Since it initially premiered on The CW in 2005, the sprawling Arrowverse or The Vampire Diaries' substantial spinoff shows.

Few spinoff shows even came out following the success of Supernatural, with the most notable being The Winchesters, an alternate universe prequel that follows Mary Campbell and John Winchester in the early 1970s, the parents of Sam and Dean. Unfortunately, The Winchesters was cancelled after only one season, quickly closing the book on the spinoff's potential. Though many might think The Winchesters is the only spinoff of Supernatural, there was another unique take on the franchise that came out relatively early in the show's run.

Supernatural: The Anime Series Was The Franchise's First Spinoff Show

An Animated Take On The Iconic Series

Supernatural: The Anime Series (also known as Supernatural: The Animation) is exactly how it sounds, an anime spinoff of the flagship series. Running for 22 episodes, Supernatural: The Anime premiered on February 9, 2011, and was produced by the legendary Japanese animation studio, Madhouse, which is behind iconic projects like Death Note, Perfect Blue, Black Lagoon, and countless others. It was the only spinoff to come out of the Supernatural franchise before the release of The Winchesters in 2022.

When it was produced by a Japanese animation studio, Supernatural: The Anime features an impressive Japanese dub with Yūya Uchida and Hiroki Touchi reprising their roles as Sam and Dean, the voices for the Japanese dub of the live-action series as well. For the English version, Jared Padalecki was able to return to voice Sam, but Jensen Ackles had scheduling conflicts and only returned for the final two episodes, the show's biggest unfortunate blemish, though Andrew Farrar did a solid job for the first 20 episodes.

Is Supernatural: The Anime Series Canon? How It Ties Into The Live-Action Show

Supernatural: The Anime Has Strong Ties To The Early Seasons Of The Live-Action

Determining what is canon or not is a much-discussed aspect of franchise fandoms, which raises questions about the standing of Supernatural: The Anime Series within the official story of Supernatural. Officially, Supernatural: The Anime Series is not canon to the 15-season series, though some fans do like to view it as part of the greater canon of the franchise, especially with how the story unfolds throughout its 22 episodes, leaving it open for some interpretation.

While these stories, especially diving into the Winchesters' past, might not fit perfectly within the canon of the live-action series, it does a good job of providing new context for some of the show's early storylines.

The way it ties into the live-action series is pretty interesting, though, as Supernatural: The Anime covers the plot of Supernatural's first two seasons, while also featuring new storylines about Sam and Dean's childhoods and expanding a bit on some secondary characters. While these stories, especially diving into the Winchesters' past, might not fit perfectly within the canon of the live-action series, it does a good job of providing new context for some of the show's early storylines.

Supernatural's Future After The Winchesters: Will There Be More Spinoffs?

It's Not Likely The Supernatural Franchise Will Expand Anytime Soon

While it is a shame that The Winchesters ended early, and there haven't been any other spinoffs of Supernatural besides Supernatural: The Anime Series, it seems unlikely that The CW will be producing any new projects in the franchise. The network's priorities have shifted, which meant scaling back on nearly all of their scripted series, putting the Supernatural franchise in limbo for the foreseeable future.

There are still plenty of directions the franchise could take if another network or streaming service was able to pick it up, including several unfinished storylines that would be awesome to explore in the 16th season of Supernatural. There is also still a massive fandom around Sam, Dean, Castiel, and Supernatural as a whole, and plenty of spinoff ideas the franchise could delve into if the timing is right. Supernatural: The Anime Series proves that there are plenty of unique ways that Supernatural could continue.