#2020-oct

(...) With only four episodes left, there's always the question of how Castiel's story will end. "For years, fans would ask, 'How do you see Cas ending on the show?' And I've always said in some heroic sacrifice," says Collins. "First of all, the phrase has heroic baked into it, which I like. But also I think that that's just integral to his character. He's always been willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good, and ultimately if he can sacrifice himself for the greater good and for his little cabal of humans who have become his family, I think that Cas will have served his purpose as far as he's concerned."

Whether Castiel gets his "heroic sacrifice" in the show's final season is yet to be known, but Collins teases that "sacrifice is sort of part of the equation for Cas." It's unclear what exactly that means or how it will play out — let's not forget he's already sort of sacrificed himself to the Empty — but all Cas knows at this point is that he doesn't want his son to die. As Collins puts it, hearing Jack's fate was "the worst thing imaginable" for Castiel. (...)

(...) While Dean (Jensen Ackles) is ready and willing to let Jack (Alexander Calvert) sacrifice himself to take down Chuck aka God (Rob Benedict), Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Castiel (Misha Collins) are hoping there’s another way. Part of Castiel’s reasoning, Collins tells Variety, is because he is “definitely clouded” by his paternal feelings for Jack “and he’s trying to do his best to both save the world and save his family.”

That quest, which has been at the center of the show since its earliest days, often sees the pieces at odds with each other, and Collins shares that such is certainly the case in the final few episodes of the long-running series.

“It’s always been about this dynamic interplay between fighting the forces of the universe and fighting for the last remaining threads of a tattered family,” he explains. “Ultimately as we get closer to the end of the season it’s not about compromise, it’s about sacrifice — it’s about characters making huge sacrifices for one another.”

Castiel specifically, Collins notes, “doesn’t give up on looking for a solution and he does find something that is really helpful.” But there is still the deal he made with the Empty (Rachel Miner) hanging over his head. In the penultimate season, in order to save Jack from the Empty, Castiel promised he would take Jack’s place there. He was allowed to stay on Earth for the time being, to maximize the pain it will cause when he is inevitably sucked back to the place that is deemed “worse than hell,” and Collins says that that deal “ends up being very significant” for Castiel at the end of the show.

For Collins, who was first introduced to the world of “Supernatural” in the fourth season premiere, wrapping a dozen-season run was always going to be emotional. But he had an unexpected one-two punch because “the way the schedule worked out [was] my last moment on set was also Castiel’s last moment in the narrative of the show. So it was like this interesting double goodbye where I was saying goodbye to the cast and crew and they were also saying goodbye to Castiel at the same time,” he says.

Collins acknowledges that through the years, everyone spent “a lot of our time there laughing and making jokes and trying to undermine one another while we’re shooting,” and shares that some such levity crept on set after his series wrap was called. “The crew put together a little party and a cake and a little retrospective video,” he says. “It felt like a retirement party.” But actually shooting his final moments as Castiel was anything but light.

“This was a very, all-around, super somber night. Everyone [was] being honestly strangely respectful of the process of acting but also really connected and emotional, and it felt like a night of grieving. It was really intense,” he says. “Cass’ final moments are really him taking the reins and making really hard choices, but definitely of his own free will.” (...) “Of course there’s an escapism to this kind of entertainment,” Collins says. But the “mythology is a source of inspiration. So not just escapism but a little bit of social-emotional inspiration that people take from the show. Even when the odds seem impossible, even when you’re up against supernatural beings who are far more powerful foes, you keep fighting and if your heart is in it, you can prevail. And that kind of messaging isn’t escapism; it’s constructive — it’s how civilizations pass the torch from one generation to the next.”

“I’m happy about how the show lands in that respect,” he continues, “and I’m happy about how Cass lands in that respect. I’m really happy about the socio-political message that Castiel sends with his final words in the show. I think it’s really poignant and important and super relevant to our current social moment.” (...)

(...) As for how the actors feel now that they've wrapped filming, Padalecki says he "couldn't be more pleased with the way it turned out." Later in the conversation, he took things a step further. When asked for a favorite moment from his 15 years on the show he said, "The series finale is my favorite episode of all-time."

Ackles agreed, though he noted a specific moment in the final hour that he said might earn his number one spot. "It's a fantastic way for the show to wrap up," Ackles says, admitting he had his reservations. "The more that I thought about it, the more that I mulled over all the different possibilities of what could happen, and maybe what should happen, it's interesting to think that I kept coming back to what ended up happening."

According to Singer, the series finale will be an "intimate episode" that he says is really about Sam and Dean. (...)

"I read through the original draft [of the finale] when it first came out just as a fan, because I was like, 'How did they put it together?' I knew the end result but I didn't know how exactly they were going to get there, so I quickly read through the script," Jensen Ackles tells EW. "That was back in early March. And then I put it down. Then COVID hit and we all went on break and I was like, okay well I assume it's going to change so I'll just wait until the new draft comes out. To be honest, it didn't really change. How we got there involved a little bit of changing but we still get to the same place."

Co-showrunner Andrew Dabbs adds, "We did a rewrite once we knew what our COVID rules were going to be for episodes 19 and 20, and it changed some things, it did. Particularly in episode 20, there were things planned that just aren't feasible anymore."

Getting into some of those specifics, Ackles told Glamour that they had to cut a montage of familiar faces from the finale: "We were supposed to have a lot of familiar faces come back, and we were going to try to filter them into a montage. It was going to be almost a break from the story and a look at how far we've come—a little tip of the hat to the fans—and we would all be able to celebrate together," he said. "Obviously, we couldn't do that. So that part of the finale episode got nixed."

But overall, Dabb says the story remains the same. "What it did not change was the story or the emotions, or anything else. It changed some of the set dressing, it changed some of the circumstances, but it didn't change where we were going or, honestly, in a large way, how we got there. So, in that way, I feel very lucky."

(...) TVLINE | Was there anybody that you really wanted to get back for these final episodes, but it just didn’t work out for whatever reason, scheduling or because of COVID?

Look, COVID was limiting, especially when it came to the last two [episodes]. And there were certainly people we would have liked to have brought back like Samantha Smith, like Jeffrey Dean Morgan. People who have been such core parts of the show for so long. But unfortunately, because of COVID and some other things, doing a big supersized guest cast family reunion was just off the table. But in terms of our story that we’re telling, we didn’t have to make any compromises. Everyone who is coming back is coming back for a specific reason. These are people we want. They’re important to us. They’re great characters, and we just thought it was an opportunity to revisit some of our and, hopefully, the fan favorites.

(...) Existentialism aside, Ackles is clearly ready for his next act, even if the show's massive, fervent fandom—known as the SPN Family—may not be. Back in March 2019, Ackles, Padalecki, and their costar Misha Collins devastated diehards when they announced they'd be ending the series on their own terms after more than 300 episodes. A bit of good news is that fans will still have the conventions that honor the show and cast meet-ups that take place all over the world. Eventually. (...) For now Ackles is preparing for his life beyond Dean Winchester, which includes his anticipated role as the first-ever superhero in season three of Amazon Prime Video's The Boys, as well as a new production company he's starting with his wife. He filled me in on all that, how the Supernatural finale changed due to COVID-19 restrictions, and, of course, how he got his hands on the iconic 1967 Chevy Impala—which he drove to Starbucks the morning of our call. (...) Glamour: I almost don’t know how to ask you how it feels to end a life-changing, 15-year project like Supernatural.

Jensen Ackles: I understand how rare it is and that it's a bit of a unicorn to have a show that runs this long and to be as intensely part of it as I have. I mean, you've got procedural dramas—you know, Law & Order and stuff—but a lot of those casts come and go. To have the same two leads in every single episode for 15 years, I think, is a pretty rare feat. So I'm proud that we did it. That was really the overwhelming feeling when we filmed our last day and our last scene. It wasn't a mourning process; it was more of a proud moment of “Look at what we've done.”

The finale of Supernatural was already planned before COVID hit. Did anything in the last two episodes have to change because of filming restrictions?

We had to drop some ideas we had for the final episode, but it didn't change the story. We were supposed to have a lot of familiar faces come back, and we were going to try to filter them into a montage. It was going to be almost a break from the story and a look at how far we've come—a little tip of the hat to the fans—and we would all be able to celebrate together. Obviously, we couldn't do that. So that part of the finale episode got nixed. But the story and how it ends up, that stayed the same. (...) Speaking of behind-the-scenes roles...you’ve directed five episodes of Supernatural. Any plans to direct Jared Padalecki's new show, Walker?

I would absolutely love to, but with my new gig on The Boys, I don’t know if I’m going to be able to. We're trying to figure out scheduling.

They're in the midst right now of building my costume for The Boys, which is a custom-built superhero suit. That is way more intense than I anticipated, which is cool. But I have to literally be in L.A., like, every two weeks for the next three months. I think it's six fittings and they're each like three- to four-hour fittings. They're literally molding things to my body, so it's intense. (...) Before I let you go, please tell me what fans can expect from the final episodes?

I've said a few times that the second-to-last episode really feels like the season finale and that the final episode feels like a series finale. The series finale, episode 20, is this beautiful throwback to the whole show—to what it was, what it has been, and what it is today. (...)

If all had gone according to plan, a pilot episode for “Walker,” the upcoming “reimagining” of the 1990s, Chuck Norris-led drama “Walker, Texas Ranger,” would have shot in the spring of 2020, and the production team would have been able to make adjustments to characters, plot points or even casting after seeing what worked in that initial episode, before going to series.

But there has been nothing about the year 2020 that has been according to any usual plan, and “Walker” ended up getting a straight to series order at the CW after being unable to shoot a pilot amid a pandemic-forced production shutdown. Now, the new series about a widowed father and Texas Ranger (played here by “Supernatural’s” Jared Padalecki) is being introduced internationally at Mipcom by ViacomCBS Global Distribution Group without the crucial, world-defining series premiere episode to screen.

For showrunner Anna Fricke, the delayed production start has meant more time working with the writers’ tweaking scripts and making pivotal changes to ensure the final product pays homage to the original, while still being as specific and thoughtful for today’s audience as possible.

“It’s still a love song to Texas and the character is still obviously a Texas Ranger and somewhat of a maverick character with a very strong moral compass. I’d say that is a powerful carry-through” from the original,” Fricke tells Variety.

But the racial reckoning and cries for police reform within the United States in the last few months also inspired the writers to dig deeper into conversations about those changes that need to be made.

“This was always supposed to be a show that was set up to have conversations on both sides of the fence and that Walker is a character that can see things both ways — we call him the edge of the coin,” she explains. “We realized that unwittingly we were set up to have those conversations in the characters of Captain James, who is a Black man, and in Walker’s new partner, who is a Latinx woman. Given that we had the extra time, we tweaked the pilot slightly in that Captain James, as a newer captain who was promoted while Walker was gone on a case, is really here on a mission to bring progress into the department and to keep an eye on corruption.”

The cases on “Walker,” Fricke continues, will offer unique situations and perspective than on the usual police procedurals, since “rangers get pulled into different cases” than cops. But, she also notes that the focus of the show is primarily on Walker himself and the relationships he has with everyone from his deceased wife (played by Genevieve Padalecki in flashbacks) to his teenage children (Violet Brinson and Kale Culley), his parents (Mitch Pileggi and Molly Hagan), his brother (Keegan Allen), his new boss (Coby Bell) and his new partner (Lindsey Morgan).

“The original Walker had very strong family ties, mostly to his uncle, who he spent a lot of time with. This show, I’d say, is even more of a family drama just because Walker himself now is living on the ranch with his own parents, so it’s a real multi-generational story,” Fricke, who classifies the show as a “family soap,” says.

For the global audience that knows Padalecki from his 15 years hunting demons, the devil and eventually God himself on “Supernatural,” the actor admits that he will take his former character and the lessons he learned from that show “into every job I do.” The character of Walker and the character of Sam Winchester share some basic similarities, in that they both start their respective shows grieving (Sam lost his college girlfriend in the pilot of “Supernatural,” while Walker lost his wife here), and they are both good guys out to make the world a better place.

Walker, though, Fricke notes, is more of a family man, which is what will set him apart from Sam. “The brothers on ‘Supernatural’ were always so isolated with each other, but the story of the first season [of ‘Walker’] really is a man bringing his family back together and getting to know who his kids are now,” she says.

Additionally, the plan is to make Padalecki “look a little different” in order to further separate the characters. “This is someone who grew up — literally — on the network with ‘Gilmore Girls’ back when it was the WB,” Fricke says of Padalecki. “So it was important to him to be, frankly, a man and to be his own person. We’ve discussed a lot in terms of having him be a little scruffier. His character on ‘Supernatural’ is usually clean-shaven, but [we’re] adding that adult side to him.”

“Walker” will shoot in Austin, Texas, which is also the setting of the show. Fricke feels “fortunate” to do so, to truly “capture the essence of Austin.” With the state of health and safety concerns still very high within the United States amid the ongoing pandemic, Fricke notes her writers’ room also takes specific passes through the scripts to look for places where they can remove contact between actors.

“We’ve taken all of the handshakes out. We’re starting family dinner scenes with everybody already sitting so we skip the hugs and things like that,” she says. “Our production team is very conservative. We’re having conversations with actors about what they feel safe with. So while there is romance, a lot of it is implied. In general we’re trying to do a lot of old-school implication [such as] longing looks. It’s a real dilemma in thinking how to approach filming in a time of COVID.”

“Supernatural” has enjoyed 15 years of masked and made-up characters roaming the set, but in the final weeks of production, a different type of mask was on the minds of cast and crew.

“It was weird not seeing the faces that you’ve been looking at for 15 years, because they’re covered with a mask,” says Jensen Ackles, who plays Dean Winchester — a nomadic hunter of demons and other supernatural beings — on the show.

