Tag: Supernatural

‘The Boy’ Series Finale Takes an Emotional Ride and Comes Full Circle

‘The Boy’ Series Finale Takes an Emotional Ride and Comes Full Circle

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There is always a lot riding on series finales. Eric Kripke repeatedly said he was nervous about landing this one for The Boys after 5 seasons, but also that he was grateful to be able to end it when they wanted to. Having lived through the contentious Supernatural finale after 15 seasons (which I loved), I was worried FOR him. And of course there are plenty of people posting that they didn’t like The Boys series finale either, but there are also plenty who did – I’m relieved that I’m one of them. I think it went the way it should have gone, even if I might not have enjoyed 100% of it – it made sense and felt like an earned ending, which I thought was also the case for Supernatural.

I enjoyed all the hoopla too (something Supernatural definitely did not get in 2020!)  Many fans went to see the episode in the theaters it played in all across the country and much of the cast and crew attended the red carpet festivities in LA before that screening. Their excitement was contagious, so even though I didn’t go to one of the screenings near me, I felt even more anticipation than usual after watching the cast and crew smiling and proud of what they’d accomplished.

As a Supernatural fan, it also warmed my heart to see so many #SPNFamily in attendance. Eric Kripke (creator of Supernatural and showrunner of that and The Boys) finds good people in the industry, whether actors or directors or crew, and works with them on multiple projects, which means there are always familiar faces. I love that these people love continuing to work together, and also still have such a soft spot for the little show that brought them together. Phil Sgriccia, who directed so many episodes of Supernatural, directed many episodes of ‘The Boys’ including the finale – he and Eric Kripke looked like the proud papas of the evening. Chris Lennertz was one of two composers for the entire run of Supernatural, and he’s the composer for The Boys too – so talented and also just a great guy! Many actors have Supernatural and The Boys in common – at the screening there was of course Jensen Ackles (Dean Winchester and Soldier Boy), and also Nathan Mitchell (Black Noir) and Rob Benedict (Splinter) who were on both shows (and Rob’s partner Ruth Connell of Supernatural too). It was so nice to see them all celebrating together!

Yes, we needed that photo of Jensen Ackles on the red carpet.

Now, for the episode itself. Major spoilers ahead, obviously.

I was actually glad that Soldier Boy was not going to be in the finale – I have complicated feelings about the character partly thanks to Jensen Ackles playing him – and I was oddly glad he was safely tucked away in stasis while everyone else fought to the death. (Yes, I said safely. I admit I didn’t want him to die. I also admit I should want him to die.) If you, like me, are a Soldier Boy fan, check out the very in depth chapter I wrote in ‘Supes Ain’t Always Heroes’ all about the fascinating character, and also read Jensen Ackles’ exclusive interview chapter all about how he crafted his complicated character – info at the end of the article.

It’s also fitting that we return to a focus on Butcher and Homelander for the finale, wrapping back to where we started this journey. The opening reminds us of their scorched earth pact: In the end, only one of us left standing.

The Boys

The Boys start the episode discouraged and mourning Frenchie, especially Kimiko.

They give him a funeral which is very The Boys, alternating between Frenchie’s scribbled out words about being closer to all of them than his own blood, that they are his family, and he’s at peace because he knew Heaven on Earth in Kimiko’s arms – and then noting that he’s seen every one of their assholes (with details of how and when) as the proof of how well he knows them. I’ve said it a lot, but the 14 year old boy humor always throws me out of the scene a little, and this was no exception. It’s the show, though, and I guess I’m in the minority since it has characterized it since the start.

Many fans were upset about the abrupt cancellation of The Boys spinoff Gen V, and hopeful that those characters might play a pivotal role in The Boys finale. They do appear, but were kept on the periphery, to some fans’ disappointment. (It seems we may see them in the two other The Boys universe properties in development, however.) Annie asks Marie, Jordan and Emma to help the influencers they saved, but they’re reluctant. As Emma asks, “the ones who were just with the guy whose hog they were dying to suck yesterday?”  As I’ve written before, I like Emma and I miss her – that one line was excellent.  Annie tells Marie a story intended to inspire her not to give up – about how she idolized Queen Maeve and then met her and was disappointed. She was by then checked out, bitter. Annie says she swore she’d never let that happen to her, but it did – but not anymore. Now it’s about keeping the light burning as long as they fucking can. Don’t meet your heroes, she advises Marie.

Marie: I don’t know about never meet your heroes – worked out kinda okay for me.

It was a sweet little moment. The Gen V three drive off, headed to Canada to help the people they can, leaving the universe open for the Gen V characters to return in another iteration of the universe.

Sage joins Kimiko at Frenchie’s grave and taunts her about letting people think she was the stray that he took in when it was really the other way around, accusing her of keeping Frenchie like a pet, on a leash, until finally Kimiko gets enraged enough to do the chest blast thing.

It works – Sage is no longer super smart.

Sage: It worked! I’m fucking stupid like you guys!

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Creation Supernatural Cons 2026 – Norfolk!

Creation Supernatural Cons 2026 – Norfolk!

