Supernatural: Every Season Ranked

When running for 15 years, any television show is guaranteed to have its ups and downs, and when it comes to the Supernatural seasons ranked, it’s evident that certain seasons are better than others. In 2005, a story about two brothers searching for their father while they went up against ghosts, demons, and all manners of creatures that go bump in the night premiered on The WB and went on to run more for than a decade, airing its series finale on The CW in 2020.

What makes for a great season of Supernatural boils down to a cohesive, long-running story arc combined with monsters of the week. Character growth and compelling villains are also a must. The longer the series ran, the more some of the stories became repetitive, but the writers were able to take bigger risks with the Winchesters’ arcs. As a result, the later seasons of the series might not be the greatest, but they certainly have some of the most creative elements of the show. The best Supernatural seasons, however, remain the earliest ones.

15 Season 14 (2018–2019)

20 Episodes

The idea of Sam and Dean being the vessels for archangels Michael and Lucifer begins early in the show, and the storyline nearly never ends. It’s retread in season 14 to an extent, which explains the lack of love for the penultimate season. Lucifer’s former vessel, Nick, spends the bulk of the season trying to avenge the murder of his family — and get Lucifer back.

The final season features one of the best season finales, when the Winchester brothers had to battle an army of the undead.

Dean, having been Michael’s vessel, also finds himself going through a lot of changes as the ramifications of getting rid of Michael hit him. It was nice to see Jensen Ackles explore this new side. However, while the season features appearances from fan favorites, like Jody Mills and Bobby Singer, it wasn’t up to the level of the rest. On the positive side, the final season features one of the best season finales, when the Winchester brothers had to battle an army of the undead that God had sent after them.

14 Season 15 (2019–2020)

20 Episodes

The final season of Supernatural was uneven. While the writers did their best to satisfy the audience by closing out old stories and bringing back a huge number of characters from the Winchesters’ past, the Supernatural finale didn’t bring the closure some fans wanted — despite being the only season of the series not to end with a cliffhanger. The main antagonist for season 15, after years of going between numerous demons and angels, is God himself.

It makes perfect sense that the show ends that way, though fans remain angry not just about certain character deaths but the manner in which they happened. With the Supernatural seasons ranked, season 15 felt like an anticlimactic ending for the show and the characters that were so beloved. The finale, while not how fans wanted it to play out, did a solid job of wrapping things up for Sam and Dean Winchester based on their journey for the past 15 seasons.

13 Season 12 (2016–2017)

23 Episodes

Even though this season worked to answer many long-standing questions and tie up plenty of loose end, while still opening the door to new storylines, it didn’t work as well as a whole. Season 12 tried to open a few too many doors before closing others, making it seem jumbled and too busy. The season features the Winchesters on the trail of Lucifer, as usual, but also reintroduces his yellow-eyed demons, confirming them as his Princes of Hell and the first demons created after Lilith.

One particular highlight is Mary Winchester returning from the dead

It also features a bit of a double-cross from Crowley, the introduction of part-human-part-angel Jack, and the idea that alternate universes exist. Supernatural still manages to expand on its mythology and give the audience answers after 12 years of content, though. One particular highlight is Mary Winchester returning from the dead, which gave the boys a small victory, although it wouldn’t last.

12 Season 13 (2017–2018)

23 Episodes

Season 13 of Supernatural brought back a lot of characters previously killed off on the series. Of course, the bulk of those dead characters weren’t themselves but counterparts from the Apocalypse World. It allowed the writers to have some creative fun with those characters, but it also meant disappointing moments with favorites like Kevin (albeit, the Apocalypse version of him) dying. Despite this, it was nice to see many of these characters again after their original demise, giving this season a nostalgic feel.

Wayward Sisters
was supposed to be a Supernatural spinoff but never made it to air.

Season 13 also features a backdoor pilot, as it brings Jody Mills and a handful of teenage girls who know about the supernatural together as they help the Winchesters. Their series would have been Wayward Sisters, but it never came to fruition, and it’s one of the biggest losses for the Supernatural universe. With all that said, this season brought the world “ScoobyNatural,” which remains one of the best episodes of the entire series, as Sam and Dean end up in a Scooby-Doo cartoon mystery.

