At some point you've probably heard about the show "Supernatural". It's been on for 12 seasons, it's almost impossible not to have heard about it. Since it's been on for such a long time, you would think that it's an interesting and versatile show, that's managed to stay fresh since it first aired in 2005. Unfortunately, this is not the case.
"Supernatural" started out as something really cool. It was about two brothers, Dean and Sam Winchester, who came from a broken family, hunting demons and other supernatural creatures. In addition, what I really liked about the first few seasons was that Sam and Dean dealt with a lot of urban legends like Bloody Mary and wendigos. Somewhere along the way the writers of "Supernatural" stopped coming up with interesting plots for each episode and it instead started focusing on the brothers and their turmoils.
There's nothing wrong with this, of course. But when a show has been on for 12 seasons they've basically done every kind of drama known to man. The show became repetitive and boring. It started incorporating really ridiculous storylines to keep fans entertained. I stopped watching during season 6 because I felt this way, so I don't even know how anyone could stick with it for much more than that.
It's hard to explain why "Supernatural" has stayed on for so long. What's even more interesting than that, though, is the fact that its creator, Eric Kripke, didn't even want it to stay on for this long. His original plan had been to end the show in season 5, and there wasn't anything the CW (the network "Supernatural" is on) could do to keep him on board past that.
So what happened to that amazing plan?
Well, it's true that after season 5 Kripke ceased to be the showrunner and has been in the role of executive consultant since season 7. But the reason the CW must have kept "Supernatural" on the air was because they saw how much money they could make off of it. While Kripke was honorable and aware that if "Supernatural" stayed on past a season 5 it wouldn't really go anywhere and would just drag on uselessly, the CW really only cares about the viewership.
And boy does "Supernatural" have a lot of fans.
The biggest reason "Supernatural" has stayed on the air is because of the huge fanbase it has created. Admittedly, the fandom is the reason I began watching the show. I saw how dedicated the fans were to this show and thought that it would be a fun thing to be a part of. But the fandom just wasn't enough to keep me connected to the show.
But the fandom is enough to keep the show on the air. The fandom surrounding "Supernatural" is so huge that the CW renews the show year after year, positive that the fans will still be around to watch it. In fact, the CW is so sure that the fans are dedicated to "Supernatural" that they've declared there's no end in sight for the show, that it will end whenever the actors decide they don't want to do it anymore. And considering that the main actors, Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles, don't really have any other projects going on, "Supernatural" could essentially go on forever.
I am in no way an expert on "Supernatural" or a professional critic, this is just my opinion. If you have anything to say about "Supernatural" then feel free to let me know!
