“Family Don’t End With Blood”: The Recipe That Made ‘Supernatural’ Historic

With an extremely heavy heart, the much-loved stars of Supernatural – Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki and Misha Collins – announced earlier this year that its upcoming 15th season would be the show’s last.

Many TV shows begin to wane after their initial first and second seasons, but with over 300 episodes, an army of fans, and characters with so much soul that they make the devil look downright dreamy, Supernatural has cemented itself as one of the best TV shows in history, and one of the longest-running science fiction shows since The X Files. The creator of the show, Eric Kripke, discovered the perfect recipe early on and has worked its magic ever since.

The cast is hilarious and their behind-the-scenes reels give Supernatural fans even more to love

Have you ever watched a Supernatural blooper reel? It’s all jokes and having a laugh. Apparently, Ackles, Padalecki and their angel co-star Collins regularly get into some zany shenanigans on set and play pranks on each other. The directors and writers also use this sense of humour in the show, whether it’s involving Dean’s love of pie, a witty one-liner, or something else, Supernatural injects the humour of Ackles and Padalecki amongst the action and the heart-to-hearts.

The themed episodes give fans what they want

Supernatural isn’t always about killing demons, hunting creatures of the night, and stopping the impending doomsday, it also focuses on the silly side of things. Fans adore the wacky adventures, like Sam fighting his fear of clowns or becoming stuck in an episode of Dean’s favourite TV show Dr Sexy M.D. Stand out scenes include the brothers being eaten by guest star Paris Hilton and even making crossroad deals with Jersey Shore‘s Snooki.

Sure, it’s action-packed and features battles against supernatural creatures and monologues of feelings, but the writers aren’t afraid to get light-hearted. They also recently conducted a Supernatural/Scooby-Doo crossover that had fans salivating.

The world of Supernatural is perfect for true horror fans

Another reason Supernatural has been such a hit is due to how perfectly the story was crafted to follow the “hunt” of demonic and supernatural forces. In the first season, the brothers faced ghosts, wendigo, witches, Bloody Mary, The Hook Man, and other classic horror foes. It was these classic horror stories that won true horror fans over and had them willing to sit through the introduction of heaven, angels and beyond.

“Family don’t end with blood”

It’s not uncommon to hear rumours of fights amongst crews and TV stars, but the cast and crew of Supernatural are one of the most supportive, family-oriented teams ever. Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki are best friends in real life, as are their immediate families. Genevieve Padalecki and Danneel Ackles have both starred on the show with their partners. Genevieve actually met Jared and fell in love while she was cast opposite him as demon Ruby, and Danneel’s short character arc with Lucifer gave fans a taste of life behind the set.

Genevieve Padalecki as Ruby

The connections continue to run deep as Danneel’s One Tree Hill co-star and best friend Hilarie Burton is married to The Walking Dead’s big bad Negan, played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who took the part of John Winchester in Supernatural. Morgan, Ackles and Padalecki have a lot of fun on set.

It makes the whole cast and crew very family-oriented to the point that a book about how deep the crew’s love ran was released in 2017. In 20 chapters written by the Supernatural cast and their fans, including Padalecki, the book Family Don’t End with Blood: Cast and Fans on How Supernatural Has Changed Lives examined the far reach of the show’s impact. How many TV shows can say they have changed that many lives?

When it came to light that Padalecki was suffering from depression, the whole cast and crew rallied behind him, even going as far as raising money for charitable organisations that help in lifting the stigma of depression and mental health issues, and the stars have continued that work ever since.

No matter the reasons why fans love and watch the show, it’s hard to deny the powerful reach that Supernatural has had. Even with the end looming, the show has united fans and crew in a way that no other TV show ever has.

You can catch Supernatural’s Mark Sheppard at Supanova Comic Con & Gaming Adelaide (November 2-3) and Brisbane (November 8-10).