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The second Creation Supernatural convention of 2026 was in Norfolk at the end of January. It’s a quick flight, so that part was good – lucky for me, because there was snow in many parts of the country and it made getting to this con extra challenging. In fact, many people couldn’t make it there at all – it reminded me of a long ago Seattle Supernatural con that ended up getting so much snow that Jared, Jensen and Misha couldn’t get there, so it was a one day con with the few people who had made it and then we all flew back home!

This wasn’t quite as dramatic, but it was different. My friend who I’d been looking forward to seeing flew in and had to immediately fly right back out thanks to snow and pets and lack of Padaleckis.  Jared Padalecki couldn’t make it, mostly due to his badly broken leg but I’m sure complicated by how ill advised it would have been to fly with that AND snow. I missed both of them more than I can say, especially because Jared wasn’t at the first con of 2026 in Vegas. I miss that guy! Glad he was taking care of himself and prioritizing recovery though, as he should be.

All that meant I had to be in the vendor room for most of the convention – if you came by to say hi or to buy a book about Supernatural or The Boys, thank you!  I did leave the vendor room to watch Misha Collins’ panel — to find him watching his old infomercial for the Navy! Baby Misha!

He had some stories about his kids, who are getting far too big far too fast – Maison went to her first school dance and her dad was emotional about it.

Misha had some snazzy red shoelaces, which he showed off and clarified that they were not a political statement.

There were some influence jokes, to my great delight. There’s nothing better than being part of a fandom that has in-jokes, especially ones that extend through many years. (Look up the Mishalecki panel at JIB one year where Jared and Misha were collapsing with laughter after their dirty jokes about ‘influence’)

https://x.com/FangasmSPN/status/2017660849280663903?s=20

He ended with, “So there’s probably a lot of Dean’s influence in Cas…”

https://x.com/FangasmSPN/status/2017661074590343276?s=20

Misha reminisced on the hilarity of him and Jared messing around behind the scenes on Supernatural, saying it was a fond memory.

https://x.com/FangasmSPN/status/2017662094070469038?s=20

He just wrote a poem about the wormstache outtake!

Misha is a fanboy too, just not for a TV show like Supernatural – instead, he’s rather proud to be a fanboy of NPR.

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Jared, Jensen and Misha Tease This Week’s ‘Supernatural’ Reunion on ‘The Boys’ – Plus Kripke on Why His Two Shows Go Together

Jared, Jensen and Misha Tease This Week’s ‘Supernatural’ Reunion on ‘The Boys’ – Plus Kripke on Why His Two Shows Go Together

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This week The Boys hosts something that Supernatural fans have been waiting for a long time – Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki and Misha Collins onscreen, together again. It will be the first time the three have shared a screen since their many years together on Supernatural as Sam, Dean and Castiel.  For Supernatural fans, this feels like a momentous occasion.

The three gave fans some rather tantalizing tidbits of information about the upcoming episode at a Supernatural convention in Rome this past weekend.

Photo Happytortuguita on X

Eric Kripke is of course the common denominator between the two shows as the creator of Supernatural and the showrunner who adapted The Boys comics into a series. Jensen Ackles joined as Soldier Boy in Season 3 and has been making fans conflicted about loving and hating him ever since.

Fans figured out last month that Jared Padalecki will be playing Mr. Marathon from a photo on the wall when we caught a glimpse of the character in a promo, because nothing gets by motivated fans!

Jared confirmed it at a convention shortly after – which prompted Kripke to go out and confirm it too, saying that he had wanted a meaty part for Jared that was important to the story arc. Jensen Ackles has said that he was nervous about bringing his two friends onto The Boys – not because he worried about their performance, because he knew they’d be great, but in the way a dad worries about his son going up to bat. Picture him across the set going “come on guys, you can do it!”

Apparently they did.

Kripke recently confirmed that Padalecki had ‘crushed it’, unsurprisingly.  We also know that Mr. Marathon is a far cry from Jared Padalecki, who has said the character says and does things that he would never do. He’s a douchebag and a cokehead, reminding many people of the fanfic Kripke read many years ago featuring a cokehead Jared and an assertive Kripke and let’s just say it wasn’t rated G and that I may or may not know more about how that all happened…

That was a long long time ago, as Supernatural was in its earliest seasons. This was Kripke back then, the first time we met him – baby Kripke!

Photo Lizz Sisson

Anyway… Collins’ role hasn’t been officially announced, but there are plenty of rumors that he might be Mr. Marathon’s partner and perhaps a supe named Synergy.

Looks like Soldier Boy is not a fan.

That would be an awesome (though probably tragic) twist for all the Mishalecki fans out there.

Jared and Misha have been having a great time teasing the possibilities.

Soldier Boy still not a fan.

Photo Chris Schmelke

Padalecki joked at the Supernatural convention in Rome this weekend in response to a prompt about getting naked – “next Wednesday on The Boys!”

Now that might just be a joke, but on the other hand, Ackles has already been sans clothes for Soldier Boy’s debut and the show is famous for Herogasm, so who knows?!

Padalecki and Collins also resurrected their long-running joke about “influence” on each other from an earlier convention in Rome, with influence being a bodily fluid that’s also not G rated, when answering a question about The Boys episode.

Jared: There’s quite a bit of influence going on… I mean, not as much because we’re older, but…

Misha: I think quite a bit of influence on each other… in each other? In this episode there’s more bodily fluid than…it’s a lot…

Ackles rolled his eyes at his two friends’ antics while fans cheered.

