Diving Into Supernatural

Photo: The CW, The Winchesters

When Supernatural creator Eric Kripke was first pitching his idea for a fantasy series following two brothers as they travel across the country hunting demons, monsters, and ghosts, he envisioned it as a movie. Once studios started to take interest in his idea, he began to pitch it as a three-season series. When the show premiered and picked up a rabid cult following, he expanded it into five seasons. Flash forward to today, two years after the show’s incredible 15-season run, and The CW is releasing prequel spinoff The Winchesters. The appeal of this series to its fans, it seems, cannot be overestimated. 

But that doesn’t mean The CW should rest on its laurels ahead of the release of The Winchesters. As dedicated as the fans of Supernatural are, the series premiered nearly 20 years ago. The prequel’s producers should be seeking to infuse this fan base with new blood, especially since a new series with new characters doesn’t always guarantee that fans of the old show will be quite as enthusiastic.

That said, given how zealous Supernatural fans have proven to be, The Winchesters should be looking to find more people like them rather than seeking out entirely new audiences. Let’s take a look at the fan base of Supernatural to see what followers of the nascent franchise love about the show and what other series they enjoy. The results could help The CW to both find new audiences and effectively pitch The Winchesters to them.

The Winchesters premieres October 11 on the CW.

What Do Fans Love About Supernatural?

Supernatural has a 62% positive sentiment score on Ranker Insights, which means that of all the votes cast for the show across Ranker’s thousands of TV lists, 62% of those votes indicated positive feelings about the show. That may seem modest, but consider that this show has been on the air throughout the entirety of Ranker’s existence, with a total of more than 229,000 votes cast for or against the show. With such a tremendous audience, it’s majorly impressive that the show’s reception among our readers has been so consistently positive. 

True to its title, Supernatural sits atop our list of The Greatest Supernatural Shows Of All Time (493K votes), ahead of both more recent series like Hellbound and Lucifer and contemporaries like Heroes and Smallville. It also tops The Best Supernatural Mystery Series Ever (10K votes) and The Greatest TV Shows About Brothers (4K votes). In the exclusive category of shows that have been on the ar for 300 episodes or more, Supernatural comes very close to the top for our readers — it’s #2 on All TV Shows That Have Run For 300+ Episodes (1K votes), with only popular anime One Piece ahead of it. High rankings on general lists like this indicate that the show’s fans are dedicated and numerous, allowing the series to compete with both all-time greats and trendy new shows.

But what’s perhaps more interesting is the show’s performance on more specific lists. It’s #6 on The Most Bloody Good Vampire TV Shows Of All Time (22K votes), ahead of more vampire-centric shows like What We Do in the Shadows and Hemlock Grove. It’s #2 on The Best Fictional Representations Of Purgatory In Modern Pop Culture (843 votes), and #3 on Depictions Of Angels That Deserve Our Praise (9K votes). Clearly a huge part of the show’s appeal is its nearly encyclopedic set of depictions of supernatural phenomena, from vampires and werewolves to angels and demons. Demonstrating for new viewers that the show has plenty of these nasties in store might draw more viewers to The Winchesters — viewers who may be too young to have been caught up in the initial Supernatural phenomenon, but share that first wave’s interest in folk legends and the occult.

Who’s Watching Supernatural?

Where do you find viewers a lot like Supernatural fans? By looking for them in the audiences of TV shows that Supernatural fans tend to like. We’re using Ranker Insights to highlight the TV shows that are most likely to share fans with Supernatural, which should give The CW what it needs to target potential new viewers with either traditional ad spots or digital campaigns. 

PARANORMAL PROCEDURALS

A show that combines the thrilling mystery of a police procedural with the supernatural scaries of a horror show? It’s less eccentric than you might think: Supernatural fans are drawn to other shows that blend these two genres, including Lucifer, the series about an infamous fallen angel who runs a nightclub in Los Angeles and helps a detective solve crimes. Followers of Sam and Dean Winchester are also more likely to love Fringe, which covers a secret FBI division dedicated to investigating “unusual” crimes, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the Marvel series about a law enforcement agency dedicated to stopping superthreats.

These viewers love Supernatural and… Lucifer, Fringe, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

OTHERWORLDLY ROMANCE

Supernatural fans also have a soft spot for love stories — provided they have a bit of sci-fi/fantasy edge to them. For example, the time-travel bodice-ripper Outlander is popular among this fan base, as is The CW’s extraterrestrial romance Roswell, New Mexico. Finally, Supernatural fans are also drawn to Superman & Lois, the grounded, heartfelt drama about the marriage and family life of the Man of Steel. 

These viewers love Supernatural and… Outlander, Roswell, New Mexico, Superman & Lois

STEPHEN KING STORIES

While Supernatural may not be itself based on any of Stephen King’s horror novels, it makes sense that fans of the show would love TV based on the author’s work — both King and Supernatural are interested in uniquely American folklore. Among the shows that draw Supernatural fans are Castle Rock, Hulu’s short-lived horror anthology series about the fictional town in Maine where many of King’s stories are set. There’s also Under the Dome, the CBS adaptation of King’s story about a town that is suddenly and inexplicably trapped inside a massive, transparent dome. And Supernatural fans are also more likely to love Haven, another King adaptation, about an FBI agent who notices that people in the small town to which she’s assigned suffer from supernatural afflictions. 

These viewers love Supernatural and… Castle Rock, Under the Dome, and Haven

These stories are crafted using Ranker Insights, which takes over one billion votes cast on Ranker.com and converts them into actionable psychographics about pop culture fans across the world. To learn more about how our Ranker Insights can be customized to serve your business needs, visit insights.ranker.com, or email us at insights@ranker.com.

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