This new CW series runs in the family.
It’s called “The Winchesters” and it’s a prequel to “Supernatural,” the network’s long-running series (2005-2020) that followed the exploits of brothers Sam and Dean Winchester (Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles) as they traveled the country investigating paranormal events. Ackles and his wife, Danneel Ackles, are executive producers.
The action in “The Winchesters” follows their parents, Mary and Dean Winchester (Meg Donnelly, Drake Rodger) in the 1970s. (Samantha Smith and Jeffrey Dean Morgan played the roles in “Supernatural”). It was the most-watched debut The CW when it premiered TK.
“When I was younger, I was a little scared to watch [‘Supernatural’]. But since getting the audition I started re-watching Season 1, and I watched a lot of Mary- and John-heavy episodes for research,” Donnell 22, told The Post. “Drake [Rodger] is a huge superfan. So, it’s been really nice working on this as a team.”
“The Winchesters” revisits Mary and John’s origins, their love story and their own adventures. When the future spouses meet, John is a Vietnam vet and Mary is a 19-year-old demon hunter probing into the mystery of her father’s disappearance.
“Mary has a lot of Dean-like qualities. She’s kind of badass, but at the same time, I’m playing a different version of Mary [than Smith’s version in ‘Supernatural’],” Donnelly said. “Jensen and Danneel were very clear on making sure that the character was my own as well.
“As I play her more and more, I realize she’s just like me,” she said. “The most relatable part is her kind of being closed off, and not being super in tune with her emotions and having a hard time opening up and being vulnerable. She has all these aspirations. She knows what she wants, but doesn’t know how to get there. Drake and I have become a really close kind of instant best friends thing. It’s been awesome going on this journey with him.”
The original “Supernatural” cast all reached out to Donnelly and Rodger to impart advice, she said.
“Me and Drake have talked to Jensen a lot. He’s been kind of an older brother/mentor to us. He gives advice about being young on set and balancing such crazy pressure,” she said. “And I’m so grateful to everyone on ‘Supernatural.’ Jared [Padalecki] too – even though he’s not part of this project – sat Drake and I down and had conversations with us and said, ‘If you need anything, let me know.’ And Misha [Collins] did the same thing,” she said [Collins played the angel Castiel in the original series].
“I was surprised after Comic Con when Jensen was like, ‘Jeffrey Dean Morgan and [his wife Hilarie Burton] want to get dinner with us.’ Jeffrey was saying he just wants us to have fun, and he was asking caring questions. It was awesome. It’s just so wild to me how these people care about the ‘Supernatural’ universe.
“There’s some really awesome cameos from ‘Supernatural’ characters [ahead in future episodes]. I think fans’ minds are gonna be blown.”