Tag: Happy Anniversary Supernatural

Happy 20th Anniversary, Supernatural!!

Happy 20th Anniversary, Supernatural!!

spnfans

Every year I worry about the same thing – will this be the year that no one remembers it’s the anniversary of the premiere of my favorite TV show of all time? Will this be the year that I’m celebrating alone and missing it as much as ever, without the validation of my fellow fans?

Every year it turns out I didn’t have to worry – and this year it feels like I have more company than ever.

Happy 20th anniversary, Supernatural!!

Twenty years ago today, the pilot episode premiered on what was then The WB network.

I didn’t see it live, but I saw it soon after thanks to a good friend who had fallen in love with the new series after seeing it promoted at Comic Con that year. She recorded the episodes on VCR tapes and when we all got together, we’d watch them together, sometimes squeeing over “the boys” and their badass black Impala, sometimes covering our eyes and screaming when it was too scary. It wasn’t long before I fell down the rabbit hole of loving Sam and Dean and Supernatural, and I’ve never looked back.

It’s hard to believe that was two decades ago – the world has changed so much and so have I, but all those years somehow haven’t changed how I feel about the show. In fact, I think I’m more emotional than ever when I rewatch episodes that have become even more beloved for their familiarity, like a worn-soft comfy blanket that keeps me warm emotionally when the world is cold.

I am so grateful that Supernatural has continued to air for so long, from TNT marathons to Hulu to every other platform that has hosted it over the years. I am so grateful that the show’s cast has continued to attend fan conventions all over the world, many of them devoted to Supernatural. How many shows that premiered in 2005 can say that in 2025, twenty years later?? Every time I’m at a convention and Jared Padalecki asks, “who’s first time” and a third of the audience raises their hands, I’m in awe of the staying power of the Little Show That Could.

I remember when we didn’t dare count on even one more season, let alone fifteen. When we were a fandom that was tiny in size but disproportionately large (and loud) in our passion for our Show. I remember sending postcards to the studio, first The WB and then The CW, pleading for more. The first time I was invited to the set, the office was plastered with them, a constant reminder to the hardworking cast and crew of just how much fan support was out there.

That support is still there.

It was obvious when the show aired its finale episode five years ago, so many fans posting to show their gratitude and to share how special the journey has been for so many of us.

It’s obvious at every fan convention, in the cheers of the crowd and the eagerness to ask questions about the show even though it’s been over for five years now.

The fans have followed the talented Supernatural cast on to many other projects, supporting them in all sorts of roles and helping those projects succeed too. At the same time, for many of us, we haven’t moved “on” from the fictional characters who so inspired us. Sure, the relationships may be “parasocial”, but that doesn’t make them trivial – we find meaning and inspiration and a sense of belonging from the fictional worlds we love revisiting.

Supernatural may not be airing, but it is far from forgotten.

This year, that’s especially obvious. TV Insider camped out at a Supernatural convention for two days to see for themselves that the passion for the show is very much alive, publishing a 20th anniversary Supernatural special magazine and releasing priceless videos of Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles and Misha Collins reminiscing about the show they too continue to love.

Entertainment Weekly posted their video of Jared, Jensen and Misha today, buying some gorgeous boots in Austin and reminiscing about their time on Supernatural by answering 20 questions for the 20th anniversary (see full video at end)

Also, I mean, LOOK at them!

The “official” Supernatural Instagram and YouTube accounts were quiet for a while, but they’ve been active recently, posting content to help us all reminisce as we celebrate #SPN20. Richard Speight, Jr. and Rob Benedict host the SPNThenAndNow podcast that’s doing a complete rewatch of the show, and there are countless other podcasts and Youtube channels still conjecturing about everything and anything related to Supernatural.

I had a chance to chat with both Jared and Jensen about the 20th anniversary happening today just a week ago, and their mix of incredulity and fondness and gratitude felt similar to my own. It seems impossible that it’s been so long, but at the same time I am SO very grateful that I am in such good company in still loving it.

Supernatural changed my life. I met some of my best friends in this fandom. I’ve traveled places I never would have gone otherwise. I’ve laughed, cried, hugged and been hugged, and been understood in a way that’s rare to find in this world.  I’ve written six books on the show, two of them with the Supernatural actors, an experience I cherish.

I just signed a contract to write another, celebrating how much, after 20 years, the show matters.

Thank you, Eric Kripke, for creating such a special story. Thank you, Jared and Jensen and Misha and all the many talented actors, writers, directors and crew who brought that story to life so vividly. And thank you, SPNFamily, for every warm hug, shared adventure, impassioned debate about my favorite topic of conversation, and most of all for still being here celebrating with me, twenty years on.

Here’s to many more! (And perhaps, someday, to more Supernatural)

Happy 20th Anniversary, Supernatural.

With love.

Here’s the video from EW – it will make you laugh, maybe tear up a little, and most of all make you very grateful that they have so many fond memories of Supernatural.

Just like we all do.

-Lynn

You can read the books with chapters from the

Supernatural actors, info at the link below, or

find them at any bookstore or on Amazon to

celebrate 20 years of Supernatural!

It’s Been Four Years Since Supernatural Ended – Happy Anniversary, Show!

It’s Been Four Years Since Supernatural Ended – Happy Anniversary, Show!

spnfans

Somehow it’s been four years since the show that changed my life aired its final episode.

It both seems like a second ago and forever ago simultaneously, in that strange way that really pivotal life events seem to take on an altered sense of time. The fandom has, of course, changed in those four years since Supernatural ended – but the entire world has changed too, in so many ways. Most of them seem to be bringing us closer to something like the Winchesters had to face repeatedly, edging toward things that feel almost apocalyptic.

