Jensen Ackles from Supernatural was interviewed by TV Line while at San Diego Comic-Con this weekend, and interviewer Michael Ausiello asked a pressing question the fandom has been wondering: Why are there fewer episodes in Season 14?
Many fans were worried that the shorter season was an indicator that Supernatural was coming to an end. However, it seems that the season count was thrown off years ago by the Writers Guild of America strike in 2007, and it’s being fixed now so that we will continue to have new episodes of our favorite show for more seasons to come.
As Ackles says in the video:
When Jared (Padalecki) and I sit down and we talk about do we want to do this, do we want to continue to do this, it’s not about the things it’s usually about when these types of conversations usually come up. It’s not like, ‘Oh, I want more money, or I want a bigger trailer.’ The conversation is quality of life.”
Ackles goes on to explain that by cutting the season down by three episodes, he and Padalecki get more time at home with their families, adding on almost an entire month to their hiatus.
Ackles ends the interview with a tease about continuing the show for years to come.
“And who knows, if it’s like, all of a sudden, we don’t feel like we’ve run a marathon by the end of the season and we’re actually still pretty energized… then it’s like, hey! I could do this for another several years! I think we just found the pocket here. It’s still giving the network and studio enough content to do what they need to do, it’s just pulling it back a little bit – just a little bit – to give us a little reprieve.”
Check out the entire video below from TV Line, and watch while Ackles talks more about playing Michael, how long that role might last, and how Sam is dealing with his brother being possessed by an archangel.