It’s been almost exactly two years since we bid farewell to the story of Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles), and an earlier chapter of their family history is about to be told. The premiere of theSupernaturalprequel series,The Winchestershashit The CWand to celebrate the occasion, Ackles and his wife and series co-creator,Danneel Acklessat down withVarietyto chat about pushing forward with inclusion and diversity on the new series.
To be frank -Supernaturalwas pretty darn white. When both of the Ackles and their fellow co-creatorRobbie Thompsonbegan to chat about whattheir plans for the new serieswould be, they all knew they wanted to tell different stories from a variety of characters with different backgrounds. Jensen described their conversations as “very natural,” and said that adding these characters was incredibly easy as that time period, the early ‘70s, saw a changing of a societal tide, opening the doors for a more diverse call sheet.
ForThe Winchesters, Thompson and the Ackles wanted to reflect that change through several of their characters includingJojo Fleites’ Carlos andNida Khurshid’s Latika. As for Carlos, Jensen commented that “It just made sense that of course there would be some sort of a Hispanic hippie rolling into town and doing his thing,” while for Khurshid’s Latika he could easily imagine the presence of “a book smart British woman of Indian culture.” Danneel also teased the inclusion of a non-binary person, but didn’t reveal who that character would be or who would play them.
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While they’re aware that some fans will have an issue with their choice to not completely whitewash the series, the Ackles stand by their decision and hope that the overwhelming majority will welcome the characters with open arms. “We’re in a space now where I feel like it is not only largely accepted, but it’s encouraged and I think that that’s fantastic,” Jensen said, adding, “So we just took that as fuel and went with it.”
Inclusion and representation absolutely matter, and it’s great to see a universe like this one embracing that idea. While the main characters inSupernaturalwere predominately white and heterosexual - with very few, but beloved exceptions - it will be great to see new stories told through the eyes of these folks.
Along with Fleites and Khurshid,The Winchesterswill starMeg DonnellyandDrake RodgersasMary CampbellandJohn Winchester, respectively. The series will act as an origin story toSupernaturalthat will see the young demon huntersmeetand inevitably fall in love. Narrating it all will be none other than the couple’s future son, Dean Winchester.
There’s a lot riding on theloreandlegendsurrounding the original show’s storyline, and thankfully the wait is over to see how it all holds up. You can check out a trailer below.