If ever a world needed the Winchesters, it’s right now.

I’m so grateful that, in some sense, we still have them – and always will.  I can still escape with Sam and Dean and Cas, and I find myself rewatching the Show often instead of searching for something new. Nostalgia is powerful, and four years is long enough for it to feel genuinely nostalgic. It’s my feel good show, my happy place, my source of inspiration when it feels impossible to keep going. It’s a reminder to never stop fighting for the people I love and who I’m lucky enough to have in my life to love me back. It feels more necessary now than ever before.

I just re-read what I wrote on the two year anniversary of Supernatural ending. Oddly, I wrote that social media platform changes that were, at the time, just beginning, had me worried that those would change the fandom too. I wrote then:

Twitter itself, the platform on which I mostly make my fannish home and spend time with my fellow fans, is teetering on the abyss of ending too, driven into the ground by a new owner who seems determined to ruin what made it so useful, and occasionally wonderful. Who knows if the Supernatural fandom as it has existed for the past 17 years will ever exist that way again, with so many using Twitter as a platform for both fandom and for interacting with the actors who brought Supernatural to life. It feels like we may be at the end of an era – and doesn’t it just make sense that we’re standing on this precipice on the exact anniversary of Supernatural ending. How fitting is that? Supernatural has always been unprecedented, oddly tied to other major shifts in the broader culture. Why would that change now?

It’s now two years later, and the last week has seen a mass exodus from the platform formerly called Twitter. Some are migrating to Blue Sky, others to Threads or Facebook or Instagram or are just limiting their interaction to Tumblr or Reddit. Some are just leaving all together. It is the end of an era, and while it might reduce some of the social media toxicity and rampant misinformation that have made life even more challenging, it also reduces the sheer volume of fans in one place all interacting together (for better or worse). It feels a little sad, but maybe it’s also hopeful. Yes, you can find me on Blue Sky. I’m trying to be cautiously optimistic that we’ll all find each other again. I don’t like change, but I know that change can be a good thing too – or at least I keep trying to convince myself of that!

One thing I do know. There’s a lot to be grateful for when it comes to the SPNFamily and Supernatural. I feel incredibly lucky that we have 15 years of content to keep watching whenever we need a fix of our favorite fictional characters. I’m really grateful that we still get to interact with the actors at conventions – there were dozens of cons all over the world last year, proving the continued popularity of the show and its talented cast. Moments like these never fail to make me smile.

We’re also fortunate that we still get to watch our favorite actors, this time in their new projects – I feel extra fortunate that I genuinely like the shows they’re on!

While The Winchesters, Walker and Gotham Knights have wrapped, there have been lots of new ones to enjoy. Jared made his debut as a guest star who recurs on ‘Fire Country’ last week, and Camden Casey was an instant fan favorite.

graphic abordelimpala

Sharing a screen with real-life bud Max Thieriot was clearly alot of fun for them, and the cast all talked about how much fun it was having Jared join the family.

And lucky for me, ‘Fire Country’ is a show I love even without Jared on it (but I love Jared on it!)

Jensen has already returned to guest star on ‘Tracker’ this season, another show I love regardless of SPN alum guest stars (but I love Jensen on it!).

That gave Jensen a chance to share the screen with another real-life bud, Justin Hartley, once again playing a big brother. (Fire Country filming in Vancouver gave Jared a chance to hang out with Justin too – it warms my heart that they’re all such good friends).

Jensen is also busy (understatement) filming his new show ‘Countdown’ and then on to the final season of ‘The Boys’ and the new prequel he stars in, ‘Vought Rising’.

I love ‘The Boys’ so much I put together an entire book about it, including a lonnngggggg chapter all about Soldier Boy (and a chapter from Jensen too). So I feel extra lucky that Jensen is part of a show I’ve loved since day one.

That show even brought Jensen back to Hall H at Comic Con this past year.

Kripke and Padalecki have both confirmed that the plan is to have Jared join Jensen in Season 5, which is definitely something to look forward to.

Misha brought the cast of The Boys and Supernatural together for a fun night of support for the Harris/Walz campaign, the combination otherwise known as the “Kripkeverse”. Two of my all time favorite shows, coming together for a cause they all believed in – and sharing it with us!

Misha has been everywhere all over the globe campaigning for the values he’s passionate about  – he inspires me with his determination to keep doing just that.

So yes, we’re lucky.

And maybe more important than any of the other reasons I count my blessings when it comes to Supernatural, I’m incredibly grateful for the friends I’ve made in this fandom. Somehow, four years later, there is still a ridiculous amount of infighting and arguing and ship wars and fans trying to police other fans over a fictional show that’s not even airing, but there is also a vibrant and supportive community that I count on every day to help get me through. There are so many people who care – not just about the Show but about the world, and the future, and each other. There are lots of fans who inspire me, and some special people who I can be real with every day, even when I’m really down, and know that they’ll both listen and care. What a gift that is, from a little show I fell in love with almost twenty years ago.

Happy anniversary, Supernatural. I’m still holding out hope for Season 16, if the universe sees fit to allow a little miracle, a little bright light in the dark.

And happy anniversary, SPNFamily. We may be all over the place, and we may not agree on everything, but I’m really glad I have so much company in still loving the Little Show That Could.

And did.

–Lynn

You can always remember how special Supernatural

was and is – in the actors and fans own words – with

the books Family Don’t End With Blood and There’ll

Be Peace When You Are Done. Info at: