Supernatural in Pop Culture
You really know a TV Show has had an impact when it starts getting referenced itself in popular culture. The following are references to Supernatural on TV, comics, and books.
MAD
MAD is an animated comedy show on the Cartoon Network. It is based on MAD Magazine, which has been running since 1952. Like the magazine, the series parodies popular shows, movies and products. Supernatural has been referenced three times on the show.
- Season 1, Episode 26 (June 20, 2011) "GleeVR". Sue Sylvester from Glee has invented a DVR machine that turns any TV show into a musical -- including Supernatural. Watch the sketch here.
- Season 2, Episode 12 (November 21, 2011) "Barry Kirschbaum, Ghost Attorney". A female ghost mentions she was able to get a restraining order on the Winchester brothers.
- Season 2, Episode 14 (December 5, 2011) "My Supernatural Sweet 16". Sam and Dean end up in drag at a sweet 16 party as they investigate a possessed teen. A spoof of Supernatural along with the MTV reality series My Super Sweet 16. Watch the video here.
Jeopardy!
"What is Supernatural?" has been the correct answer on the quiz show Jeopardy, such as on this occasion from 2011.
Enchantment Emporium
In the novel Enchantment Emporium by Tanya Huff, the character Charlie says she follows the Winchester rules when driving "driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole" - a quote from Dean to Sam in 1.01 Pilot.
X-Factor
X-Factor is a spin-off from the popular X-Men franchise, produced by Marvel Comics. X-Factor: Scar Tissue produced in June, 2011 contained a reference to Supernatural.
Batman
In "Resolve" (Batman Vol. 2, Issue 18) published in March 2013, Harper Row tells her gay brother Cullen that she has left a couple of his favorite Supernatural episodes with "shirtless Winchesters" on his hard drive.
Out for Blood
In Out for Blood by Alyxandra Harvey on page 18: “Come on, we’ll go drink hot chocolate and watch some old Supernatural episodes on DVD. Dean Winchester always cheers you up.”
Curtis
A Sunday morning cartoon strip about the day-to-day life of an African American family in the inner city.
Justified
Jim Beaver played Sheriff Shelby on the TV series Justified from season 2-4. A minor character at first, he became a central figure in season four. In the episode "Get Drew" which aired on March 12, 2013, Jim had his character exclaim "Balls!" -- Bobby Singer's oft-used expletive.
The Good Wife
Well -- almost. In episode "The Wheels of Justice" of the CBS legal drama The Good Wife which aired on March 31, 2013, a character uncovers some Vampire Diaries porny fan fiction originating from her boss’ IP address and email. Executive Producer Robert King said that before deciding on The Vampire Diaries they also contemplated "Sons of Anarchy fan fiction and incestuous fan fiction for Supernatural."
Hawaii 5-0
On the Hawaii 5-0 episode which aired on May 6 2013, "Hoʻopio" or "To Take Captive", a poster of Jared and Jensen can be seen in the bedroom of a kidnapped girl by her abductor who was trying to present a normal facade to the police.
Wizard of Id
Blood and Bullets
Blood and Bullets by James R. Tuck is the tale of Deacon Chalk, monster bounty hunter. The book includes the quote:
- "Sam and Dean will tussle with a vampire, but usually they are chasing down demons."
The audio book is read by Jim Beaver.
Olive Garden
In late 2014, the restaurant chain Olive Garden, included many references to Supernatural in it's Tweets.
Astroglide
Noone is quite sure how it started, but sometime in 2015 the social media twitter for personal lubricant @Astroglide revealed its love of the Supernatural fandom, and #TeamDestiel in particular. They often live tweet episodes, use Dean and Castiel to promote their product. and in 2016 were a sponsor of Wayward Cocktails
Guild Wars 2
A tombstone for John Winchester cab be spotted in the Queensdale graveyard from the MMO game Guild Wars 2.
Silk
On February 18, 2015, SuperSleepy became part of the Marvel Universe when it was mentioned in Silk written by Robbie Thompson. In the story, when Cindy's roommate Lola talks about going to a viewing party for SuperSleepy: "Its this new show about a cop and an angel and they fight monsters and its rad..."
This Ain't Supernatural
This Ain't Supernatural XXX is a porn parody of Supernatural by Hustler. In the film (a broad riff on 6.15 The French Mistake) Sam, Dean and Castiel end up in an alternate universe where they are porn stars.
The Walking Dead
A beautiful thing happened after the bloody The Walking Dead season 7 premiere -- with Jeffrey Dean Morgan in the middle, fandom gave us some great memes and then Jensen, JDM and even Michael Cudlitz got in on the action.