“It was unique, but I feel like ‘Supernatural’ has been through a lot. Writers’ strikes and network changes and characters dying and characters coming back and families and births and deaths,” says Jared Padalecki, who plays Dean’s younger brother and fellow hunter, Sam. “‘Supernatural’ is used to change, so let’s embrace it.” (...) What were your emotions going into filming this last season, given the times we’re in?

Padalecki: A lot of the unknown. I felt like, we have been going in to shoot a TV show for 15 years in “normal times,” and now it’s like “Hey, we have some regulations.” There are lanyards that have different colors and only certain people can be around certain people so we can contact trace if, God forbid, somebody contracts COVID[-19]. There’s a taped-off entrance and a taped-off exit so we can keep it one-way. All of the food is individually wrapped and there’s no browsing at craft services.

Between action and cut, it was business as usual. You’re with your director and your cameramen and women and your cinematographer and with your fellow actors and actresses. And you’re like “Got it. This is comfortable. This is like a warm blanket.”

Ackles: The good news for our industry is that you’re capable to be still working and utilizing these protocols to stay inside and stay healthy. I know that Jared and I, we take our cues from the reactions that we get from our crew members, which is essentially our audience. Our audience is the two-dozen people that are onstage with us. The guy holding the mike, the guy behind the camera, the one pulling the focus. We know that if we can make them laugh or make them cry or get some kind of emotion out of them, we’re doing something. And that got taken away. So that was interesting. We just have to rely on our instincts and on each other to tell each other, “You hit it, you nailed it, you got it.”

I miss shaking hands. I know that sounds weird. I just miss giving someone a bro hug. I know that sounds trivial, but that contact is an important part of what we do on a daily basis in terms of the tone that we set on our set. (...) You guys beat out Harry Potter as the top fandom in pop culture back in 2016. How has your understanding of fandom changed by being on a show as popular as “Supernatural?”

Padalecki: No way! I had absolutely no idea. To be mentioned in the same sentence is really a testament to just how talented our writers and crew are, and just how wonderfully and passionately supportive our fandom is. Behind the scenes, we refer to “our fandom” as “The #SPNFamily,” as they have become a family of their own. They’ve spent countless hours spreading the word about the show and showering us with the love and support that we certainly needed and felt during rough times. Being on the opposite side of that, I’ve realized just how much good people can accomplish together. A lot of them have made best friends, visited various cities, and raised an incredible amount of money and goodwill for assorted charities. It’s been an honor to be a part of it.

Ackles: We beat out Harry Potter? That’s crazy! I think that the Harry Potter fans were probably just looking for a more mature show and that was us. I will say that the fandom that this show found, or that found this show, really have become an integral part of the success of this show. They are part of the fabric of what has kept this show alive and running as hard and as fast for 15 years that it has. They are also well-connected, which is really rare for a show that started 15 years ago. It’s probably more customary now for fans to get online and have chat rooms. “Supernatural” started before the iPhone was around. We were still shooting on 35mm film.

It seemed that, during many previous seasons, the show could’ve ended. Now that it has, was your walk into the sunset what you imagined?

Padalecki: Let’s just say, our last scene — we don’t know if they’re alive or dead, but the last scene that I filmed as Sam Winchester, both as Sam and as Jared, I could not be more happy.

For the first several seasons, and that’s the nature of TV, it’s written to where it could end or it could stay around because you don’t really know for a couple of months whether you’re going back to work or not. I would say that probably when Mark Pedowitz came into the network and said he believed in the show, that’s when I was like, “OK. Let’s make the show that we only can do with the support of the head of our network.”

Ackles: I feel like this was the version that needed to happen — that needed to exist. There could’ve been other ways of maybe getting to there, but I think the finality of this is right. I also think that this could’ve been done a long time ago. To be fair, Eric Kripke, who started the show and created the world, said he had five years and he stuck to it. That could’ve very easily been the whole run of the show. The fact that he left that door open and we were able to go through it and find another 10 years of story was just a testament to what a great world he built and what great characters he created.

What kept you around for 15 years?

Ackles: There’s an old adage in Hollywood, ‘You want to see an actor complain, give him a job.’ Well, that wasn’t going to happen with me. The last thing I wanted to do was sabotage a good gig just to go back and find another one. I was super stoked right off of the bat with the story and this character. It’s the kind of character I always loved seeing in movies. The character was modeled after Han Solo and another one of Harrison’s [Ford] characters, Indiana Jones. He had some of that flavor in there. Kind of a John McClane. ...

When it comes down to it, why did I stick around all these years? Because I truly loved it.