The Lesson Adam Glass Learned From Producing Supernatural That He Brought To In From The Cold - Exclusive

Netflix's propulsive series "In From the Cold" is billed as a spy thriller, but it's also so much more than that. It's a drama about revisiting the sins of the past, a fantasy about a singular individual with superhero-like abilities, and a celebration of the vitality and capability of mothers. Stirring in all those different ingredients was a priority to creator and showrunner Adam Glass, a veteran of series like "Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders," "The Chi," and "Supernatural."

Glass brought what he learned from producing those very different series to "In From the Cold," but it was his time on "Supernatural" that seemed to guide him the most. Glass served as a writer and producer on the fantasy horror series for five seasons, helping it become the longest genre show on broadcast television of all time. Given that background, it's no surprise the story of "In From the Cold" is as emotionally resonant as it is fantastical and action-packed.

In an exclusive interview, Glass spoke to Looper about how his impressive TV credits influenced the development of "In From the Cold" and the lesson he learned on "Supernatural" that was central to his approach to his new series.

Glass was quick to note that the knowledge he gained from working on previous shows played a role in the conception and development of "In From the Cold." "At the end of the day, especially as artists and craftspeople, you can't help but be influenced by everything that happened to you before," Glass observed. "I think it really comes out in the show."

While Glass pointed to the value of his experience on procedural series like "Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders" and "Cold Case" and dramas like "The Chi" and "Barkskins," he indicated that his most important insight into how to tackle "In From the Cold" came from his time on "Supernatural." "What I learned on 'Supernatural' was how to ground things in emotion, right?" Glass explained. "You know, ['Supernatural' main characters] Sam and Dean, that's really what the show's about, these two brothers and their love for each other and what they're willing to do. People always use the term of, 'I'll go to hell and back for someone.' These guys actually do go to hell and back for each other, so you're following that story. Again, even though we have some stuff in here, it's all emotion, it's all grounded in reality."

In fact, it became essential to the entire cast and crew of "In From the Cold" that the show remained grounded in genuine emotion. "One of the things ["In From the Cold" star] Margarita [Levieva] and I and the cast talked about from the beginning was, let's play this real, let's play this emotional," Glass revealed. "We were, in our minds, making a drama. We knew we were making a spy show, don't get me wrong, but it was always about reality. What's the real emotional [connection], what's the real feeling, and what really would somebody be going through in this, no matter how crazy the story gets spy-wise or with any of the genre stuff. It was really important to us that it was always true, emotionally."

"In From the Cold" is now streaming on Netflix.