Muriel Forir Photography
MyConPhotography by Anika

If all those teases aren’t enough to whet your appetite for this week’s episode, I don’t know what would – as someone whose favorite shows are Supernatural and The Boys, I can’t wait!

I’ve had some great conversations with Eric Kripke over the years about both shows and the similarities between them (the resistance in both comes in the form of plain old humans who are willing to go against the odds and keep fighting).  So on the eve of this momentous occasion, I thought I’d share some excerpts from my interview chats with Eric over the years about the two shows and how they intersect. It’s a history of the Supernatural-The Boys connection as we get ready to make that connection a lot more direct!

I first asked Kripke about the similarities between his brand new show The Boys and his long-time show Supernatural at San Diego Comic Con way back in 2019, before Supernatural had ended.

Eric:  This show is also about family. It’s about the boys, who are the good guys in this show. They’re the heroes because they stick together and show each other loyalty and have each other’s backs and they’re willing to admit vulnerability and weakness. They’re scared and they’re outmatched and they’re outgunned but they’re taking on these powerful forces. Not dissimilar to the way Sam and Dean would take on monsters and demons. What I love is that the heroes of the show are the ones who express vulnerability and weakness and can be imperfect, but we spend a lot of time building the iceberg under the water with the emotion and the satire.

That was enough to get me excited about the show and I’ve been watching ever since.  I had the chance to chat with Eric in depth about The Boys shortly after that Comic Con. I pointed out that both Supernatural and The Boys begin with an everyman inspired to get revenge after the love of his life is violently killed (Mary burning on the ceiling and Robin mowed down by A Train). In the case of The Boys, that comes from the comics, but the show captured it.

Eric: Now that you’ve pointed it out, there are similarities to that. Robin dying in The Boys is taken almost frame for frame from the comic book so it’s funny, that hadn’t really occurred to me about that connection, because in The Boys the instigating incident is so infamous for anyone who’s a fan of the books. It was my job to capture it as faithfully as possible and that’s mostly where my head was, but yeah. Also, I think where they’re similar is there are a lot of tonal and thematic similarities. In a lot of ways, The Boys is a hard R Supernatural.

(Something many Supernatural fans would not mind at all!)

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Supernatural Creation Cons 2026 – First up, Vegas!

Supernatural Creation Cons 2026 – First up, Vegas!

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Vegas was the first con of 2026. It had been a few months since the Supernatural fandom had been together with the cast, so there was extra anticipation for this one. It’s a long flight for me, which is never fun, and it was late, so I didn’t get there until later in the day on Friday, missing lots of the Friday fun unfortunately. Also unfortunately, Jared Padalecki wasn’t able to be there, and we were all missing him. (But excited that he was filming a movie!)

There were some guests we don’t usually get to see, including Emmanuelle Vaugier (Madison the werewolf).  Barry Bostwick, who was in the Supernatural episode ‘Criss Angel is a Douchebag’, was also there, signing autographs in the vendor room just a few tables down from mine. It was surreal having someone who starred in something so formative in my very younger days – The Rocky Horror Picture Show – hanging out and chatting. Curtis Armstrong (Metatron) was also in the vendor room right down the aisle from my table, and we got a chance to reconnect and share a hug.  We all hated his character, but I love Curtis – and I’d love to see him do a panel again too!

I caught a little of the ladies panel with Emmanuelle, Alaina Huffman, Kim Rhodes, Briana Buckmaster, Emily Swallow and Samantha Smith.

Samantha Smith: It wasn’t fully scripted when Dean and Mary look in the Impala. It was like Dean remembered being conceived there…

Briana said that her last episode on the show was surreal, because it was all of them not knowing when Covid would shut them down.

Sam is used to her character being controversial.

Sam: I have people come to my table and say, I hate your character!

Alaina: Sometimes people come up and say, you’re my hall pass, and I’m like um, nice to meet you?

Emily imitated how some people come up to her and recognize her and say “It’s the Darkness!!”

I did not make the trek all the way back to the ballroom, which was approximately 25 miles away, for karaoke, but I hear it was a good one!

Saturday was Misha Collins day. Misha said he’s trying to learn piano, but doesn’t want to practice. My thirteen year old self can so relate.

What would he like to be like if he was younger?

Misha: I have five children in my house a lot of the time and they’re always eager to learn, and I’d like that back.

He re-told the classic Jensen Ackles walks into an electronics store and the clerk just points across the room and there’s a table with a giant portrait of him in Skittles for GISH!

He tried to show the photo on his phone but it didn’t work out well.

Misha: I didn’t expect to have Jensen’s face in my crotch here…

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‘Public Domain’ Premieres – Adding some Supernatural Fun to Your 2026!

‘Public Domain’ Premieres – Adding some Supernatural Fun to Your 2026!

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One of the highlights of last year’s con season was getting to attend the premiere of the pilot of Public Domain, Matt Cohen’s new creative project that stars lots of Supernatural actors.

The premiere came with a viewing and a party at the last Austin convention.

Matt hosted along with talented writer Sean Flanagan.

There was cake and goodies and lots of excitement – and then lots of laughs because Public Domain is hilarious!

