Supernatural Walked for 15 Seasons, so The Boys Could Run for 5

Even though The CW's Supernatural had a huge fan base and was one of the most iconic TV shows not only in the network's history, but in 2010s television history as a whole, there were a lot of problems that fans can remember looking back on.

From characters becoming shells of what they once were as the years went on, to huge production flops pointing out how low-budget it was, these mistakes couldn't bother viewers enough to drop the show, but they were obvious enough to get annoyed with. And most of them had to do with the longevity of the show.

When Was Supernatural Originally Meant to End?

Originally created by Eric Kripke, Supernatural was only supposed to last 5 seasons. The writer had a clear vision of how the story of the Winchester brothers should end, and even though he had already revealed that his intended finale was far more devastating and dark than the one fans actually got, it was hard to ignore the drop in quality in season 6.

Looking at the ratings, The CW wasn't ready to let the show go, so they did what they thought was best: let it continue with another showrunner. At the time, it felt like a gift to the fans, but the longer the show went on, the more obvious the lack of direction became.

The writing and production quality declined with each season, but Supernatural was relatively cheap to produce and attracted enough viewers to keep it going until it couldn't. After 15 seasons on the air, 10 of which were done without Eric Kripke overseeing the process, Supernatural came to an end in 2020.

After Eric Kripke's comment about not knowing when another one of his shows, The Boys, would end, many fans began to worry that the Prime Video hit would suffer the same fate. As hard as it was to imagine The Boys lasting for 15 years, even a few more years of storytelling with no direction would ruin all the fun.

As it turned out, Kripke was true to his word and stuck to the original plan this time around. Perhaps looking back at the fate that Supernatural faced after his departure, with it remaining a hit but losing its original purpose, the writer decided to take a more assertive approach.

“I don’t know why I like the number five so much; it’s a good round number to where you get enough. It might have been because I was trained as a TV writer and there were five acts. It gives you enough time to get to know the characters,” he said to The Hollywood Reporter.

Whether you agree with that decision or would prefer to get more of The Boys, there is still plenty of upcoming content to enjoy. Season 4 has already released its first three episodes on June 13, which are available for streaming on Prime Video.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter