'Supernatural' Prequel 'The Winchesters' Is Now Streaming — But Not on Netflix
Supernatural prequel The Winchesters expanded the love story of Sam and Dean Winchester's parents, John and Mary, albeit in a different way than what fans knew on the longest-running CW series. While the 13-episode first season has come to an end, it's finally come to streaming, but instead of joining its predecessor on Netflix, it's joined HBO Max.
The Winchesters stars Drake Rodger and Meg Donnelly as the younger versions of John Winchester and Mary Campbell. When the series was initially announced and that Dean Winchester himself, Jensen Ackles, would be helping bring it to life, it was unknown at the time how the storyline would work. John and Mary had an established story on Supernatural, as multiple episodes took place in the past, and their story would be told occasionally in the present.
Even despite what seemed to be plot holes, The Winchesters Season 1 fared pretty well, and by the time the season came to an end, it had several Supernatural guest appearances and even perfectly explained what was going on: Dean, while in Heaven, kept driving and driving and ended up going to a different universe so he wanted to make sure his parents got the happy life they deserved, while also still looking out for little brother Sam, who is destined to have a full and happy life on Earth.
While all 15 seasons of Supernatural are still streaming on Netflix, with no indication that they'll be leaving the platform any time soon, The Winchesters has joined the likes of the newer CW shows on HBO Max. The reasoning is likely because of The CW's deal to stream its newer series on HBO Max, which made it so that shows that premiered in the fall of 2019 or later will stream on the newer platform.
Interestingly enough, even though this deal is still true, the same thing can't be said for another CW spinoff, All American: Homecoming. The All American spinoff was set to drop its first season on HBO Max in 2022, but instead, it joined the parent series on Netflix and is sticking to it. There's no telling what brought about the switch for All American: Homecoming and why the same thing couldn't happen for The Winchesters. However, at the very least, the series is still in some Supernatural company on HBO Max. Jared Padalecki's Walker and its prequel, Walker: Independence, are also streaming on the platform.