Supernatural Showrunner Says Pandemic Didn’t Drastically Change Plans

The CW’s Supernatural, like most other shows around the world, was forced to shut down production as a result of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. In the midst of its fifteenth and final season, the series was approaching its final episodes ever, but the world just wasn’t ready to let go. Production on those final episodes finally took place over the past few weeks, and even though the creative team had a few extra months to polish those remaining pieces of the story, they didn’t actually change much about it in the end other than simple accommodations they were forced to make due to the ongoing pandemic.

“We’re still doing everything we wanted to do from a character, plot [and] mythology standpoint,” co-showrunner Andrew Dabb told TV Line. “In some cases, we had to simplify the [pathways] to get there. For example, for the finale, we had a big, super extravagant thing planned for that episode, and it wasn’t feasible. But we found an alternative to get to the same place, plot-wise and, more importantly, emotionally, that worked great. So it’s about being adaptable. We had to do some rewriting, but nothing that changed fundamentally what the show is or where it was going.”

He continued, “The storyline [for the series finale] is unchanged. Like I said, some of the scene work is different. There aren’t as many bad guys in a scene as we would normally have because of COVID restrictions. But in terms of plot, in terms of character, nothing is fundamentally different.”

The remaining seven episodes of Supernatural are set to premiere on The CW this fall after the show’s pandemic delay. The first of its final episodes will premiere on Thursday, October 8th, with the series finale airing on Thursday, November 19th. The show will continue to occupy the 9 PM ET/PT timeslot fans are used to for its final episodes. An hour-long retrospective will premiere ahead of the show’s last episode as well with Supernatural: The Long Way Home.

Once Supernatural is done, star Jensen Ackles will be moving on to The Boys season 3, while Jared Padalecki will be starring in Walker, the Walker Texas Ranger reboot for hten etwork. Walker will be among the shows that The CW brings to the table in January of 2021, kicking off their new season of TV at the top of the year rather than in the fall due to the lag in production associated with the coronavirus.