Supernatural’s Jensen Ackles says pandemic shut down ‘opportunity to refocus’ for series finale

It’s been a running joke that The CW’s Supernatural, now in its 15th season, is the show that simply can’t be killed. With its final season underway, and the series finale on the verge of shooting, production was shut down (along with everything else) due to the coronavirus pandemic. So for Supernatural, it means the Winchesters will keep rolling a while longer — at least until they can return and actually film the show’s long-awaited wrap-up.

In a lengthy interview with Entertainment Weekly looking back at the series’ legacy, star Jensen Ackles opened up about how far they made it before production was halted. They apparently had two episodes left to film, and understandably, they were poised to be two of the biggest of the show’s lengthy history. But with production on hold, Ackles says the delay could be a blessing in disguise, at least as far as the show is concerned. Basically, instead of rolling into it tired from shooting the rest of the season, they’re getting a lengthy break to gear up for the show’s big finale.

“Obviously it’s a horribly unfortunate situation we’re in, but the silver lining is that it gives us an opportunity to recharge,” Ackles told EW. “We had just finished episode 18, we shot one day of episode 19, and I was reading these two monster scripts thinking, ‘It’s like we’re at the end of a marathon and they want us to sprint for the last two miles.’ I feel like this almost gives us an opportunity to refocus and go into the last two episodes and hit them with everything we got.”

As for what fans can expect when the show eventually does return? A lot of fun stuff, and payoffs for stories that have been dangling for years. For one, fan favorite Felicia Day is back, and she plans to celebrate all the holidays the Winchesters missed over the years. Though only two episodes remain to be shot, there are seven episodes yet to air. So whenever the series does resume, fans still have several more episodes to enjoy for the final adventure.

Obviously, no word yet on exactly when the Supernatural series finale will air. But whenever it does, hopefully it’ll be worth the wait.