I loved its humor and I also loved its biting commentary and how much I could relate to many of its characters. They might be (former?) Hollywood stars and I might not be, but the things they’re struggling with are the same things we all have to confront sooner or later.

Alex Calvert joined me in the audience, which gave Matt an opportunity to call him out and ask if he’d be in a subsequent episode (of course, he said yes). That also gave the woman sitting on the other side of him a heart attack when she realized she’d been sitting next to Alex Calvert!

I caught up with Matt via Zoom last month to get his thoughts on the premiere and the reception to Public Domain, and to share how much I loved it.

Lynn: What was the response to the Public Domain premiere after people watched it either in person or online?

Matt: The responses have been great. The pilot episode or the first episode of anything isn’t my favorite, because you’re setting up all these characters, all the potential, but you have to know all their names by the end of it. So this pilot sets up middle aged, washed up, kind of once-iconic, let’s call it teen star or young 20s star, and now they’re all waiting for their second chance in Hollywood.

Lynn: Middle age or worrying about getting there, that’s probably something a lot of people can relate to.

Matt: Much like myself, right? I’m a guy who worked on a show called South of Nowhere when I was a kid, in my early 20s. It was great, and I didn’t know what I had at the time or I would have cherished it more.

Lynn: I think that’s the case for alot of us when we look back on our twenties!

Matt: So they all had this bright, budding circumstance of wow, I’m gonna make it in Hollywood, or Tinseltown as we like to call it on Public Domain. They all had some success, but Hollywood is a real beast of a machine and it can really eat you up. Our show delves into that, it’s a little bit of inside baseball of Hollywood, almost Entourage in the way we’re peeling back the curtain – industry jokes, treatment, mistreatment, and the misinformation within the world of Hollywood that everybody thinks is oh-so-glorious. It’s a struggle like anything else, and I think the people who’ve watched the premiere have kind of related to what we’ve done.

Lynn:  I know I did. And it’s such a great idea, they’re all familiar characters – who are quite literally in the public domain.

Matt: Yes, and there’s some nostalgia in seeing characters that have existed for your entire childhood and then being able to re-see them as a somewhat different and more relatable reality. A character that is struggling, has ups and downs, has disabilities, has mental illnesses and things to overcome. Why should any Disney princess or your favorite animated cartoon character differ, right? Or you hear a curse word and all of a sudden that character becomes a little more authentic to you, or you see a little bit of weakness in a character’s decision making and you’re like wow, okay, I relate to this character.

Lynn: I definitely did.

Matt: And my big pitch with Public Domain has always been that you don’t have to sit down and learn 50 new characters – you’ve watched these characters your whole life, we’re just gonna open up a little bit of their story with some of the questions that haven’t been allowed to be asked. Like, what happens if the Little Mermaid and King Kong go on a date?

Lynn: It humanizes them, but the show also has these kind of universal messages about aging and looks and power and manipulation and obsession with celebrity, and how that impacts all of us really. Yes, it’s inside baseball, and you get a lot of insight from a very different perspective on Hollywood, but it’s also just human. There were so many things in the pilot that I can relate to, and I’m not an actor, but it’s universal.

Matt: All applause to Sean Flanagan, the writer, he’s got a good finger on the pulse of Hollywood-meets-this-weird-animated-sitcom, we love these characters, so what are our version of these characters, and how do we connect that with people? And it’s Cheers. Cheers is the connecting tissue – what Cheers taught us is that if you have a thumping heartbeat of a place for these people to be, everyone wants to come to this place, because that’s where you celebrate, or that’s where you drown your sorrows, from the beginning of time to now.

Lynn: Yes, still very true

Matt: Cheers would allow you to walk in as a guest star of the week or whatever, and they’re in the home setting. So now you’ve got a new character who opens the door and it’s what’s their story, why are they here? Who in this home setting is gonna help them or nurture them through whatever they’re going through, and does that evolve into a love arc or a second B storyline in any way?

Lynn: It’s a perfect way to introduce everyone and then start exploring that character.

Matt: A bar is a place for people to talk. Next to a therapist’s office, which is one of my favorite places on Earth.

Lynn: Mine too since I’m a therapist…

Matt: The bar is a lot of people’s therapy, in a way. It’s a dark atmosphere where you come in, you meet a stranger, and you can talk and they can talk, you share perspectives. I want to hear all these characters’ perspectives on who they are, why they’re here, who they love, what Hollywood taught them and what it did to them, and how they’re going to get up and move forward and always keep fighting.

Lynn: You don’t gloss over the fact that these characters are struggling, which again, I think most people can relate to. Public Domain stars many of the actors who you worked with on Supernatural – it’s a treat to see so many fan favorites getting to work together again! Have the actors seen the finished product?

Matt: Some have, yes. Jake Abel (Adam), Briana Buckmaster (Donna), Ruth Connell (Rowena), I got to ask them after they saw it and they really loved it. My goal was to get everybody a job again, and that’s exciting to put who I think are some of the most talented people on TV in something that could evolve into a really fun animated comedy where everybody has a job they can do alongside their other jobs. They have other roles or they’re working on other things, but they can do a voiceover, basically record it on your iPhone from a quiet spot. Over the pandemic I thought okay, we’re not going back to sets and we can’t get close to each other, so the idea of doing an animated show with the cast of Supernatural was just something I loved. They played strong characters in live action shows, so now let me allow Richard and Rob and Ruth and Briana and all these people to play iconic animated characters and tell their stories the way they would never have been able to.

