The Winchesters Looks To Be In Serious Trouble, Fans Are Worried
The Winchesters hasn't been renewed by The CW, which recently picked up a live sports league, further reducing its scripted show commitments.
When The CW recently announced they would be the exclusive home for the upstart LIV Golf league, fans of the network’s original programs started to get worried. StarteFacts reports there’s a reason for fans to be worried, including those of The Winchesters. The Supernatural spin-off may have a dedicated fan base, but with the season finale in the rearview mirror, the network has yet to commit to a second season.
Starring Meg Donnelly and Drake Rodger as Mary and John, the future parents of Dean and Sam, The Winchesters follows as the pair start as monster hunters and slowly fall in love. There are no spoilers here, but the spin-off takes some wild twists and turns, just like with its parent series. The Supernatural fanbase has mostly embraced the new series, but is that enough for a second season?
The answer is a disappointing no, as the show is joined by Walker, Kung Fu, and even the last DC show still standing, Superman & Lois. All of those hour-long scripted programs have yet to be renewed for a second season at a time when the network just signed a million-dollar deal to start airing live sports. It doesn’t look good, and even showrunner Robbie Thompson worries about the future.
Thompson admitted in a recent interview that he’s prepared for both a renewal and a cancelation. The network won’t tell him if the show will return for a second season, leading to preliminary talks with other networks and streaming services about picking up The Winchesters. For 15 seasons, Supernatural was a dominant force on The CW, so if the prequel leaves, it will truly be the end of an era.
Uncertainty is unusual at The CW, which historically has renewed original programs early and often, though only All American has a commitment for the 2023-2024 season. The network also hasn’t aired sports, which command higher advertising rates in the current media landscape than even the most-watched shows, and nothing on The CW routinely places in the top ten. Add it all up, and there’s a 33 1/3 percent that it spells disaster for The Winchesters.
With the support of Jensen Ackles behind the camera as an executive producer, The Winchesters was primed to succeed, especially with frequent guest stars from its parent series. Ruth Connell appeared as Rowena Macleod, and an entire episode was devoted to Richard Speight Jr.’s Loki; even Ackles provided narration for the series as Dean, but all of that wasn’t enough to win over the entire fanbase. Torn between those that love the show as is, and those that want the pacing and characterization to be drastically adjusted, the prequel is only being watched by a fraction of the already small (for network tv), Supernatural fanbase.
Devotion can only go so far when network executives carefully watch every program’s budget. It could be a few days, weeks, or even months before the show’s fate is decided. Until then, fans can take solace that at least the first season told a solid story and if it’s truly the end for the franchise, the season finale was an amazing note to go out on, while still leaving the door open for another network to pick up the show in the future.
