Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles won Us over when they played brothers on Supernatural — and they have remained booked and busy since The CW show came to an end.
Padalecki and Ackles played the monster-hunting duo from 2005 to 2020. After appearing in over 300 episodes of the hit series, Padalecki exclusively told Us Weekly that he felt he would “never really say goodbye” to his character.
“We really have become a family,” he said at the time about the journey. “Over 15 years, we’ve cut the fat. We didn’t fire anybody but if they didn’t like being there, they move on. So the people that are there want to be there.”
Ackles felt the same way, which inspired him to expand the Supernatural universe. (The Winchesters series ran from 2022 to 2023 and focused on Dean (Ackles) and Sam’s (Padalecki) parents in the ’70s.)
“It’s a long journey,” Ackles teased during a TV Critics’ Association press tour panel that same year. “I don’t think it’s ever going to be over. It’s just going to go away for a while. I don’t know how long.”
Outside of Supernatural, Padalecki and Ackles have scored a plethora of opportunities — some of which even allowed them to cross paths again with each other or their former costars. Keep scrolling for an extensive breakdown of their ongoing list of TV projects:
‘Walker’ Universe
Padalecki initially remained at The CW after wrapping up Supernatural. He was cast as the lead on the Walker, Texas Ranger reboot from 2020 to 2024, where he also served as executive producer. After Walker inspired the Walker: Independence prequel, Padalecki had an unnamed cameo in one episode.
Ackles, meanwhile, joined Walker as a director, but also scored a cameo in the role of Miles Vyas.
‘Fire Country’ Franchise
Season 3 of CBS’ hit series Fire Country introduced Padalecki as Camden Casey in a three-episode arc meant to set up a potential spinoff. Fire Country: Surfside would follow Padalecki as a California firefighter dealing with the aftermath of his brother’s death in the field.
‘The Boys’
Ackles’ role as Soldier Boy on The Boys was a shocking departure for those of Us who loved him as Dean on Supernatural. The shakeup, however, paved the way for Ackles to score his own prequel series titled Vought Rising — and a guest spot on the Gen V spinoff.
Padalecki joined in on the fun with a role in the fifth and final season alongside Misha Collins. The opportunity reunites Padalecki with Ackles and creator Eric Kripke, who was part of Supernatural before coming onboard The Boys.
Unnamed Medical Drama
After working with showrunner Anna Fricke on Walker, Padalecki reunited with her on an untitled series for CBS about a headstrong country doctor practicing a unique style of improvisational medicine. The show is in development as part of Padalecki’s ongoing first-look deal and CBS officially opened a writers’ room to further develop the show in late 2025.
‘Big Sky’
A guest role in season 2 led to Ackles joining the main cast of Big Sky as Beau Arlen alongside Reba McEntire.
‘The Winchesters’
Ackles found a way to return to his roots with The Winchesters, a Supernatural spinoff set in an alternate continuity. The actor narrated the show as his character Dean and served as an executive producer alongside wife Danneel Ackles.
‘Tracker’
Proving once again that Ackles knows what his fans want, he signed on to play Justin Harley‘s onscreen brother on Tracker. In addition to the Smallville reunion, the introduction to Ackles as Russell paved the way for some fun Easter eggs.
‘Countdown’
The Prime Video series stars Ackles as Mark, a LAPD officer who is recruited to join a secret task force of undercover agents from all branches of law enforcement to investigate a suspicious murder that takes place in broad daylight.
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