The Winchesters

Set in the 1970s, Dean Winchester narrates the story of how his parents, John Winchester and Mary Campbell, met, fell in love, and fought monsters together while in search of their missing fathers. ==Cast and characters==

Main • Meg Donnelly as Mary Campbell, de facto leader of the "Monster Club", born into a long line of hunters • Drake Rodger as John Winchester, a young Marine returned from Vietnam who has recently discovered his own family's link to the supernatural • Nida Khurshid as Latika "Lata" Desai, a young hunter-in-training and the group's lore expert • Jojo Fleites as Carlos Cervantez, a confident fighter against demons • Bianca Kajlich as Millie Winchester, John's mother, a mechanic who owns the Winchesters Garage Recurring • Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester, John and Mary's future son (narrator) • Bridget Regan as Rockin' Roxy, a pirate radio DJ • Andrea Londo as Betty Donelan, a policewoman who is John's ex-fiancée • Ryan McCartan as Kyle Reed, a journalist who goes on a date with Mary Guest • Gil McKinney as Henry Winchester, John's father, an initiate of the Men of Letters who disappeared along with the rest of the organization 15 years ago, reprising the role from Supernatural • Rob Benedict as Tango, a musician in The Jericho Kid's band • Richard Speight Jr. as Loki, Norse trickster god, who also appeared in the role on Supernatural • Charles Shaughnessy as Jack Wilcox, a Man of Letters expelled for unethical human experimentation • Ruth Connell as Rowena MacLeod, an immortal witch who appeared on Supernatural • Jim Beaver as Bobby Singer, a hunter from Supernatural • Alexander Calvert as Jack Kline, a nephilim raised by Dean, Sam and Castiel who became the new God on Supernatural ==Episodes==

Development On June 24, 2021, it was reported that a prequel series of Supernatural, titled The Winchesters that focuses on Sam and Dean's parents, John and Mary, was in development at The CW. The series is executive produced by Jensen Ackles, his wife Danneel Ackles (who portrayed Anael on the series), and Supernatural writer Robbie Thompson. Ackles also reprise his role as Dean Winchester as the narrator. A pilot order for the series was confirmed by The CW on February 3, 2022; the pilot was directed by Glen Winter. On March 21, 2022, it was announced that Meg Donnelly and Drake Rodger were cast as Mary and John. On May 12, 2022, it was announced that The CW ordered it to series and premiered on October 11, 2022. In August 2022, it was confirmed that Ackles would reprise his role as Dean in a physical appearance in the first episode. On May 11, 2023, the CW canceled the series after one season. Producers Warner Bros. Television planned to shop the show to other outlets. On June 2, 2023, Deadline Hollywood reported that the series had failed to find anyone who would pick it up and all efforts in this direction had ceased. The next day, Ackles confirmed the news and blamed the network shift as well as the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike. Filming Filming for the pilot episode began in April 2022 throughout New Orleans. Principal photography for the rest of the series began in New Orleans on July 25, and concluded on December 15. Lawsuit On August 31, 2023, a crew member filed a lawsuit against the production, The CW and Warner Brothers for ignoring safety measures. The suit claims the crew was told to continue filming despite lightning occurring in the area and safety measures requiring a production to temporarily stop if lightning is detected within a 6 mile radius. The crew member was soon struck by lightning. ==Reception==

Critical response On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 8 critic reviews for The Winchesters are positive, with an average rating of 6.9/10. On Metacritic, it has a score of 49 out of 100 based on 6 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Ratings The Winchesters had the most-watched series debut during the 2022–23 season for The CW. It was also the most-viewed premiere for the season. == References ==