Lynn: They all did such a great job too, like really getting absorbed in the characters but recognizable voices.

(In addition to Jake, Briana and Ruth, Public Domain stars Jim Beaver (Bobby), Rob Benedict (Chuck), Richard Speight, Jr. (Trickster/Gabriel), Adam Fergus (Mick Davies), Tahmoh Penikett (Gadreel), Chad Lindberg (Ash), and Gil McKinney (Henry Winchester), and features music by Louden Swain. There are lots of SPNFamily involved too, including a character based on Krista Martin, who we all loved and who we lost way too soon. Big shout out to my friend Abby DiLeonardo, who’s so talented and who has done such an awesome job on getting the word out about Public Domain with her great social media content!)

And of course, it also stars Matt himself as proprietor Shep Salazar. Who also has great hair.

Matt: My big note to everybody was please allow the audience to know it’s you. Then do whatever you want, whatever your imagination can serve up to you within these characters. Like you see Jake Abel took on this doofy, muscle-y guy thing (as Hercules) that is just so fun. And I’m the one kind of straight man through the whole thing – Shep Salazar is the original character we created for me to host all these hooligans at the bar and help them through their thing.

Lynn: As a huge Supernatural fan, I love that you got so many Supernatural actors involved

Matt: My dream is that each and every one of my Supernatural friends can be on this show. It’s not locked into Supernatural, but that will be the heartbeat of the show. And when I can get a Jared and a Jensen, we’ll have those roles. As the project hopefully gets picked up and we can order more episodes, I can start cameoing my big friends – our Jeffrey Deans and our Jensens and our Jareds and our Mishas. That’s to come, and we’re saving some iconic Public Domain roles for some of your favorites.

Lynn: How many characters are in the public domain?

Matt: There are 100 plus available, from Phantom of the Opera to Cthulhu to Frankenstein, God, all the Disney princesses, all the Winnie the Pooh characters, Popeye… just so many fun characters. I want to be able to put a paycheck in the pockets of all the people who have been by my side for so long and do something that’s fun and creative and also earn a little bit of a living while we make entertainment and serve up this really fun cartoon.

Lynn: Well, it really is. Do you have a plan going forward?

Matt: Sean has gathered some interest from a couple different people, without spoiling too much, Danny McBride has an animation company, Ryan Reynolds has an animation company… I think inevitably Public Domain will get picked up and land somewhere and we’ll be able to shoot more episodes.

Lynn: I can’t wait! But you’re a busy man, you have a lot of other projects going on too.

Matt: Sean and I took on like twelve different projects at once – our feature film Exes just got worldwide distribution in the first quarter of 2026 so we’ve had to go back and add some things to the movie, so that’s been on our plate and we’ll roll into the new year with the release of that movie. I also just did a movie called Christmas At The Zoo for the last few weeks in Chicago, where I play a zookeeper who’s very passionate about what he does – it’s a big Christmas love story, and that will be out in 2026 too.

Lynn: Oh that’s awesome! And aren’t you on a soap opera now too?

Matt: Yes, I’ve walked into Genoa City and I am Young and Restless-ing as Detective James Burrow. I’ve done a handful of episodes and am shooting some more, so we’ll see how long they want to keep me around. Right now it’s a lot of fun. They created a character for me based off of Idris Elba’s in Luther, so my detective is dressed very cool, he’s kind of got some real unique swagger, where you don’t know if he’s a good guy or a bad guy in all situations. But he usually comes out on the right side of things.

Lynn: Intriguing. And it seems like they must be pretty invested in that character.

Matt: I’m certainly invested in it! It’s probably the coolest I’ve ever looked playing a character, and because it’s the soap world, the payoff of moving at the pace they move is, I love that idea of you gotta show up really prepared because you’re gonna get one or two shots at this scene, and if you mess it up, that’s on you. I kind of like that, it’s like being live on the stage.

Lynn: I would hate that, I’d be so anxious, omg what a nightmare!

Matt: It’s my favorite thing! Doing the Supernatural conventions have made it my favorite thing on Earth, to be up on a stage not knowing what happens next. I just love it.

And I think we all know he’s very good at it.

I can’t wait to see more Public Domain episodes, and I can’t wait to see Exes, and Matt as a passionate zookeeper in a Christmas movie, and I can’t wait for more of dapper Detective James Burrow. Lots to look forward to – for now, go watch the premiere episode of Public Domain and sound off in the comments about what you like about it!

Watch the pilot here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mm35G48YCZg

And check out some of the Supernatural cast recording their characters here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbCydZSBC9E

Happy New Year from Public Domain – and from me!

— Lynn

You can read Matt Cohen’s inspiring and

personal chapter about his journey on

Supernatural in ‘Family Don’t End With

Blood’, info on that book and more books on

Supernatural on the home page here or at:

 

Last Supernatural Creation Con of 2025 – Nashville!

Last Supernatural Creation Con of 2025 – Nashville!

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The last Supernatural Creation con (on land anyway) of 2025 was in Nashville, as it usually is – but this time it was earlier than it has been in the past, starting on Halloween. I have too many little kids in the family to let me disappear on actual Halloween, so I flew in early on Saturday for a quick in-and-out weekend in Nashville.

