Given the number of seasons Supernatural has had – and the variety of beloved characters who've been introduced, lived, died, returned, rinse, repeated, or just plain passed through the Winchester's lives – there's no doubt there are plenty of spin-off possibilities for the incredibly popular CW show.
Except there”s only been one spinoff attempt in the Eleven Seasons the show's been on the air. Back in Season Nine, there was and an episode titled “Bloodlines.” Supernatural hedged their bets by having the episode act as a backdoor pilot. Had it been a hit, Supernatural: Bloodlines would”ve focused on the clash between monsters and hunters in Chicago. When it was met with a middling reaction from fans, The CW was able to scrap the idea. No harm, no foul, no spin-off. Now that we're midway into Season 11, you have to ask yourself if it's ever going to happen.
For many fans, “Hibbing 911” in Season 10 was the episode we wish had actually been a spinoff pilot. “Hibbing” teamed up fan favorite and Winchester surrogate mom Sheriff Jody Mills (Kim Rhodes) with Brianna Buckmaster, reprising her Season Nine role as Sheriff Donna Hanscum.
Both Rhodes and Buckmaster were great on their own, but there was something about “Hibbing” that felt like magic and fans immediately clamored for more. Not only were both women talented and funny, but both of their characters had been spared from the (let”s be fair) show”s tendency to kill off female characters.
Those characteristics combined into the desire for a female-led spin-off. One that was bubbling along in the fandom. But then a few things happened that kicked the spin-off idea machine into high gear and the Wayward Daughters were born.
According to Superwiki:
At the end of 9.19 Alex Annie Alexis Ann, Sheriff Jody Mills took Alex Jones, a young woman who had been held captive by a nest of vampires, home to live her. Later, in 10.20 Angel Heart Claire Novak is reunited with her mother Amelia Novak only to then tragically lose her. Sam, Dean and Cas also send her to Jody Mills while she heals. As she leaves she says “This is some sort of halfway house for wayward girls?”, and an idea was born – Donna and Jody running a homebase for young women as a spin-off of Supernatural.
Two fans – Riley and Betty – set up a Twitter and Tumblr account to promote the idea with a letter writing campaign and petition. The idea captured the imagination of fans and actors including Kim Rhodes and Briana Buckmaster.
The idea of Wayward Daughters has expanded to support promoting positive female representation in Supernatural, and also the idea of fangirls supporting each other. In December 2015, Kim and Briana ran a campaign through Creation Stands, selling Wayward Daughters tee shirts with proceeds going to Random Acts. As part of the campaign fans posted what the campaign meant to them under the tag #istandwityhwaywarddaughters.
In addition to the t-shirts and the fundraiser, the idea of the Wayward Daughters has generated a conversation throughout the fandom and beyond about the role of women in Supernatural. With the notable exceptions of Jody, Donna, Claire, and Alex, women haven't had great life expectancy rates. After Felicia Day”s Charlie was killed off in Season 10, fans were not happy (I, for one, was really not happy), both about the death itself and the manner of it. If Supernatural can figure out how to get beloved character Bobby Singer on the show after he died, then bringing Charlie back to be one of the Wayward Daughters doesn”t seem all that impossible, right?
For now, the Wayward Daughters are an idea and a fan-fueled project. But, you have to admit, the Wayward Daughter”s Academy is a lot closer to the Supernatural universe than the one in Bloodlines –– and it has a lot of guaranteed viewers.
Carry on, my Wayward Daughters.