'Supernatural' Star Jensen Ackles Addresses 'The Winchesters' Cancellation

Actor Jensen Ackles was best known for his portrayal as Dean Winchester on the 15-second “Supernatural” CW series that ended in 2020.

Although multiple spin-off series were teased during the show’s long tenure, the only show that got picked up was “The Winchesters,” a prequel series that followed the love story of John and Mary Winchester and how they first met.

The series starred Drake Rodgers as a young John Winchester and Meg Donnelly as a young Mary Winchester for 13 episodes. Although the first season ended on a high note, fans were devastated to learn earlier this month that the show had been canceled by the network.

Although the show has been canceled by the network, the “Supernatural” actor is hopeful that it might be picked up by another network so the story of the Winchesters can keep being told.

"I do feel hopeful and I don't know whether that's just the optimistic side of me, which I didn't know existed in this capacity," he told Entertainment Weekly. "I've been moving more toward a curmudgeon, more toward what we all thought Dean Winchester would dive into when he got older. That's just the Dean in me. But I do have this crazy optimism for this show and I think it largely resides in the energy that we found on set with this cast and this crew. That crazy optimism is one of the reasons why this show made it on air in the first place, and I think it's one of the several reasons why the show should continue somewhere."

Ackles also said that the fans are “fired up,” adding, "I love that about this fandom. I love that they are so passionate about this world and this universe and these characters that they are willing to go to the mat for a show like this. I think that speaks volumes, especially to those who are willing to listen and have the power to do something about it."

Although the first season finale seems like it could also serve as a series finale, Jensen Ackles revealed that showrunner Robbie Thompson has a five-season plan for the story. "Hopefully we get to execute that," Ackles said. "I just think that there's a way to keep this alive and it would be a shame to let that go."

"We were talking not only about the story and where we wanted to take our cast, we were talking about who we were going to bring back from the mothership," he continued, adding that there was plenty of “Supernatural” alum who were disappointed that they didn’t make it into the show’s first season. "We were putting together a lot of tricks to keep up our sleeve and keep it exciting, not just for the new fans but for the returning fans as well."

Looking beyond five seasons, Ackles added, "And then we don't know what it would look like beyond that but there was certainly a way of tying this into like a possible return of Supernatural down the line, which Robbie and I had talked about. It's something that Jared [Padalecki] and I have talked about, what that might look like."

The actor who played a young John Winchester, Drake Rodgers, released a statement to EW, saying, “Working on The Winchesters for the past year has been such an incredible honor. The fandom is so immense and passionate for this universe. They've been so accepting and supportive toward the show, it's made the entire process a dream.”

“It would be a shame not to continue exploring the vast world we've built and grown to love so much,” he added. “There's so much opportunity for new storylines and perspectives on the Supernatural universe."

Meg Donnelly, who plays a young Mary Winchester, added, “I've learned so much about myself working on this show. The Winchesters is a beautiful story of stopping at nothing to help the people you love. There is so much more of this story that needs to be told and it would be an honor to keep playing such an iconic character like Mary Campbell."