'Supernatural' Season 14 Finale Date Announced by The CW

Supernatural's 14th season will come to an end in April, The CW said on Thursday.

The episode will air on Thursday, April 25 at 8 p.m. ET. The CW will fill the 8 p.m. ET Thursday timeslot with iZombie, which enters its final season this year, beginning on May 2.

The CW also announced that Jane The Virgin will start its final season on Wednesday, March 27 at 9 p.m. ET and the new series In The Dark will kick off on Thursday, April 4 at 9 p.m. ET after a new episode of Supernatural. The 100 will start its sixth season on Tuesday, April 30 at 9 p.m. ET after The Flash.

Supernatural is the longest show in The CW's history, even predating the network's existence. The show debuted in 2005 on The WB, which merged with UPN in September 2006. It was created by Eric Kripke and stars Jared Padelecki and Jensen Ackles as brothers Sam and Dean Winchester, who hunt supernatural beings. The Feb. 7 episode will be Supernatural's 300th episode.

To mark the occasion, The Walking Dead star Jeffrey Dean Morgan will return to play John Winchester, Sam and Dean's father. He only appeared in 12 episodes, making his most recent appearance in 2007, but he remained a fan-favorite character. John died when he made a deal with a demon to save Dean's life, but dying should prove no obstacle to bringing back a character in a show involving demons and ghosts.

"We're incredibly excited to have Jeffrey back for this milestone episode, and think fans will love what we have planned for his character... and a few other guest stars," executive producer Andrew Dabb teased in December.

While there is no sign of Supernatural ending any time soon, Season 14 does have a noticeably shorter episode count. Past seasons have run 22 or 23 episodes, but Season 14 will only be 20.

In interviews with Digital Spy, Padelecki and Ackles said they requested the short count to have more time with their families. It has nothing to do with The CW losing faith in the show.

"When they announced that it was 20 episodes, I was hearing some concern that it was The CW writing us off... it's certainly not," Padelecki, who lives in Texas, said. "And we're just giving this a shot. 23's a bit difficult, with three young kids in a foreign country – I know it's Canada... but it's still time zones, and travel, and my kids are in school."

"Leads of series, you can just run 'em ragged," executive producer Brad Buckner told Digital Spy. "You can forget that you're actually dealing with human beings and they start ending up in every scene which means they're working every day. These are long, long hours, so I think by guaranteeing them [Jensen and Jared] a little bit more time off, it's only going to benefit the show."

The next episode of Supernatural, "Nihilism," airs on Thursday, Jan. 17 at 9 p.m. ET.