Where to watch Supernatural (2005–2020)

Trivia & production notes

• Creator Eric Kripke developed the concept for over a decade before the series was picked up, inspired by a childhood road trip at age nine that gave him a passion for road-trip stories.
• Kripke initially pitched an anthology series about a tabloid reporter investigating supernatural phenomena, similar to Kolchak: The Night Stalker, but this format was rejected because anthology series rarely succeeded on primetime television at the time.
• The pilot episode was directed by David Nutter, hired specifically by The WB to ensure the show's success, and the project was approved shortly after he signed on in January 2005.
• Before filming began, the brothers' backstory was significantly altered: they were originally supposed to be raised by their aunt and uncle with Sam unaware of the supernatural world, but Kripke and writer Peter Johnson changed this to have their father raise them as hunters.
• Although the storyline was originally planned for three seasons, Kripke later expanded it to five seasons with the hope of ending the show on a high note.
• Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki both initially had strong chemistry during their audition, and Ackles proactively chose to play Dean rather than Sam, drawn to the character's comic and reckless personality.
• Jim Beaver initially thought his role as Bobby would only last for the first-season finale, but later rejected opportunities to become a series regular despite the crew and audiences supporting his promotion.
• Misha Collins' character Castiel was originally intended to appear in just a few episodes of the fourth season, but positive fan reception led to a long-term role where he became considered a third brother to Sam and Dean.
• The Winchester brothers were originally named Sal and Dean based on Jack Kerouac's On the Road, but Kripke changed Sal to Sam, and their surname was changed from Harrison (a tribute to Harrison Ford) to Winchester, inspired by the Winchester Mystery House.
• The series initially followed a monster-of-the-week format, but due to uneven episode quality, this structure was largely abandoned starting from the tenth episode of the first season in favor of focusing on the psychological development of the Winchester brothers.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article Supernatural (American TV series), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Rewritten for StreamShack; errors are ours — tell us about them.