How ‘Supernatural’ Became the Longest-Running CW Show (and Won the Hearts of Fans)

#3. Showrunners Come and Go, but Stick to the Core Elements

This isn’t a show afraid to switch its showrunners around. While Eric Kripke remains known as the creator, he stepped down from the helm at the end of Season 5. That was his arc finished, but the network wanted to keep Supernatural on the air.

Since then, there have been a handful of showrunner changes, with the latest happening at the start of Season 12. While there have been notable changes in the overall storytelling, the core elements have never changed.

The Winchester brothers are still recognizable as the characters that were initially created. They’ve grown older and adapted a couple of views. Most notably last week, Dean admitted that the hunting world isn’t all black and white—a view that he didn’t have in the earlier seasons. Now he’s open to saving innocents from turning into monsters and even letting some live!

Different showrunners have added new blood into the fantasy drama. They’ve helped to tackle storylines from different angles, without losing the core elements.

It helps that the showrunners have been connected to the earlier seasons of the show. They know the Winchesters inside out and fully respect the fans. And this takes us onto the next reason…