The CW Source

Happy birthday to Eric Kripke! The creator of Supernatural turns 34 today, and lucky for us, he’s giving us a present! Yep, it’s the first new episode of Supernatural in what seems like way too long. Thanks, Kripke!

We’ve long adored Kripke here at The CW Source. Not only is he the brain behind one of our favorite shows, he also had the smarts to cast two of our favorite actors in the starring roles. Plus, Kripke is open, funny, and willing to talk to (and listen to!) fans – check out his latest interview with TV Guide where he talks about listening to the fans and how he and the rest of the writing staff make decisions on what stays and what goes:

I have a core story that I want to tell, and I've never wavered from it, not once. It's the saga of the Winchester clan — who the brothers really are, who their parents really are, why Demons are so closely intertwined with them, what their destiny really is. It's an epic, emotional family story at its heart, and to me, that's what Supernatural is really and truly about.

Beyond that, story elements come and go, some are introduced, and others discarded. And whether we keep a storyline or toss it is based on several elements: the writers' opinions, the realities of actors' schedules, and yes, at times, the opinions of the fans. We value the fan response. It works as a kind of real-time audience testing. We never listen to specific comments…. But if the fans overwhelmingly reject something, over and over and over, on every website, we tend to pay attention to that.

How can you not love a showrunner who says stuff like that?

So happy birthday, Kripke. We don’t know how you’re celebrating, but we’ll raise a glass to you while we dig into the new episode of Supernatural. Thanks!