After an epic voyage to hell and back (more than a few times), Supernatural’s series finale, “Carry On,” bid farewell to Sam and Dean Winchester, but is there a possibility they may return for season 16?
Supernatural, which premiered on The WB in 2005, was an instant hit with audiences because of the connection between actors Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles.
The program received a rating bump in season 4 with the arrival of Misha Collins as the angel Castiel, and viewership has remained relatively stable over the last decade.
Rather than being canceled by The CW, the termination of Supernatural was a creative decision made by the show’s creators and performers. In a 2019 interview at VegasCon, Ackles stated, “It was not a simple choice. It took months, if not years, of deliberation.
Nobody wanted to see this program fail to live up to its potential.” After 15 years on television, Supernatural ran out of new story ideas, and everyone involved wanted to go on a strong note.
The basic guideline for television revivals is “never say never,”, particularly in light of the previous revivals of long-running series such as The X-Files and Twin Peaks.
According to Mark Pedowitz, president of The CW, “There is an open pass [to continuing Supernatural forever] if the lads want to do it,” which indicates that Ackles and Padalecki would certainly be welcomed back with open arms if they ever developed homesickness for the Impala.
However, there are no plans for a Supernatural season 16 on The CW as of this writing.
Sam and Dean have died several times throughout the show’s 15-year run, but the series finale did everything possible to give them both a conclusive finish.
Dean is slain during a hunt and begs Sam not to bring him back since this never works well. A flash ahead indicates that Sam survived to be an older man with his son, and he dies peacefully in his bed. In Heaven, he is reunited with Dean (and the Impala), and Supernatural concludes with the two brothers hugging.
While viewers have voiced varied feelings about the finale, it provides Sam and Dean with a happy ending that would be a tragedy to alter.
Still, there are other ways for Supernatural to continue – for example, by following Sam’s son as he attempts to live up to his father’s legacy (he has an anti-possession tattoo, indicating that he is also a hunter) or by creating a spinoff set in another corner of the expansive world of demons, angels, and monsters that Supernatural has established.
Meanwhile, viewers may busy themselves by rewatching all 15 seasons of one of television’s finest supernatural dramas.
