Supernatural is an American Television Series created by Eric Kripke. It is a sci-fi fantasy show on the CW networks. The show was on air for fifteen years with its pilot airing on 13th September, 2005. The show is about the life of two brothers, Sam Winchester, played by Jared Padalecki and Dean Winchester, played by Jensen Ackles, who hunts demons, ghosts and other supernatural monsters all around the country. Eric Kripke stepped down as the show runner after season 5, Sera Gamble, Ben Edlund, Jeremy Carver, etc., became the executive producers of the show.
The genre of the show could be classified as mostly thriller action, however with the later seasons, it was more an action drama than mystery. Before bringing Supernatural to television, creator Eric Kripke had been developing the series for nearly ten years, having been fascinated with since he was a child. He had originally envisioned Supernatural as a movie. He later developed it as a TV series and spent a few years pitching it before it was picked up by Warner Brothers. The brothers are originally from Lawrence, Kansas which is very close to Stull Cemetery, home of a large number of urban legends, but they move all over the country in Dean's beloved '67 chevy Imapala.
The staff for the first season consisted of Kripke and five other writers, with assistants to help with researching urban legends. Most of the work done in writing the series is very collaborative, with the writers often breaking up into groups. At the beginning of each season, the writers are brought together and pitch their ideas, which are then assigned to a specific writer to be developed. Each story idea is outlined on a dry-erase board, with Kripke and Bob Singer making necessary changes. Afterward, the script is written, and Kripke goes through it to make sure it has the same tone as other episodes. The writing is very smooth, full of mystery and sprinkle of drama and some comedy.
Most of the episodes were directed by Bob Singer, however a few other notable directors like Richard Speight jr. (who also played the role of Gabriel/Trickstar in the series), Kim Manners, Philip Srigccia also directed numerous episodes. Some of the cast members, like Jensen Ackles, Misha Collins, Matt Cohen also directed a few episodes. The tone of Supernatural was heavily influenced by horror movies like Poltergeist, having the horror happen in a family setting rather than remote location and Evil Dead- having bits of comedy mixed in. The show also has been primarily about family, and one of the most notable quotes of the series, " A wise man once told me family don't end in blood, but it doesn't start there either. Family cares about you, not what you can do for them."
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The main cast of the series is Jensen Ackles playing Dean Winchester and Jared Padalecki playing Sam Winchester. Jeffery Dean Morgan had a recurring role of John Winchester in season 1 and Jim Beaver being a series regular from season 2 to season 7. In season 4, Misha Collins joined the series, playing the role of Castiel and being a series regular for rest of the show. Other recurring stars includes, Mark A Sheppard as Crowley, Ruth Connel as Rowena, Genevieve Padalecki as Ruby, Alexander Calvert as Jack Kline, Rob Benedict as Chuck/God, Mark Pellegrino as Lucifer, Kim Rhodes as Jody Mills etc.
Though companies were hired for work on the pilot episode—such as Entity FX for the visual effects—effects departments now work exclusively for the series. Ivan Hayden is the visual effects supervisor, and works with many levels of the production staff. An aspect of the visual effects department is coming up with rules and physics for each supernatural creature, though the rules are often bent if it benefits the story. In 2012, it was announced that Hayden would be working at the new Vancouver location of Encore for its VFX division.
Supernatural features a synthesized orchestral score, although traditional acoustic instruments such as guitars and cellos are used at times. While original scores are used throughout episodes, another important aspect of the series' music is the use of classic rock. The series has featured bands like Led Zepplin, Blue Oyster Cult, Mettalica, Ac/Dc on more than one occasion. "The Road So Far", a montage of previous episodes on season finale is accompanied by "Carry on my Wayward Son" by Kansas. The song had also become the unofficial theme song of the show.
Most of the show is shot in Vancouver, British Colombia and its surrounding areas. The camera set-up is Single camera set-up. Running time for each episodes is around 42 mins. The show was produced by Kripke Enterprise and Wonderland Sound and Vision and distributed by Warner brothers Network, CW.
Supernatural is rated 8.5/10 in IMDb and 92% on Rotten Tomatoes. During its first season, the show received generally mixed critical reception, but the reception from critics has grown more favorable as the series progressed with subsequent seasons receiving generally positive reviews from critics. The series became the longest running fantasy TV show when it was picked up for season 11 on 2016.
The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan named Supernatural among the top ten shows of 2009, stating that the "thoughtfully crafted show got bolder and more creative in 2009, coming up with hilarious and innovative episodes and taking risks with its storytelling." Mike Hale of New York Times also named the series on his top ten list for the year: "Supernatural is currently among the wildest and most entertaining series in prime time."
Supernatural also has a very active fandom with many fan conventions and other supernatural based events held pre-covid times. The show is very engaging with good writing and nice storyline. I will recommend everyone to watch this show.
