The Winchesters Officially Dead After Failed Season 2 Efforts
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Towards the middle of May, the CW canceled a handful of shows, one of which was The Winchesters. The prequel-spinoff to the network’s fairly famous (and infamously unkillable) series Supernatural only lasted one season before the plug was pulled. Shortly after that, its actors and creative talent said they’d attempt to find a new home for a hypothetical second season, but those plans have come to an end.
Per Deadline, Warner Bros. TV has stopped trying to send The Winchesters to another network or streamer, meaning it’ll remain canceled. According to the outlet, “all possible avenues have been exhausted”; WBTV had reportedly already figured the show wouldn’t get greenlit for season two prior to its cancellation. The production company stepped up its efforts to get its show somewhere else post-cancellation, and the show’s fanbase did what they could to get it picked up via a social media campaign. But the three hopefuls—Max, which is owned by WBTV; Netflix (which has all 15 seasons of Supernatural); and Prime Video, where the production company of executive producer Jensen Ackles and his wife Danneel Ackles has set up shop—elected to snap up Winchesters. On Twitter, Ackles thanked his show’s fanbase for their efforts, calling this “unfortunate timing” between the CW’s regime change and the current WGA strike. “I couldn’t be more proud of what we did,” he wrote. “Until we meet again. Somewhere down the road.”
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To all of you who watched, followed, and supported this story, THANK YOU. And to all those who brought this show to life…I couldn’t be more proud of what we all did together. But as they say…timing is everything. With a massive Network shift coupled with an industry… pic.twitter.com/qqDD9WC0KA
— Jensen Ackles (@JensenAckles) June 3, 2023
If you didn’t watch The Winchesters, part of the reason the show ended up a big deal is because it marked the first successful attempt by the CW to build Supernatural into a larger franchise. Twice during its run, the show attempted to grow out its world, neither of which were picked up. A season eight episode set up the spinoff Supernatural: Bloodlines, which would’ve focused on hunters and monsters clashing in Chicago; Wayward Sisters was meant to center on a collection of longtime women characters (including Kim Rhodes’ Jody Mills) fighting monsters as Sam and Dean were doing.
As it stands, the Supernatural universe is currently dead, at least under the current CW regime. But who knows, maybe in a couple of years, the Ackles will elect to restart the franchise with a reboot or another show.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
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