Supernatural Star Jensen Ackles Addresses Final Season Shutdown Over Coronavirus

It’s a bittersweet time for Supernatural fans. The popular, long-running series is in its final season, but with just a few episodes remaining that series finale now feels further away than ever. Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, production on the beloved series was shut down in March with the March 23rd episode confirmed by executive producer Andrew Dabb as being the last for a while. Now, series star Jensen Ackles is addressing the delay, joking that at this point, Supernatural is just the show that will never actually end.

Last week during the premiere episode of AMC’s Friday Night in With the Morgans, Ackles told Jeffrey Dean Morgan (who plays Ackles’ on-screen father in the series) that production had been very close to finishing the season when the shutdown hit — the second to last episode to be exact.

“Essentially, we just pressed a giant pause button. We were one day into our second to last episode, and we were so close,” Ackles said. “I just keep chalking it up, we were 15 years in and it’s the show that will never end.”

Back in March, Dabb noted much the same. In a post to Twitter announcing the shutdown, Dabb explained that the series had filmed through episode 18 (the season has 20 episodes total) but that visual and sound effects also had to stop which is why the season’s 13th episode, “Destiny’s Child” would temporarily be the last to air.

“We have filmed through episode 18, however our visual effects and sound departments have closed because of the outbreak,” Dabb wrote. “So, right now, the episodes can’t be finished. However, have some special treats coming along the way — to help us all get through this.”

At this point, it’s unclear when Supernatural will return. The coronavirus pandemic continues and while there’s some early indication that, for some places, infections may be starting to peak, it’s still a long road before things will be “safe” for productions to resume. Ultimately, it means that the final season for Supernatural will extend out further than expected. An end is in sight, it just may take some time to get there.

How do you feel about waiting a bit longer for the end of Supernatural? How are you passing the time while you wait for new episodes of the series? Are you excited for the finale (once it gets here)? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.