The Winchesters has officially been greenlit by the CW and is now fast approaching its release date. The series is set to be a prequel spin-off of the hugely popular dark fantasy series, Supernatural. Supernatural ran for a total of 15 seasons, before concluding in 2020. Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki led the series for the entirety of its run, portraying demon-hunting brothers Dean and Sam Winchester, respectively.
In Supernatural, Dean and Sam are the sons of Mary (Samantha Smith) and John (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) Winchester. However, Mary is killed by a demon when Sam and Dean are children, causing their father to raise them to hunt supernatural beings. As they grow older, Dean sticks to the demon hunting business, while Sam forges his own path. However, when their dad goes missing, the now-adult Sam and Dean get back into the hunting business again.
As Supernatural ended in 2020, there were numerous ideas for spin-offs presented. However, only The Winchesters actually came to fruition. This spin-off series serves as a prequel and follows Mary and John’s past in the 1970s. The series likely succeeded because it brought Ackles and his wife, Danneel Ackles, onboard as executive producers. Not only that, but Ackles also appears in the series as the narrator. Here is everything we know so far about The Winchesters.
The Winchesters Release Date
The CW has added The Winchesters to its line-up of fall 2022 releases. While the exact release date has not been revealed, we can expect it to premiere somewhere towards the end of September. Once it premieres, we can expect new episodes on Tuesdays each week. Depending on how many episodes the season boasts, it could run into 2023. The Winchesters is going to be joining fellow new fall CW series Walker Independence and Gotham Knights. With the CW getting its fall schedule worked out, exact release dates should be forthcoming.
The Winchesters Confirmed Cast and Characters
Leading The Winchesters‘ cast will be Meg Donnelly and Drake Rodger as Mary and John Winchester, respectively. Donnelly is an American actress best known for starring in Team Toon and American Housewife, as well as the Disney Channel original film series, Z-O-M-B-I-E-S. Rodger meanwhile, is a relative newcomer to the acting industry, with The Winchesters marking his first role in a TV series. In the series, Mary is a 19-year-old who is adept at demon hunting and searching for her father. Meanwhile, John is a veteran of the Vietnam war who joins Mary in her hunt upon his homecoming.
Bianca Kajlich, best known for starring in Rules of Engagement, will portraying Millie Winchester. Millie is the mother of John and the grandmother of Sam and Dean. Millie’s husband, Henry, also mysteriously disappeared. This means both Mary and John are searching for their fathers. Millie’s role in the series is quite surprising, considering she was never really mentioned by Dean or Sam in Supernatural. Perhaps The Winchesters will shed light on why she never had a relationship with her grandsons.
Mary and John will be teaming up with fellow hunters, Carlos Cervantez (Jojo Fleites) and Latika Desai (Nida Khurshid). Cervantez is a natural born fighter who boasts confidence and charisma, while Desai is a smart and meticulous hunter with a knack for research. Aiding the group is Demetria McKinney’s Ada Monroe, who is a bookshop owner with an affinity for the occult. Michael Tacconi has also been cast in the role of an unknown character named Hank Murphey. Rounding up the cast is Ackles, reprising his role as Dean to serve as the series’ narrator.
The Winchesters Rumored Cast
Given the series’ prequel nature and focus on Mary and John, it would be difficult to incorporate many of the Supernatural characters familiar to us. Still, many are holding onto hope that The Winchesters will somehow feature at least small appearances from Misha Collins as Castiel and Padalecki as Sam. Henry Winchester is another familiar face who could appear. Sam and Dean met their grandfather in Supernatural, who was portrayed by Gil McKinney. Considering that Henry has already disappeared in The Winchesters and doesn’t seem to resurface until Supernatural, it’s difficult to say if McKinney will have any role in the prequel.
Meanwhile, Collins has indicated an interest in returning for the prequel, though Padalecki is a little harder to gauge. Him and Ackles had a bit of a riff when Padalecki revealed he hadn’t been privy to the prequel series until the day that Ackles publicly announced it on Twitter. The two have reiterated that it was a minor misunderstanding and they are good now, so hopefully Padalecki would agree to return. Collins and Padalecki are also still deeply involved with the CW too, with Collins appearing in the upcoming Gotham Knights and Padalecki starring in Walker.
Unfortunately, there hasn’t been any confirmation that Collins or Padalecki will appear. Still, minor cameos can’t be completely ruled out. Also, just hear me out, the CW is known for doing crossovers. Padalecki himself has already teased a Walker and Supernatural crossover. If the CW wanted to get a little crossover crazy, would any of us say no to a Gotham Knights/The Winchesters/Walker mash-up? That would be one hell of a way to bring Ackles, Collins, and Padalecki all together again.
The Winchesters Plot
The Winchesters will follow Dean and his search to understand the true story of his parents. His search will take him all the way back to the 1970s, when his parents first meet. In 1972, John is a veteran of the Vietnam War, just returning home and determining his next course of action. His whole world is turned upside down though, when he is attacked by a demon. Mary comes to his rescue and this marks their fateful first meeting. When Mary reveals that her father is missing, as is John’s father, the two set out together on a hunting journey.
A lot of the details of the plot still remain under wraps. We know that this is a prequel series focusing on Mary and John’s love story. The biggest unknown of this plot though, is if it is canon to Supernatural. Many fans have quickly noticed multiple continuity issues with The Winchesters. The biggest one is that John didn’t know about Mary’s hunting until after she passed. Hence them clearly hunting together as youngsters is a bit confusing.
Also confusing is Dean’s role in the series. When Supernatural ends, Dean is deceased. So is he narrating from heaven or did he somehow find time to take a vacation from hunting and set off on his own to examine his parents’ past? Also, there really never was a huge mystery surrounding Mary or John’s past, so it’s strange that Dean is on a mission to uncover it. Still, many are anticipating some memory wiping, time travel, or even parallel universes which might figure into the series to help it make more sense in relation to Supernatural. It also could simply be breaking completely from Supernatural lore in favor of just being a good story.
The Winchesters Season 1 Trailer
The CW recently dropped the official trailer for The Winchesters season 1. The trailer gives viewers the first glimpse of all the major characters and is narrated by Ackles’ Dean.
What this trailer definitely confirms, is that The Winchesters has a very different feel from Supernatural. This is a totally new story that viewers of Supernatural have truly never heard before. The version they were given was way different than what is glimpsed in the trailer. While it is still unknown how or if this story is related specifically to Supernatural, The Winchesters is definitely giving Mary and John the proper story and focus that they deserve.
(featured image: Warner Bros.)