11 Season 9 (2013–2014)

23 Episodes

One of the biggest Supernatural seasons that focuses on the conflict among angels, season 9 sees two separate factions go after Castiel. With Castiel having previously lost his grace, he has no angelic power, forcing him to live as a human and making him vulnerable. While Castiel’s story is compelling, season 9 of Supernatural features too much back and forth with the angels and the Winchester brothers and not enough actual cohesive story development.

Sam and Dean differ on how to handle multiple situations, causing them to go their separate ways. Their separation causes them to take desperate courses of action. Dean decides to get the Mark of Cain to give himself the power to wield the First Blade against an enemy, but it has serious consequences, including Dean being turned into a demon at the end of the season. This is also the season that saw Kevin Tran die, as well as airing another failed backdoor pilot in “Bloodlines.”

10 Season 7 (2011–2012)

23 Episodes

With Castiel declaring himself the new God after absorbing every soul in Purgatory, this season of Supernatural started to take the show in a slightly new direction with its angel and demon mythology. The only beings whose souls Castiel doesn’t end up returning after his journey is over are those of the Leviathans. Leviathans also happen to be the oldest and most powerful, as the first monsters created by God. It introduces a whole new — and very strong — entity for the Winchesters to battle.

While the brothers’ previous journeys always saw them quickly finding answers to their supernatural problems, nothing they’ve already learned works against the Leviathans, making for a very tense and entertaining season. It’s also one of the most divisive seasons when every season of Supernatural is ranked. The incredibly difficult-to-fight Leviathans remain great monsters, but the CGI is disappointing, and the story begins to drag after a while. Sadly, season 7 is also when Bobby died.

9 Season 8 (2012–2013)

23 Episodes

One of the most fascinating parts of Supernatural is how it tackles its mythology regarding angels. Their story gets significantly expanded in season 8 as Dean Winchester returns to Earth from Purgatory, and Castiel finds himself resurrected and used by another angel to achieve her ends. There is a lot to like here, including Dean working with a vampire named Benny and Charlie’s return in “LARP and the Real Girl.” However, there is too much time spent with Sam and Dean fighting each other.

This season introduces the Men of Letters.

Season 8 also sees Sam and Dean cross paths with a young version of their grandfather, Henry Winchester, as the man uses a time travel spell to get to the future, expanding on the story of the Men of Letters, which becomes a big story point for the show moving forward. Season 8 of Supernatural provides much new information while still being more entertaining than season 7.

8 Season 6 (2010–2011)

22 Episodes

Season 5 marked the end of original showrunner Eric Kripke’s plan for the series. With season 6 of Supernatural, the story picked up a year later, revealing Dean attempting to live a normal life but being unable to when Sam returns from Hell. With the original series supposed to end with Sam’s sacrifice to save the world, this moves back to the status quo. Throughout 22 episodes, Dean discovers that his brother has returned to him, but his soul hasn’t, and he formulates a plan to get it back.

Castiel also becomes a surprising antagonist as he works in the background with Crowley to release all the souls from Purgatory so that he can absorb them and take over the role of God himself. With the Civil War raging in Heaven, this sets up a much bigger battle down the line for the Winchester boys. The season provides the right balance of mythology-based episodes and a focus on the relationship between the Winchester brothers, making it a popular season that hits the reset button for the show.

7 Season 10 (2014–2015)

23 Episodes

Dean begins Supernatural’s 10th season as a demon working for Crowley, so Castiel and Sam must find a way to make him human again. The Mark of Cain, however, proves to make things difficult for Dean throughout the season as he gives in to his darkness repeatedly. While Dean’s struggle is the season’s big story, it’s also known for introducing a fan-favorite villain: Rowena.

The witch turns out to be Crowley’s mother, and it’s Rowena who rids Dean of the Mark of Cain, releasing the villain that comes into play the next season. Season 10 also features one of the most fun meta-entries in the show: the Supernatural musical. Supernatural being able to make fun of itself while still acknowledging the love the fans had for it is part of what makes it so popular. Watching Dean and Sam revisit their life story in this musical with the song “Carry On” is a wonderful moment.

6 Season 1 (2005–2006)

22 Episodes

For many long-running television series, season 1 is rarely as good as later seasons because shows are still finding their footing. The first complete Supernatural story arc, however, is looked upon extremely fondly by fans and is considered one of the best seasons of the show. Originally, Supernatural kicks off with monster-of-the-week episodes as Sam and Dean search for their missing father. Having Jeffrey Dean Morgan in the cast as patriarch John Winchester, even if (mostly) just for one season, was a great addition.

Raised by a dad who hunted supernatural creatures and tracked down urban legends, Sam wants no part of the hunt, while Dean follows in John’s footsteps. This tension causes the brothers to grow closer as they search for their dad, setting up their deep bond for the rest of the series. Supernatural season 1 sprinkles in just enough mythology for the longer-range storylines to keep fans engrossed and kickstart the series.

5 Season 11 (2015–2016)

23 Episodes

Season 11 of Supernatural is all about The Darkness, also known as Amara. Expanding on the show’s mythology surrounding God, Amara is revealed to be God’s sister and wants revenge for her brother banishing her. The season-long struggle sees the Winchesters turn to Lucifer for help, who uses Castiel as a host. Angels and demons unite in the struggle against Amara, though she eventually reconciles with her brother — and even grants one of Dean’s biggest wishes.

The best episode is “Baby,” which is from Dean’s car’s point of view.

The season ends with Amara resurrecting Sam and Dean’s mother, Mary, moving the show into new territory for the following seasons. Season 11 is a breath of fresh air in the show’s last five seasons, not retreading old stories and delivering the best episodes in the last half of the series. This is the season that reveals that Chuck is God, and he has been writing “Supernatural” for years, putting the boys through all these troubles for his amusement. The best episode is “Baby,” which is from Dean’s car’s point of view.

4 Season 2 (2006–2007)

22 Episodes

If the first season of Supernatural introduced the audience to the Winchester brothers, it’s season 2 that sets the foundation for the show. In it, the brothers track down the demon Azazel, one of the series’s best antagonists. The season also expands the world of the hunters, introducing several allies for Sam and Dean. Season 2 brings the Harvelles, Ash, and Bobby to the fray, who become huge parts of the show moving forward.

Season 1 did a good job of introducing Dean and Sam to the world, and season 2 opened up their world and showed how big it really is. It is this season that begins to show the enormity of the challenge that hunters face and just how small their network is, as everyone knows everyone else. The best episodes are “Heart” and “Nightshifter,” which show both the boys’ challenges in defeating tricky demons and the heartbreak involved when innocents fall during the battles.

3 Season 3 (2007–2008)

16 Episodes

The best three seasons of Supernatural happened starting in season 3 and finished with Eric Kripke’s final season in the fifth. This specific season is also the shortest of Supernatural. With just 16 episodes, season 3 was shortened from the original 22 as a result of the 2007 writers’ strike. That shortened format seems to work in the fans’ favor as storylines were condensed and there were fewer standalone episodes for the season.

In season 2, Dean makes a deal to send his soul to Hell a year later. Much of season 3 is spent trying to ensure Dean doesn’t wind up in Hell. This brings about the introduction of Ruby, who claims to be able to find a way out of Dean’s contract. It also introduces the idea of Lilith, who holds the contract on Dean’s soul, as well as the frightening Hellhounds. The season even features an homage to fairy tales in “Bedtime Stories,” which remains a fan-favorite episode full of Easter eggs.

2 Season 4 (2008–2009)

22 Episodes

The big arc of Supernatural’s fourth outing is Lilith attempting to break the 66 seals that will allow Lucifer to walk the Earth. Castiel is also introduced as he rescues Dean from Hell and tries to help the Winchesters prevent Lilith from succeeding. Lillith’s breaking of the seals put a countdown clock on the episodes because it felt inevitable that the story would get to that final seal. It made the season fantastically tense, and the conflict between Sam and Dean drove the bulk of the stories.

The end of the season brings Lucifer to the series in the flesh for the first time

Sam and Dean, as par for the course, find themselves on opposite sides of a big issue, even though their goal is the same. Dean is worried about Sam embracing his darker side, and Sam thinks he can control his darker side, that it’s a risk he needs to take to stop Lilith. Lilith does eventually succeed in her plan, having used Ruby to manipulate Sam right into her path. The end of the season brings Lucifer to the series in the flesh for the first time and changes everything for the Winchesters.

1 Season 5 (2009–2010)

22 Episodes

Originally, season 5 of Supernatural was to be the finale of the show. It is Eric Kripke’s final season as the showrunner and the last season of the original story plan for the series, which is largely what makes it work so well. With Lucifer released from his cage at the end of season 4, this one sees the Winchesters try to stop him on Earth. Sam is meant to become Lucifer’s vessel, while Dean is meant to become the angel Michael’s as the apocalypse looms in the distance.

Both brothers try to avoid their fate as much as possible, but nothing works out how they want it to. Their half-brother ends up as Michael’s vessel, while Sam gives his own body to Lucifer, using it to trap Lucifer in his cage all over again. Season 5 ties up a lot of storylines, leaving a few open-ended questions, and acts as a culmination of everything that came before it. The season also has the ultimate sacrifice, which hit hard when it happened. It was the strongest and best season of Supernatural.

What Was The Key To Supernatural’s Longevity?

Supernatural defied the odds to run for 15 seasons. While procedural dramas on big networks (think Law & Order, Grey’s Anatomy, or NCIS) are able to run for more than a decade because of their rotation of main cast members out and case-of-the-week formats, it’s unusual for a drama focused on a smaller number of characters on a smaller network to run for that long. The small network and the focus on, initially, just Sam and Dean, however, is largely what worked in Supernatural’s favor for so long.

Despite featuring different creatures and supernatural occurrences every week, Supernatural didn’t have a huge budget. That’s especially true of the earliest seasons of the show. As show creator Eric Kripke explained to The Hollywood Reporter:

Supernatural was not an expensive show to produce… Supernatural did just well enough that it just wasn’t in the red. And when we started, it was the network of Gossip Girl and 90210. We were the one Goth kid in the back of the class — but, by the time we left, the entire place was genre-nerd central.

The series worked with a surprisingly large number of practical effects and hiding things in shadow to make them more mysterious. By placing the focus squarely on Sam and Dean during most of the run of the show, it meant the audience got to watch those characters develop fully. They weren’t focusing on flashy sequences, but character dynamics and the lore connected to the Winchester family.

The first five seasons of the show also had one solid story arc before the show expanded further to address different mythologies and began adding more regular recurring characters who would become fan favorites. Outside of Sam and Dean, Castiel, who began appearing in the show in the fourth season, and Crowley, who became more prominent in season 7, got the most development. Bobby also appeared throughout the entire run of the show, even in death.

That’s not to say there are not a number of other fan favorites, but there’s a reason those core characters appear in the most episodes of the show. They get the most development and the most emotional punch.

A smaller regular cast also contributed to that smaller budget as well as fan loyalty as fans grew to love those characters. That fan loyalty, ultimately, is what helped the show last for so long. Every time fans even caught a rumor of the possibility of the show being canceled, fan campaigns began to help convince the CW to keep the series. Fans also regularly raised money for charity on behalf of the stars of the show, demonstrating that the show could help do some good in the world.

Beyond that, the show’s ratings might not have been stellar when the series aired live, but the CW didn’t need huge ratings for a show that became a hit on streaming as Netflix grew in popularity. The CW made lucrative deals with Netflix to stream the show in countries all over the world, which only increased the popularity of the series. An increase in popularity also meant an increase in merchandising from the CW as licensed material was sold to outside companies.

Even if not every season of the show could be the best or get the highest ratings for the network, loyal Supernatural fans who streamed the show, told their friends about it, and engaged with other fans all over the world, helped to keep the show going and profitable for 15 seasons of television.