Here are some highlights and photos (and some tweets with short videos of some of the panels too).

Made it in time to catch a glimpse of the lovely Felicia Day.

And for Misha’s panel!

Someone asked Misha for advice on how to keep going in these very difficult times.

Misha: You just have to keep doing what you can to fight for good. That’s what drew us all to Supernatural too.

He went on to say that we can pass down the stories that inspire us – like Supernatural.

Misha: So we can fight the demons in this world.

That is so much of what makes this Show so special, and so inspiring to so many of us.

Misha talked about his kids getting older – his son now answers his phone calls with “whaddya want?” But then he comes to him for comfort when he has a bad dream, so Misha takes solace in that. I can relate.

Misha shared his favorite memory of accomplishment – when he and Jared and Jensen were wrestling and Jared tapped out lol.

Misha: I guess the best moment I had in all the cons I’ve been to and all the time I was working on Supernatural, onscreen and off, a feeling of like vanquishing accomplishment that came from this moment, I believe an Orlando convention years ago, where we got drunk and wrestled and Jared tapped out, and it just felt so unbelievably good.

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It’s Been 5 Years Since the Supernatural Finale – Happy Anniversary, Show!

It’s Been 5 Years Since the Supernatural Finale – Happy Anniversary, Show!

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

Last year I wrote that same sentence (with a four obviously). It’s still true that November 19, 2020 seems like a lifetime ago and yet something that happened just yesterday. The entire world has changed since then, but all those changes seem to have only made Supernatural more relevant. Its message, to “always keep fighting” no matter what the odds you’re up against, is a reminder needed now more than ever. There are days when it seems hopeless, with so many things going in the wrong direction – but then I remember, that’s what Sam and Dean faced just about every day. And they never gave up.

That might be Supernatural’s most powerful legacy – giving us some inspiring role models to help us keep going when problems seem insurmountable. I can still rewatch an episode and feel just a little bit more hopeful, and some days I really need that.

Five years ago, I turned on my TV to watch the series finale live, as I had watched almost every single episode of Supernatural for the past 15 years. Jared, Jensen, Misha and many of the other actors tuned in too, all of them as emotional as we all were.

I had friends on zoom to watch “with”, but the rest of the family knew to give me some space because there was sure to be some ugly crying. (There was, and they were probably grateful to miss it!)

Misha pulled off the crying alot better than I did.

My tears then were for a multitude of reasons. Sure, Dean dying was agonizing – and a master class in acting from Ackles and Padalecki – and I let myself sob so much I felt sick, quite literally.

Sam grieving his brother, and the perfect music cues that accompanied that, kept the tears flowing.

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The montage that followed, the realization that the cycle was broken, that Sam did live and left hunting and had a life while he waited to join his brother – that made me cry too. Not out of sadness, but out of appreciation for what the Show managed to do in its ending, and how much that made sense to the story I’d been following for 15 years.

I cried through the bridge scene too, smiling through my tears – emotional with gratitude that the Show allowed us the only kind of happy ending that made sense for the Winchesters. Seeing Sam and Dean’s joy in being reunited warmed my heart – seeing the behind the scenes photos of Jared and Jensen celebrating all they accomplished over those 15 years did too.

And then Supernatural gave us an extra gift. They included all of us – the fans who had kept Supernatural on the air for all those years – in its final goodbye. We all got to hear Bob Singer call “cut” for the last time. We all got to metaphorically stand on that bridge and say goodbye to something that has meant so much.

I’m still grateful.

I worried that the fandom would disappear after the finale – that it would finally fragment for good and people would drift away to other shows and actors and fascinations. Of course there’s been some of that. Social media platforms have changed, fans continue to split into factions who see the Show and the characters differently and struggle to allow others their own perspectives. Other shows have captured fans’ imaginations. And yet, five years later, there is still an active and vibrant fandom. Sometimes the factions arguing about whether Dean or Sam was John’s favorite or what the color of a wall really means threaten to take away some of that joy, but then I realize that means people still care enough about the Show to argue about it – so I should really be grateful when I see the passion still there in the arguing!

I’m even more grateful that creative and talented fans are still making edits and videos and art and fanfiction and writing articles about the show. They’re still passionate enough about it to spend their hard earned cash to go to conventions – even now, five years later, there are more Supernatural conventions than any other show. Every time I’m at a con, the number of new fans who just discovered the show and binged it is shocking. In a good way!

That means the Supernatural actors have stayed close too, spending time together at conventions and in their free evenings during those weekends. Most casts wrap filming and go their separate ways, but this cast never has completely – and it seems like they like it that way.  Rob Benedict and Richard Speight, Jr. bring their fellow actors together on their Supernatural Then and Now podcast regularly, along with the writers and producers and crew who helped make the show so amazing. Jared starred and Jensen directed and Jake Abel guest starred on ‘Walker’. Rob, Rich, Ruth Connell and Gil McKinney joined Jensen on ‘The Winchesters’.

And coming up, we’re a very very lucky fandom indeed – because Jared, Jensen and Misha are all reuniting in an episode of ‘The Boys’ thanks to Supernatural creator and The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke. To say that I’m looking forward to that is such an understatement, it’s laughable.

