Why Bloodlines ultimately failed as a Supernatural spin-off

Photo Credit: Supernatural/The CW Image Acquired from CW TV PR

Not all spin-offs are successful. Bloodlines was Supernatural’s first official attempt at a spin-off. Despite having potential, it flopped instantly.

Bloodlines was never meant to be. Despite the initial potential in the series, the Supernatural spin-off flopped before it even got off the ground. In fact, it flopped part way through the airing of the backdoor pilot episode.

Just why was that the case? If it had so much potential, while couldn’t it live up to expectations and draw fans in.

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There’s one specific reason why it failed. A reason that makes Wayward Sisters a highly anticipated Supernatural spin-off.

It’s all about the main characters

While some fans say it didn’t have the Winchesters, that’s not the reason Bloodlines failed. The truth is that it didn’t have someone from the show that we’d already seen at least once.

Quite honestly, the main characters just weren’t enough to draw fans in. The SPN Family hadn’t got a chance to get to know them before they backdoor pilot. There was no interest in whether people lived or died. We just didn’t care enough about the family war between the five types of creatures.

If Bloodlines really wanted to succeed, it needed to have someone that we could connect to; someone that had been around for a few episodes first. Just one character would have helped, although two or three would have been better.

Photo Credit: Supernatural/The CW Image Acquired from CW TV PR

Garth would have been a perfect character to add into the Supernatural spin-off. Or one of the intended main characters could have been introduced in a few episodes earlier. It would have been a good way to see if there was love for an individual before setting up the backdoor pilot storyline.

This is where Wayward Sisters will succeed. The first main character announced was Kim Rhodes, who plays Sheriff Jody Mills. We’ve already come to know and love her. Then other known characters were added, including Claire Novak and Donna Hanscum. Sure, there are a couple of new faces, but the known ones will help to draw fans in first.

Photo Credit: Supernatural/The CW Image Acquired from CW TV PR

Past spin-offs have shown familiarity is necessary

When you look at spin-offs from other shows, you can see this need for familiarity. A backdoor pilot isn’t enough.

When Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s spin-off Angel took off, it had both David Boreanaz and Charisma Carpenter to hold the fort and then Alexis Denisof joined the team. When The Originals was created from The Vampire Diaries, the Mikaelson siblings moved into the new show to bring their fans. Time and time again, spin-offs have succeeded because of the familiarity with the main characters.

Photo Credit: Supernatural/The CW Image Acquired from CW TV PR

Bloodlines certainly had potential, but not really as a Supernatural spin-off. Maybe the show idea could be brought back up again, but this time as a standalone show and not a way to piggy back off the Winchesters.

Next: What was the first Supernatural spin-off considered?

Why do you think Bloodlines ultimately failed as a Supernatural spin-off? Share in the comments below.

Supernatural Season 13 premieres on Oct. 12 at 8/7c on The CW.

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