‘The Winchesters’: Everything to Know About Jensen Ackles’ ‘Supernatural’ Spinoff

Credit: Matt Miller/The CW

‘The Winchesters’: Everything to Know About Jensen Ackles’ ‘Supernatural’ Spinoff

Carry on, my wayward son. Following the end of The CW's Supernatural, Jensen Ackles surprised loyal viewers with the promise that there would be more to the story. “After Supernatural wrapped its 15th season, we knew it wasn’t over. Because like we say in the show, ‘nothing ever really ends, does it?'” Ackles told Deadline in June 2021 about a potential sequel. “When Danneel [Ackles] and I formed Chaos Machine Productions, we knew the first story we wanted to tell was the story of John and Mary Winchester, or rather the Supernatural origin story. I always felt like my character, Dean, would have wanted to know more about his parents’ relationship and how it came to be. So I love the thought of having him take us on this journey.” Supernatural left a major mark when it introduced brothers Sam Winchester (Jared Padalecki) and Dean Winchester (Jensen) as they hunted down demons, ghosts, monsters and more. The dark fantasy series, which aired from 2005 to 2020, had multiple spinoff attempts, including the backdoor pilot for Bloodlines and the Wayward Sisters series pitch, but neither came to fruition. The Winchesters, however, will center around Dean and Sam's parents ahead of their mom Mary's death. John and his wife were previously portrayed by Matt Cohen and Amy Gumenick, respectively, as young adults. Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Samantha Smith played their older counterparts. While Supernatural fans were excited about the the new series, Jensen's former costar Padalecki wasn't as thrilled — and claimed that he wasn't in the loop. “Dude. Happy for you. Wish I heard about this some way other than Twitter. I’m excited to watch, but bummed that Sam Winchester had no involvement whatsoever,” Padalecki tweeted in June 2021. After a fan questioned whether his tweet was a “bad joke,” the House of Wax star replied, “No. It’s not. This is the first I’ve heard about it. I’m gutted.” The Days of Our Lives alum, for his part, later noted that the costars and longtime friends were able to clear the air, tweeting, “Love you @jarpad … Miss these talks. I forgot how much face time we always used to get. And I miss that too. I know you’re busy…as am I, but you’re still my brother. I miss you, pal.” In February 2022, The CW confirmed that they had given The Winchesters a pilot order. Scroll down for everything to know so far about the highly anticipated Supernatural spinoff: [podcast_block]

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What Is It About?

The Winchesters will focus on Dean and Sam Winchester’s parents, John and Mary, and Jensen will be narrating the story as his character, Dean.

According to the synopsis, the show is about “the epic, untold love story of how John met Mary and how they put it all on the line to not only save their love, but the entire world.”

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When Will It Air?

The CW confirmed that the highly anticipated prequel is set to premiere on Tuesday, October 11, at 8 p.m. ET. 

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Will Jared Padalecki Be Involved?

After Padalecki voiced his issues with the spinoff, the Gilmore Girls alum offered an update on where his friendship with Jensen stands now.

“@JensenAckles and I had a great talk, as we do often, and things are good. The show is early in the process with miles to go. We’ve travelled a lot of roads together, and sometimes those damn roads have bumps,” he tweeted in June 2021. “Bumps don’t stop us. Once brothers, always brothers. #spnfamily.”

Although Padalecki hasn't been attached to the project yet, he is still on The CW. His series Walker is in its sophomore season and a prequel series also received a pilot order in February 2022.  

Credit: Shutterstock; Courtesy of Drake Rodger/Instagram

Who Is Set to Star in the Prequel?

In March 2022, Meg Donnelly and Drake Rodger were cast as the young versions of Sam and Dean's parents.

Ahead of the show's premiere, Tom Welling was announced as Mary's dad, Samuel Campbell.

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How Many Generations of Winchesters Will it Include?

In March 2022, Legacies actress Bianca Kajlich was cast as Millie, the mother of Rodger's John Winchester, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Millie is described as a hard-working, tough parent who worries about John and is particularly concerned about his plan to pursue a life of danger while saving people and hunting things.

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How Will the ‘Supernatural’ Mythology Be Featured?

“That’s kind of the exciting thing, in my opinion, is that the waypoints or the tentpoles that were established on the mothership, as we lovingly call it, those will get touched on,” Ackles told TVLine in April 2022 about the series’ mythological connection to the original show. “But we’ll get to those waypoints in a way that we probably didn’t expect. And that’s what we’re really having fun with is, like, the story is coming together. It’s not the washed version. It’s not the sugar-coated version of how mom and dad met. This is, like, what really happened.”

The actor teased: “But we do play into the moments that were discussed [previously] and that were talked about, just maybe in a slightly varied way that seems like, ‘Whoa, wait, we knew that happened, but I didn’t know that’s why it happened or that’s how it happened.'”

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The CW Approves!

The network announced in May 2022 that The Winchesters received a series order after previously greenlighting the pilot episode.

Credit: Matt Miller/The CW

1st Look

The CW released two new photos from the upcoming series in May 2022, giving fans a glimpse at Donnelly and Rodger in character as the young version of Sam and Dean’s parents, Mary and John. The network also unveiled its full lineup for fall 2022, announcing that The Winchesters will air on Tuesdays at 8 p.m.

Credit: Matt Miller/The CW

The Trailer

“The Winchester story, it’s always been a mystery,” Jensen teased in a May 2022 first look at the series. “I need to uncover the truth about my parents. Was it the hunt for evil that drew them together or was it something more?”

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How Did the Stars Research Their Roles?

During an interview with TVLine in June 2022, Rodger said it was "an honor" to play young John Winchester in the series. "It also comes with its territory. We’ve got to take it real serious. We owe a lot to the fans, so we’ve got to be there and we’ve got to represent," he added.

According to the actor, the show will put its own spin on the love story. "We’re going to give it to you in a cool way that you don’t quite expect," Rodger shared, adding that the onscreen couple's first meeting will be a "supernatural meet-cute.”

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How Did Jensen Ackles Help the Newcomers?

“He was on set every single day of the pilot, just like being super collaborative, giving us notes, telling us about the universe that we might not know about. So it was really good insight,” Donnelly, who plays young Mary, told TVLine in June 2022 about the executive producer.

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Will There Be ‘Supernatural’ Cameos?

"In my mind, we all know what happened with the Spider-Man recently," Ackles said during a July 2022 appearance on the “Supernatural Then and Now” podcast, referring to Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland all starring in Spider-Man: No Way Home. "That's what I would like to see at some point: All the Johns."

The actor and producer noted that he is rooting for Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Matt Cohen, who played different versions of John Winchester on the CW series, to appear on the spinoff. "I'm not a writer, I don't know how to write that kind of stuff, but I certainly have planted that seed," Ackles added. "So we'll see what happens."