Fan-Favorite Series Gets Canceled After One Season, But There’s Actually Hope
The Winchesters has been canceled at The CW, but the studio plans to aggressively shop the program to other networks.
According to Deadline, the Supernatural prequel series The Winchesters has been canceled after only one season. While its time at The CW is over, Deadline says Warner Bros. Television plans to aggressively shop the program to other networks and platforms.
The CW has decided not to pick up a second season of The Winchesters after its first season and has reportedly been shunning larger-budget scripted television in favor of unscripted, lower-budget programming. The Winchesters joins Walker: Independence which was also canceled after one season and was announced concurrently with the cancellation of the series Kung Fu. The CW has decided to hold onto the scripted series All American and Walker, while the series Superman & Lois, All American: Homecoming, and Gotham Knights all await a decision.
The Winchesters is written and produced by Robbie Thompson and centers on the parents of Supernatural leads Dean and Sam Winchester. The series is set in the 1970s before the events of Supernatural and chronicles the origin story of John Winchester and Mary Campbell. When the two cross paths while searching for clues about their respective missing fathers, they join forces on a quest that involves love, family secrets, and saving the world.
The Winchesters stars Meg Donnelly as Mary and Drake Rodger as Dean, and is narrated by Supernatural star Jensen Ackles who also serves as an executive producer along with fellow Supernatural actress and wife Danneel Ackles. The first season was produced in association with Warner Bros. Television and CBS Studios.
The original Supernatural is a long-running American television series that premiered in September 2005. The show is a mix of horror, fantasy, and drama, and follows the adventures of two brothers as they hunt supernatural creatures across America. The show aired for 15 seasons and a total of 327 episodes, making it the longest-running sci-fi/fantasy series in American television history.
Supernatural developed a devoted fan base over its historic run because of its well-crafted storylines and creative use of horror and fantasy tropes. The Winchesters was meant to build on the success of its predecessor. Unfortunately, that dream may have been cut short.
One series that recently fought back against the cancellation bug was S.W.A.T. After a campaign led by series lead Shemar Moore, fans, cast, and crew banded together to push for the network to bring back the series for a seventh and final season. This exemplifies that fans and cast can have a strong influence on whether or not a studio brings a show back from cancellation, even if it is still a fairly rare occurrence.
Although it seems to be unlikely that The Winchesters will be back with CBS Studios, fans hope that it has a shot at finding a new home somewhere else. Fans of The Winchesters and of its predecessor Supernatural may use their combined power and fight to save the series. It may take some determination and a supernatural amount of effort for them to succeed.
