after the The WB folded.
Famous for four main things:- The ridiculously attractive cast.
- The sheer amount of Mood Whiplash it has.
- How it raised torturing its two leads (emotionally and physically) to a fetishistic art-form.
- How, in spite of all that, it's still good.
A
Spin-Off Web Original named
Ghostfacers, centered around a pair of minor recurring characters from the series, was launched during Season Five, in conjunction with the show's 100th episode. A
prequel to the series is told in the 6 issues of
Supernatural: Origins
released by
DC Comics in 2009.
Madhouse made an anime adaptation of this show
. You can look at the animation in action in
this trailer.
The American release of the first season of the anime came out on July 26, 2011.
The show itself is currently airing its
eighth of the originally planned five seasons, with former writer of the show Jeremy Carver taking over as Showrunner from executive producer Sera Gamble, who has been running the show since creator Eric Kripke stepped down as Showrunner at the end of season 5.
On February 11th, 2013, the show was renewed for a 9th season.
There is an in-progress
Episode Recap page here. Most of the tropes, especially for the earlier and later seasons, are listed there. There is also a
Character Sheet here.There's now a webshow dedicated to recapping all eight seasons.
Supernatural provides examples of: