Supernatural: Bloodlines - Why The CW Spin-Off Failed, According To The Creator

"Supernatural" is among the most popular and long-running shows that The CW has ever had. Running for 15 seasons and boasting over 300 episodes, the neverending road trip of demon hunter brothers Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles) was kept alive by a diehard fanbase for longer than even its creator, Eric Kripke, foresaw.

Still, that doesn't mean that the franchise is untouchable. As the failure of the recent spin-off, "The Winchesters," which was canceled after only a single season, shows, "Supernatural" loses something when it's not following Sam and Dean across the highways and backroads of America.

However, this isn't the first time that a "Supernatural" spin-off has failed to meet expectations. "Supernatural: Bloodlines" was a proposed spin-off that was meant to be set in Chicago and follow the struggles between the rival factions of monsters that control the city. Unfortunately, as producer Andrew Dabb told TV Guide, the show didn't work out for a couple of reasons. "I think the biggest problem for us was, number one, timing," Dabb explained. "Our idea, in hindsight, was probably a little too similar to 'The Originals.'"

For those who don't recall, "The Vampire Diaries" spin-off "The Originals" follows a similar premise to "Supernatural: Bloodlines," but it's set in New Orleans rather than Chicago. The series also focused on rival factions of vampires, witches, and werewolves who were seeking to gain control over their city, only with shades of "Twilight" added in for good measure.

"We wanted to do something set in the 'Supernatural' world but very unlike 'Supernatural,'" Dabb said. "At that point, Supernatural [was] going strong. We didn't know when it was ending, but it certainly didn't feel like it was on its way out, and so we were really worried about taking any elements from the show," the producer explained.

Sadly, the backdoor pilot for the proposed spin-off failed to generate enough interest from fans, and The CW decided to skip over "Supernatural: Bloodlines" rather than granting the show a full season. To make matters worse, though, this wasn't the last time a backdoor pilot would fail for the series, as Season 13, Episode 10 ("Wayward Sisters") also failed to generate its hopeful spin-off.

Now, with the failure of "The Winchesters," it would seem that the secret that made "Supernatural" tick for all of these years was the bond between Sam and Dean and the screen presence of the performers who played them. Either way, 15 seasons is still a heck of a run, even if none of the show's spin-offs have really taken off.