I’m glad the actors have stayed close, but I’m even more grateful that the friends I’ve made through Supernatural have remained close too. I met some of my best friends in this fandom, and those friendships continue to stand the test of time. We’ve been there for each other through a lot of ups and downs over these past five years, from pandemics to politics to personal crises. There are no better friends than my fandom friends, who are now way more than that – they’re forever friends. We met through Supernatural though, and I’m so glad that we still share a love for the show.  I need people in my life who will never say no to a rewatch of The French Mistake!

Of course I miss the Show. For a while, there was talk about revisiting the Supernatural universe “in five years” – which would be now. Obviously that isn’t going to happen, and who knows if it ever will since its actors are busy doing all sorts of other exciting things. In the last year alone we’ve had Jensen starring in ‘Countdown’ and guest starring on ‘Tracker’ and Jared guest starring on ‘Fire Country’. Jensen will be revisiting Soldier Boy in Season 5 of ‘The Boys’ and starring in the prequel ‘Vought Rising’. Jared will soon start filming ‘The Bodyguard’. They’ve both got other projects in the pipeline as producers, and Misha is developing a film project and is in the process of writing a dystopian novel.

The fandom has supported them in all their subsequent projects – I think we all feel a special sense of pride when “our boys” are doing what makes them happy. But even if they never put out any creative content again, I’d always be proud of them for what they created with Sam, Dean and Cas. They created something unique – special – that changed lives for so many people.

It’s been almost ten years since we wrote Family Don’t End With Blood, and five years since we wrote There’ll Be Peace When You Are Done – both books were intended to celebrate all the ways that Supernatural is special. Its chapters, written by the actors and by the fans, are about all the myriad ways Supernatural has changed all of us. It’s a permanent reminder of what made Supernatural special.

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A few months ago, a publisher contacted me to write another book, for a series of books on the TV shows that have mattered, that have had an impact. Unsurprisingly, Supernatural was one of them. I couldn’t say no. It seems fitting to be working on that book when the 5 year anniversary comes around. Because Supernatural HAS had an impact – on me, and on so many others. I can’t count how many people have stopped by my vendor table or emailed me after reading the books to tell me their own personal story of how the Show changed their lives – or saved it.

Five years later, my love – and my gratitude – are as strong as ever.

Thank you, Supernatural. I miss you….for now…

Lynn

You can remember all the ways Supernatural was

special – to us and to the actors – in their own words

in Family Don’t End With Blood and There’ll Be

Peace When You Are Done. Links on the home

page here or all the info at:

 

Hometown Con! Supernatural Finally Comes to Philly 2025!

Hometown Con! Supernatural Finally Comes to Philly 2025!

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I have been waiting for a Supernatural con in my hometown for a very long time – finally Creation brought their The Road So Far tour to Philly in October. Yay!!!

It seemed extra special because we had just celebrated the 20th anniversary of the show’s premiere way back in 2005.

Credit: Barb LeVan

Philly gave Supernatural a warm welcome, the Philadelphia Zoo even posting an invitation to fans to come do a meet and greet with their very own Sam and Dean (hedgehog version).

Look how adorable they are – almost as cute as the real thing!

photos: Philly Zoo

Of course they’ve got their own Impala!

The con being local also meant I could set out on a leisurely half hour drive into the city each morning…. Yeah, no, that didn’t happen. The traffic was so insane that it took me three times that, and was nervewracking too. However, on Thursday I found a great spot in the hotel garage, so all was well.

I got set up in the vendor room with a little help from my friends and settled in to welcome everyone to Philly!

It turned out to be a great con, though my driving woes weren’t any less than when I’m going a long distance somehow. Friday’s drive didn’t go any better than Thursday’s, and when I got to the hotel garage there was not a single spot in the entire structure! I drove around, increasingly upset because frankly driving is just not my favorite thing… like at all… and was finally told by a parking attendant that there was one “over there a few rows”. It turned out to be a tiny sliver of pavement between a giant truck and a cement pillar, with a trash can chained to the pillar to make it extra challenging. After approximately 30 attempts, I squeezed my Honda in. Never mind I could barely get out and the trash can….well, it had a few dents. Sorry, trash can.

Saturday’s drive was better, but the parking was even worse. When I got there, the ‘FULL’ sign was already up. I was already late, and driving is not really one of my better skills, as I’ve mentioned, and my knee is dislocated, so the thought of driving around the city looking for another lot and then limping to the hotel was really not a pleasant one. I parked my car in front of the hotel and got out to ask if I could do valet parking and was told THAT was full too! WTF? I think a few tears might have rolled down my face at that point and the (very nice) man took pity on me when he saw my knee brace.

“I’ll find a place for you, ma’am,” he kindly assured me. “Just leave it there.”

I wasn’t able to see many panels this time since I was coming and going, but I caught some of the ladies’ panel, which I always try to do. This time we got Kim Rhodes, Briana Buckmaster, Ruth Connell, Samantha Smith, Alaina Huffman and Julie McNiven!

Ruth Connell talked about working with Alaina Huffman and passing on the importance of working WITH other women and supporting each other.

Alaina: I get to play and be supportive with people I love, I’m not competing with other women. That’s my circle.

Briana: I worked very hard to make everyone feel included.

