The Winchesters season 2 could still happen despite its recent cancelation by the CW. The announcement that the CW would not be renewing The Winchesters shocked both fans and several members of the creative team behind the highly-anticipated Supernatural spinoff, especially executive producer and star Jensen Ackles. The prequel series was meant to follow the lives of Sam and Dean Winchester’s parents as young adults, set decades before the events of Supernatural season 1. The decision to cancel The Winchesters was even more shocking because the undeniable popularity of the original Supernatural television series it was based on, which spanned 327 episodes over 15 seasons since 2015.
Fans were outraged by the cancelation of The Winchesters season 2 by the CW as the decision came after only one season of the new prequel series that ran for just 13 episodes. The CW is under new ownership and has canceled several of its original series after their first season, hinting at a creative overhaul and eventual rebranding that the new leadership at the CW is pushing forward. The abrupt ending of The Winchesters also marks the conclusion of the entire Supernatural universe unless another new development is announced. The original series ended in 2020 with no currently-revealed plans for other Supernatural sequels in the near future.
Why The Winchesters Was Canceled By The CW
Despite its popularity, The Winchesters did not live up to many viewers’ expectations. The show was largely met with mixed reviews, but the deciding factor in all cancellations is viewership numbers and cost. However, the merger of Warner Bros. Discovery has seen a big shakeup throughout the company, which has significantly impacted the CW’s future. The abrupt cancellation of the CW’s new original programming has become somewhat of a trend across the CW network with other series such as Walker: Independence, a prequel to the Jared Padalecki-led series Walker, also getting canceled after just one season, among other shows.
While there’s not enough information to confidently declare why The Winchesters was canceled, it’s fair for fans to wonder what the Supernatural duo still has in store with parent company Warner Bros. Padalecki will continue to appear in the upcoming Walker season 4 on the CW, and reports have stated that Ackles is developing a secret DC Comics project with WB. The sudden cancelation of The Winchesters could allow more time for Ackles to work on the DC-related project, but massive backlash to the CW’s axing of The Winchesters could end up inspiring, or even demanding, a season 2.
The Winchesters Season 2 Can Still Happen
There are several plausible ways that The Winchesters season 2 could still happen. Jensen Ackles himself has taken to the internet to launch a social media hashtag. Ackles’ #SaveTheWinchesters fan campaign on Twitter and other social media platforms has amassed thousands of posts and retweets. This level of public outrage could inspire the CW or even some other large TV network to pick up the rights to the underperforming spinoff series as it still clearly has a loyal fanbase.
The Winchesters could also be picked up by a major streaming platform for its potential second season. With so many options such as Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime, the future of a canceled series has never been brighter. Ackles’ star power alone will likely get him several opportunities across the entertainment industry to begin negotiations for The Winchesters season 2. Ackles’ efforts, both online and in Hollywood, carry more than enough weight to make The Winchesters season 2 a possibility to appear somewhere, even if it ends up on a streaming platform or another television network besides the CW.
The Winchesters Was Supernatural’s Last Chance For A Spinoff
The Winchesters is not the first failed attempt at a Supernatural-inspired spinoff series. Writer and future showrunner Andrew Dabb worked with director Robert Singer to get their Supernatural spinoff series Bloodlines off the ground, based on a season 9 episode of the same name. Unfortunately, their pilot episode was never picked up. Another potential spinoff titled Wayward Sisters based on a season 13 episode gained momentum before ultimately being thwarted by CW executives.
After several failed attempts during the show’s run to create a Supernatural spinoff series, The Winchesters was surely the last chance. Despite the popularity of the original series, which faulted Padalecki and Ackles to stardom, audiences could have difficulty buying into a Supernatural show that doesn’t feature both actors as its main characters. The Winchesters season 1 did include Ackles reprising his role as Dean, which could be one of the main reasons it finds a home for season 2, but did not include Padalecki’s Sam and Ackles was just the narrator. After the CWs’ cancellation, Ackles teased a five-season story plan for The Winchesters that promised to bring back several original Supernatural cast members, another potentially promising sign for the future of The Winchesters.
The Winchesters Season 2 Not Happening Makes A Supernatural Revival More Likely
Even if The Winchesters season 2 does not come to fruition, a Supernatural revival will still likely appear in some form. The original Supernatural series is one of the longest-running television shows ever and has incredible potential to build an even bigger franchise. If The Winchesters does become another failed spinoff, it’s reasonable that the Supernatural franchise will want to go back to its original show elements. A revival of Supernatural into its sixteenth season might be the only current option that makes sense for the CW to confidently invest in.
If the CW intends to distance itself from Supernatural altogether, then the franchise could still find a home somewhere else. The clearest path to continuing the success of Supernatural is to get Sam and Dean back together. The failed spinoffs would only solidify the point that Supernatural cannot exist without both of their involvement. While there’s still hope that The Winchesters can rebound and become the new face of the Supernatural franchise somewhere, another failure would require the necessary reunion of Sam and Dean if there is any hope for the Supernatural universe to expand into the future.
