Supernatural has a reputation for many things. It is known for its creepy premise, brotherly bonds, homoerotic themes, and more. However, the thing that has managed to get the most amount of attention is its duration. The series ran for 15 seasons for just as many years, starting its journey in September 2005 and ending in November 2020.
With this, many cannot help but wonder how the series was able to stay on for so long, especially considering its network was the CW, which was known for canceling shows as quickly as it released them. During an interview, creator Eric Kripke revealed the exact reason why this was the case, and the answer is quite interesting.
How Did Supernatural Run For 15 Seasons?
Supernatural had some of the most dedicated fans in pop culture. They adored the series to its very core, and fan communities are still flooded with conversations about Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki’s series. However, there is no denying that the series wasn’t breaking any significant records.
It was not the most successful and well-known series, but the one with the most loyal fans. With this, many cannot help but wonder how it was able to stay on for so many seasons. During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Eric Kripke spoke on the same. Although most know him for his years on the horror series, he has also been leading the production of the beloved Prime Video show, The Boys.
With this in mind, he confessed that Supernatural was a lot cheaper to produce compared to other shows. While it did have a lot of paranormal and biblical themes, it relied more on dialogue and story rather than visual effects and expensive sets.
Supernatural was not an expensive show to produce. The Boys‘ budget is quite a lot bigger by a factor of … a couple. That’s part of the corner that I think streamers have found themselves in — for better or worse. Audiences now expect feature film quality, especially their genre stuff.
Although its quality did not get drastically affected by this, fans have started to expect a lot more from their content, according to Kripke, making it difficult to achieve a similar kind of success to the horror series.
Gossip Girl Could Not Keep Up
On top of being inexpensive to produce, Eric Kripke revealed that the series was also able to always nearly stay off the cancellation radar. Although it was not bringing the big bucks for its network, it was also not turning into a liability, causing it to not get canceled.
Kripke then went on to talk about other shows under the CW network, specifically naming Blake Lively’s Gossip Girl and 90210. These were better-known shows and were, perhaps, the main money-makers for the network. However, Kripke pointed out that even though they were very successful at the time, they were also eventually wrapped up.
Supernatural did just well enough that it just wasn’t in the red. And when we started, it was the network of Gossip Girl and 90210. We were the one Goth kid in the back of the class — but, by the time we left, the entire place was genre-nerd central.
Lively’s series ended in 2012, and Jennie Garth’s series ended a year later. Considering this, one can assume that Kripke is proud of the success that Supernatural has managed to see over the years, even though it eventually ended. He also pointed out that the series had a cultural impact like no other show from the network, making way for more shows in a once-niche genre and bringing forth a new depth to the word ‘fan’.
Supernatural is available for streaming on Netflix.
