Eric Kripke, the creator and executive producer of Supernatural, told Entertainment Weekly that he will not be returning the CW show after this next season, the show’s fifth.
“Despite what the network and studio may or may not want, I don’t have more than five seasons of story,” Kripke said. “I’m outta here. There’s no way I’m doing season six.”
Meanwhile, Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles, the actors who play the show’s demon-battling Winchester brothers, also sound weary of the grind of a weekly actioner.
“We don’t live at home,” Ackles said, referring to the fact that the show is shot in Canada. “We don’t sleep in our own beds. Our families aren’t here. Our friends aren’t here. Our girlfriends aren’t here. To do it for another five years or whatever, I don’t know if I could handle it.”
That said, these comments definitely don’t mean the show will necessarily be canceled after the upcoming fifth season, as reported or implied by some media outlets.
“They’d have to back up a Brinks truck” to get him to continue, Ackles said, but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t do it. Since the actors’ contracts are up after five years, they’d be in an extremely strong negotiating position.
And even Kripke said he wouldn’t abandon the show completely. “I certainly would be willing to make sure there are enough villains and heroes around to continue a new storyline, and I would be around to answer a few questions,” he said. “That’s it.”
Ironically, the show has seen both its quality and its ratings rise this year. The most recent episode, last Thursday’s “The Monster at the End of This Book,” drew 3.28 million viewers, compared to an average of 2.92 million per episode the year before. It’s currently the network’s second most-watched show (after Smallville).
Meanwhile, a well-received storyline about the Winchester Brothers caught in a battle between demons and morally compromised angels has rejuvenated the show.
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Oh god…I really don’t want to lose “Supernatural.” I have lost some of my other favorite shows in the past and this one is one of my all time favorites!! If that ever happens you don’t want to be around me!!! But, then again, I guess Kripke and the guys do, unfortunately have good points.
I was a bit late to the Supernatural fan-club, although since catching a few of the season 4 episodes, I’ve grabbed the DVDs for the previous seasons and quickly caught up.
I’d like to see the show continue as long as the quality remains. Even though TPTB at Supernatural seem to continually get a lot of criticism (especially surrounding most of their female characters), I think they also deserve a lot of credit and I’m not sure how well Supernatural would work without the Crypt Keeper on-site (especially after the passing of Manners).
I wouldn’t be completely adverse to a spin-off set in the Supernatural-world/universe after season 5. Jo’s still off hunting somewhere. Maybe she could team up with a hot brunette to solve supernatural mysteries together and travel around in an old Caddy. Kind of a Thelma and Louise meets Xena: Warrior Princess meets Supernatural spin-off.
Or Tara the good-vampire could return and team up with a good-werewolf and a good-ghost to travel the USA solving various mysteries together in a Being Human meets Supernatural styled spin-off. Kidding! It would be so much better if Agent Henriksen’s files were assigned to some new rookie in the FBI called Smoulder and he is teamed with a hot, yet brainy partner called Sulky and they solve supernatural crimes together on a weekly basis!
I love this show. I watch every single episode, religiously. It’s the one show I hate to miss. I really hope the boys don’t give in and try for a season 6. The best shows are always the ones that end before they run out of story!
Supernatural is my favorite show on tv right now (and pretty much has been since it started) and it would be horrible for all of us fans to lose this show. That being said, I completely understand if the creator and actors are getting worn down. It has to be a hard show to film.
It might actually be a good thing to end it after 5 years if Kripke doesn’t have more stories to tell. I’d rather have 5 amazing seasons instead of it going on with crap-tastic episodes.
I hope, though, they decide to continue and the show continues to be awesome.
I’ve always liked it, but this last year has been the best so far, IMHO.
And good point about Kripke.
I will be VERY sad to see this show go!
I can’t imagine how hard it would be to do a weekly show like this.
It’s scary how good that show has become lately. I love it.
Agreed! Big-time!