When Drake Rodger and Meg Donnelly, stars of the new series 鈥� 鈥� on The CW, attended their first Comic-Con last weekend in New York, they were accompanied by security guards. Rodger recalls noticing one of the guards repeatedly looking at actor, co-creator and co-executive producer of 鈥淭he Winchesters,鈥� Jensen Ackles. Rodger finally asked him, 鈥榃hat鈥檚 up?' He was like, 鈥楧ude, I鈥檓 a huge 鈥楽upernatural鈥� fan.'"
That security guard is not alone. 鈥淪upernatural,鈥� starring Jared Paladecki and Ackles as monster-hunting brothers Sam and Dean Winchester, aired for 15 seasons on The CW. It was a huge hit for the network, spawning comic books, novels, fan fiction and designated conventions just for the show.
It was also a personal favorite of Mark Pedowitz, former chairman and CEO of The CW, who not only championed 鈥淪upernatural鈥� but also greenlit the critically acclaimed shows 鈥淛ane the Virgin" and 鈥淢y Crazy Ex-Girlfriend鈥� and supported producer Greg Berlanti's creation of a string of DC Comics shows beginning with 鈥淎rrow.鈥� Pedowitz left the company earlier this month after Nexstar Media acquired the network.
鈥淭he Winchesters,鈥� premiering Tuesday, may be launching without Pedowitz at the helm of The CW, but it still has a built-in 鈥淪upernatural鈥� fan base ready and hungry.
鈥�'Supernatural' is one of my favorite shows of all time. Of course I can't wait for 鈥楾he Winchesters.鈥� This show has so much to live up to but I'm confident it will be enjoyable to watch,鈥� said Lindsay Warren of Royal Oak, Michigan.
"The Winchesters" is an origin story about Sam and Dean's parents, Mary and John, (played by Donnelly and Rodger) showing how they met, fell in love and became a monster-hunting duo whose sons later follow in their footsteps. Ackles also narrates the series.
Rodger and Donnelly spoke with The Associated Press about jumping into the world of 鈥淪upernatural." Answers have been edited for clarity and brevity.
AP: Drake, you were a fan of 鈥淪upernatural.鈥� What were your thoughts when you were approached to audition for this show?
RODGER: I was super-excited but also skeptical. I think all fans have a right to be a little nervous anytime something gets created, whether it be a sequel or a prequel or a continuation, even a new season. So, yeah, I was very, very excited but very nervous. And then after I was informed a little bit more on the creative process, I became super-confident. I thought, "This is really, really cool and there鈥檚 a story to tell here."
AP: It must be helpful to have Jensen involved, who obviously knows the show so well, but also Robbie Thompson, your showrunner, was a writer on 鈥淪upernatural.鈥�
DONNELLY: The 鈥楽upernatural鈥� family is genuinely such a family. What you see in interviews and at conventions is completely 100% real behind-the-scenes, too. Even Jared (Padalecki) and Misha Collins, who are not even a part of 鈥淭he Winchesters,鈥� have reached out and have met us in person. Jeffrey Dean Morgan (who played an older, darker version of John Winchester in 鈥淪upernatural鈥�) as well. We just got dinner with him. They are so dedicated to 鈥淪upernatural鈥� because of what it did for them and how it made them feel. Everybody is helping us and making sure that we protect the mothership, but also servicing it as well.
AP: Drake, Has anyone ever told you that you resemble both Ackles and Padalecki?
RODGER: I鈥檝e gotten it a lot. And actually, hearing Jensen talk about the pilot, that one of the things that they considered when they cast me was that I wasn鈥檛 playing John Winchester, I was just a mix between Sam and Dean. That鈥檚 kind of how I鈥檝e been playing John.
AP: Because this is a prequel leading up to 鈥淪upernatural,鈥� could we ever see John and Mary's sons, a young Sam and Dean?
RODGER: I would hope so. We know where the story鈥檚 heading and the gray area that we have is to play with is how we get there and when we get there. But there are certain benchmark points 鈥� when Dean was born, when Sam was born... So, we鈥檙e going to hit those things.
AP: Meg, what's it like knowing your character's fate?
DONNELLY: It is really interesting because Mary鈥檚 whole kind of motivation at least right now, is getting out of hunting because she wants so desperately to live a normal life, go to college, be a normal kid. It's kind of heartbreaking for sure, because she never really is able to escape it.
AP: Also, at the beginning John is new to all of this but he gets much get darker and more confident to where we see him in 鈥淪upernatural.鈥� Will we see that progression, Drake?
RODGER: The darkness is the one thing that I talked to Robbie Thompson about and we鈥檙e on the same page from the get. I was like, 鈥淲e need to show where this comes from so it makes total sense.鈥� We got to do that way earlier in the series than I thought we were going to be able to so I鈥檓 excited for fans to see that.
Alicia Rancilio, The Associated Press
