Summary

  • The Boys season 5 avoids the divisive length issue that Supernatural faced, pleasing its fans and avoiding quality decline.
  • The Boys will end after season 5, ensuring a complete story without the issues that plagued Supernatural's long run.
  • The Boys' focus on quality over quantity has proven its spinoff potential is better than Supernatural's.

a Supernatural revival or another new season to bring the paranormal series back on air. Still, no truly significant development has occurred to grant the revival wishes of Supernatural's cult following, but, in the meantime, they have been afforded another great, critically acclaimed series to enjoy that shares some significant factors in common with The CW's Supernatural.

The Boys is similarly written and created by Eric Kripke and features Supernatural lead actor Jensen Ackles. Even if Kripke and Ackles' participation wasn't enough to catch the eyes of Supernatural's audience, The Boys boasts an average critical score of 90% on The Boys will end after season 5, shutting down an inevitable problem that is often a big topic of discussion in Supernatural's fan base.

Supernatural Went On Too Long, But The Boys Won't

Supernatural's 15 Seasons Was Too Long For Some

Supernatural TV Series Poster

Your Rating

Supernatural
Release Date
2005 - 2020-00-00
Network
The CW
Showrunner
Eric Kripke

WHERE TO WATCH

Streaming

Created by Eric Kripke, Supernatural is a fantasy/drama series that premiered in 2005. The series follows the adventures of Dean and Sam Winchester - two men wronged by supernatural beings as children who now spend their days investigating and hunting demons, ghosts, and monsters across the United States. 

Directors
Philip Sgriccia, John F. Showalter, Robert Singer
Writers
Eric Kripke, Andrew Dabb, Robert Berens
Franchise(s)
Supernatural
Seasons
15

Supernatural's longevity, a whopping 15 seasons from 2005 to 2020, has been the cause of major discourse. While it can be argued that plenty of its most beloved storylines and characters burgeoned in its latter half, counterarguments swear that Supernatural's long run affected the series' quality over time. Among the slew of other reasons for or against Supernatural's length, The Boys avoids dispute altogether by ending after season 5. It's awful to see such a highly-regarded show go, but The Boys will ultimately benefit from circumventing what is considered one of Supernatural's biggest problems.

That is not to say that The Boys couldn't or shouldn't curate more acclaimed seasons, but it avoids potential backlash by concluding before getting too far ahead of itself.

So long as how The Boys compares to their source comics.

Supernatural Was Better Equipped For A Longer Run Compared To The Boys

Longevity Risked Hurting The Boys' More Story-Driven Premise

Billy Butcher, Frenchie, Mother's Milk looking down toward a screen in The Boys

In the face of Supernatural's criticism of length, Supernatural's premise was conducive to a longer TV run. Just as long-running case-of-the-week procedural series, like Criminal Minds, Law & Order, and House, have proven before, Supernatural's monster-of-the-week format was as much of a crowd-puller as its overarching storylines. Supernatural was equipped to run for 15 seasons, particularly for the reason that Sam and Dean's shorter-term exploits were easy and enjoyable to watch without knowing what was going on in the grander scope of the show. Even more, if one monster-of-the-week wasn't satisfying, the next week's had the potential to be better.

Because The Boys is focused on a more serialized premise, it hasn't had the opportunity to fall back on weekly subplots to drive its story forward. Kripke's determination to end The Boys earlier rather than later is, in fact, most beneficial to the series, as it ensures that The Boys will concern itself with maintaining and ending its central story thread without distraction. With a complete and smartly finished story - and way less discourse between its fans than Supernatural - The Boys franchise thus has a better opportunity to capitalize on spinoff endeavors that are trusted and co-signed by audiences.

Kripke stepped down from Supernatural after season 5.

The Boys Has Already Proven Its Spinoff Potential Is Better Than Supernatural's

The Boys Has Promising Spinoff Potential To Fall Back On

Andre, Marie, and Jordan standing in the woods looking afar in Gen V

The Supernatural franchise has already had two canceled spinoffs. The Winchesters was canceled after its first and only season due to Nextstar taking over The CW and reconstructing its content slate. Assuming that the spinoffs broke down because they couldn't garner as big of an audience as the original Supernatural series and, judging by Supernatural's failed spinoff history, it's doubtful a new series will crop up in the near future.

The Boys franchise, however, is booming with spinoff potential, already capitalizing off the thriving spinoff series Gen V. The franchise series was correctly guessed to be such a hit with audiences that season 2 of Gen V was confirmed before its premiere season ever aired. Unlike Supernatural's, The Boys' franchise has made it easy to trust in its spinoff potential in and past Gen V, as its flagship series has placed more concern on quality over quantity and doesn't seem to be straying from the mindset anytime soon.

Title

Tomatometer Score

Audience Score

Gen V

97%

76%

The Winchesters

100%

49%

The Boys Season 4 Poster Showing Homelander with Victoria Neuman Surrounded by Confetti

Your Rating

The Boys
Release Date
July 25, 2019
Showrunner
Eric Kripke
Directors
Jack Quaid, Eric Kripke

WHERE TO WATCH

Streaming

The Boys is a gritty and subversive take on the superhero genre, focusing on a group of vigilantes who confront powerful superheroes abusing their abilities, exploring themes of corruption and moral ambiguity in a world where heroes are not always what they seem.

Writers
Eric Kripke
Franchise(s)
The Boys
Seasons
4
Streaming Service(s)
Amazon Prime Video