Will Supernatural prequel series The Winchesters be on Netflix?

After several failed attempts (Bloodlines, Wayward Sisters) a Supernatural prequel series is finally happening. The Winchesters premieres on The CW this fall but will it come to Netflix?

The new show will center on John and Mary Winchester, specifically how the two met, fell in love and put everything on the line to save the world. While it is not focused on the brothers we knew and loved for 15 seasons, Sam and Dean, Jensen Ackles is set to return to narrate the series from Dean’s perspective. He’s even shown in the trailer, which was a nice surprise, although I don’t think Dean himself will play a big role in the show, the cameos are welcome.

The Winchesters will star Drake Rodger as John Winchester and Meg Donnelly as Mary Campbell. It is set to premiere on Tuesday nights at 8/9c this fall. Production started on the show in April in New Orleans and will likely carry through the summer. Jensen and his wife, Danneel Ackles, will also executive produce the show.

Fans of CW shows have become used to watching the shows on Netflix thanks to a lucrative deal made between the network and streamer years ago. Since then, CW shows moved to Netflix about eight days after the finale premiered. Does that mean The Winchesters will eventually stream on Netflix?

Supernatural prequel series The Winchesters will not stream on Netflix

Unfortunately, no. The Netflix/CW deal expired a while ago. The deal went into effect in 2011 and was renewed in 2016. Shows that were already on the service at the time of the deal, such as Dynasty, The Flash and Riverdale, will remain with new seasons being added as per usual until the shows end.

Other CW shows were starting to be shopped individually until Warner Brothers’ streaming service HBO Max came into play. Now CW shows go to HBO Max, at least for now. CW is co-owned by Warner Bros. and CBS, but at the time of the deal CBS was transitioning into Paramount+ and couldn’t really make a deal. In the future, it’s possible shows could move to Paramount+ from HBO Max, but it’s too early to tell.

Either way, The Winchesters is probably going to HBO Max because it is a Warner Bros. show, just like its predecessor. That said, you can still watch all of Supernatural on Netflix as the long-running series was licensed to Netflix during the original CW/Netflix deal ages ago. It will remain on the streaming service for now, but I assume someday it’ll move to HBO Max, too.