Supernatural: Jensen Ackles Calls Series Ending "Really Sad Goodbye"

Two years ago, the longest-running genre series on television came to an end, as Supernatural aired its final episode on The CW. The franchise is still very much alive, with the network set to premiere a prequel series (The Winchesters) this fall. But that show won't feature stars Jensen Ackles or Jared Padalecki, who led Supernatural for 15 seasons as Sam and Dean Winchester and became one of the most widely beloved duos on TV. After all that time spent together, it was understandably difficult for them to say goodbye to the family they'd built.

This week, following his debut on The Boys, Ackles appeared on an episode of Late Night with Seth Meyers and opened up about walking away from Dean Winchester and the flagship Supernatural series.

"There was a reason why I think we all stuck around though, because we just truly enjoyed it. It was a family," Ackles explained. "I spent birthdays and we spent holidays and we – there was just – we went through so much together as a crew and a cast that by the end of it, it was a really sad goodbye, but something that we all felt like we really earned."

Even though he is no longer playing Dean Winchester, Ackles hasn't completely left the world of Supernatural behind. His work on The Boys reunited him with Eric Kripke, the original showrunner for Supernatural. He's also producing The Winchesters for The CW alongside his wife, Danneel Ackles. That series will follow younger versions of Sam and Dean's parents, who were occasionally featured on the original show.

There's no telling exactly what's in store for The Winchesters, but Ackles has admitted that the series might be bringing fan-favorite characters back into the fold from time to time.

"The great thing about this world is that nothing is off the table," Ackles told TVLine. "We have ways of bringing back fan-favorite characters and the actors that played them. We also have ways of bringing back younger versions of those characters."

Will you be watching The Winchesters on The CW this fall? Let us know in the comments!