Ruth and Briana and Kim all wrote insightful chapters in Family Don’t End With Blood, all about their journey to Supernatural and what they’ve learned from the fandom. Julie wrote a chapter in There’ll Be Peace When You Are Done, taking us behind the scenes of filming Supernatural and what it was like working with Jensen Ackles in that backseat in the Impala scene. (Spoiler alert, he was a gentleman).

They all talked about how powerful it is to meet fans in person, like they’re able to do at cons.

Ruth: Supernatural and this fandom are the gift of my life.

Julie talked about her young son, who at the holidays opens every present and exclaims “for me??” Awww.

Ruth told a story about little Margaret repeatedly calling for “Daddy” and when that didn’t work, calling: “Rob!!”

Awwwwww

Saturday was also Misha Collins day, as always.

He kicked off his panel stressing about trying to use up all the Asian pears from his pear tree and taking suggestions.

A fan asked, who slays the most?

Misha: Who slays the most? I hate to say it, but Jensen.

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Creation Supernatural Con Returns to Where It All Began – Chicago 2025!

Creation Supernatural Con Returns to Where It All Began – Chicago 2025!

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I always look forward to the Chicago Supernatural convention every year – it was the first Creation con for my favorite show and I still remember the off-the-charts excitement of being there, way back in 2007!

It’s also the con where I met one of my dearest friends when I got stranded there during a hurricane and she came to my rescue and offered me a place to stay during the storm. (We had met once, at the con, but we were SPNFamily so she drove over and rescued me from the dodgiest motel ever, the only one that wasn’t fully booked in the storm. She may have literally saved my life). Another of my dearest friends was also there with some of her besties, so the con was extra special.  So were a few other friends who I wish I could see more often. In between being in the vendor room and enjoying panels, there was lots of good food and drink and even better conversation. What more could you ask?

 

On Friday, I joined the Matt Cohen and Gil McKinney panel already in progress – which sort of explains why they were being feral raccoons at the time…

Matt: Every animal I portray ends up with Jensen’s bowlegs…

These two are a great example of two people who didn’t even work together on the show, but they’re a great onstage duo who are always amusing. What are their favorite made up words?

Gil: Dingleberry

Matt: Fuckery!

A fan asked for their help in naming her eighth (!) ferret.

Matt: Squoose (a combination of Moose and Squirrel). I’m brilliant!

Matt also, for some reason, told Gil all about the “geoduck” (pronounced, for some reason, gooey-duck). Creation helpfully put a photo up on the screen so everyone could … uh, marvel? The geoduck was a thing at cons about a decade ago, so it was amusing to see it make a triumphant return.

Matt to Gil: I’d serve it to you raw…

I also caught some of Sam Smith’s panel. A fan brought the actual nightgown that she wore as Mary burning on the ceiling in the pilot – which is actually not white, but pink!

Complete with blood stain. Hey, it’s Supernatural…

Sam said that when Kripke told her that she’d be back she was skeptical.

Sam to Eric: Ummmm you burned down the house!

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Supernatural Con Returns to Austin, Texas – 2025!

Supernatural Con Returns to Austin, Texas – 2025!

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Last year’s Creation Supernatural con in Austin was very memorable – for a few reasons. One was the Radio Company concert at Sagebrush, and the other was the fact that everyone there almost melted thanks to it being the most absurd temperature I’ve ever experienced.

Of course, I returned to Austin for yet another Supernatural con in the same month. Luckily it wasn’t quite as absurdly hot – and not so luckily, there was no Radio Company concert.

There was, however, a mini Radio Company “show” when Jensen Ackles and Steve Carlson and the Scott sisters joined Louden Swain at the Saturday Night Special, and a Radio Company panel with Steve and Jensen, so at least we got our Radio Company fix – without melting!

The flight there was uneventful but an entire box of books hadn’t made it to the con unfortunately. That meant I sold out of books by Saturday – my apologies to anyone who came by to purchase a copy of Family Don’t End With Blood or There’ll Be Peace When You Are Done and I didn’t have any left. Thanks to everyone who did come by – it was lovely to meet everyone!

I did a few more panels than I usually get to do since I wasn’t needed in the vendor room the entire time, so that was the silver lining.  One of the best things about a con in Austin is that I love the city. My son used to live in Houston and we’d pop over to Austin for the day, and I fell in love with its weirdness – and its delicious food. Thursday I had tacos and queso with my friend Sadie, and some good conversation to go with it. Another night after dark when it cooled off, I joined a friend at the hotel’s rooftop pool (best part about the con hotel!) to lounge poolside and catch up (though the lounge chairs were out to get both of us by periodically collapsing…)

Friday I caught most of Chad Lindberg’s panel because I just love Chad. I’ve known him since way back in 2008, when he was starring in a film called “My Big Break”. He introduced me and Kathy (my Fangasm co-author) to the filmmakers, Tony and Elizabeth, and we became fast friends. When they took ‘My Big Break’ on the road, we came along for some of the screenings along with Chad – which is how we ended up on Bourbon Street in the middle of the night for Chad’s first trip to New Orleans, and several other memorable adventures.

I also adore his character of Ash on Supernatural. Chad wrote a chapter for There’ll Be Peace When You Are Done all about portraying Ash, with lots of priceless behind the scenes insights.

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