Penny Arcade
Penny Arcade is an online comic strip focused on gaming culture, written by Jerry Holkins and illustrated by Mike Krahulik. Supernatural has featured twice to date.
Arby's
In 2.06 No Exit, the father of the Nebraska family enter Harvelle's Roadhouse while Jo and Ellen are arguing says "We'll just... check out the Arby's down the road." Arby's is a fast food restaurant chain. In October 2016, the chain tweeted out a picture of a burger, and an anti-possession symbol in ketchup with the caption "Carry On Wayward Son." Eric Kripke responded with a tweet saying "Wait, this is a thing?? It’s weird, how flattering I find this. @Arbys #SPNFamily" In January 2018, Arby's used an Impala made from carton in a Twitter ad. After Eric Kripke commented, they sent him the Impala. Kripke responded with a photo and said "I never realized how much I needed a #Baby made out of an @Arbys carton -- until RIGHT THIS SECOND. Thanks, Arby's (another thing I never realized I'd say). @cw_spn #SPNFamily"
Superstition
Superstition follows the Hastings family, owners of a funeral home and cemetery in New Orleans, who also help their small town deal with demonic incursions. In the pilot episode the character Calvin Hastings asks family patriarch, Isaac, about the weapons he has in the trunk of his car, asking: “You got an arsenal all laid out back there like Sam and Dean?” For which Isaac replies, “Oh yeah.” Watch the scene here.
Spider-Man vs. Deadpool
In Spider-Man vs. Deadpool #23, Robbie Thompson snuck in a Supernatural homage!
The Cats that Told a Fortune
From The Cats that Told a Fortune by Karen Anne Golden, book three of The Cats That Cozy Mystery Book 3.
Lucifer
In the fourth season episode "Orgy Pants to Work" of the series Lucifer, the angel Ramiel comes to earth and Amenadiel asks if she’s come to get away from Castiel’s singing.
Supernatural made a reference to Lucifer in 11.10 The Devil in the Details. When Sam asks Lucifer what he will do if he kills Amara, and Lucifer responds that he would "move to LA. Solve crimes" referencing the premise of the Lucifer series.
Daybreak
Daybreak was a 2019 series set in post-apocalyptic L.A. and starred Colin Ford who has played young Sam Winchester multiple times on Supernatural. In Daybreak Colin's character is searching for a girl called Samaira Dean aka Sam Dean. Amazingly, according to Ford the writers said this was this was coincidental and was not a shout out to Supernatural !
You
The TV series You by ex-Supernatural writer and showrunner Sera Gamble moved locations in its second season to Los Angeles from New York. There is a reference to Jared Padalecki in the second episode. Sera has said that the show is set in the same universe as the 6.15 The French Mistake.
Winter Soldier
Artist Rod Reis used Jared as an inspiration for Bucky Barnes in the comic "Winter Soldier: Second Chances", which Reis created with author Kyle Higgins.
Nova
Artist Raf Grassetti confirmed he used Jared as a reference for his artwork of the Marvel superhero Nova.
Legends of Tomorrow
A familiar car was spotted in photos for "Zari, Not Zari' the March 24th, 2020 episode of Legends of Tomorrow, and Sarah Lance is seen holding a notice about the filming of Supernatural. episode's plot has Constantine, Charlie, and Sara traveling to British Columbia and running into the Supernatural crew filming an episode with the Impala. The car was a fan car, not one from the show. Showrunner Phil Klemmer said:
- "From the beginning, we knew that we wanted to set an episode in modern-day Vancouver, because directly following the crossover that was all we could afford… I’m kidding, sorta, not really. Anyway, we wanted to do a spooky, Predator-style skulk-around-the-woods episode and at the 11th hour decided to have the Legends intersect with the crew of Supernatural. This was the inspired choice of our producing director Kevin Mock, I believe. In our world Supernatural is a TV show, not a real thing. Sorry, Supernatural fans."
- The [Supernatural] producers were incredibly gracious and enthusiastic about this tip of the hat, however. They even let us borrow some of their musical score — listen closely! Sam and Dean did not make the final cut, unfortunately. Or rather they were busy working on their own show."
Watch a clip from the episode.
Hide Your Crazy
The beginning of chapter 18 in the 2019 book Hide Your Crazy by Lari Lynn Vale has the main character refer to "season seven, episode four of Supernatural" This is 7.04 Defending Your Life.
The Last of Us 2
The Last of Us 2 is a action/adventure video game released in 2020 and set in a post-apocalyptic USA. In a scene set in a deserted Seattle Convention Centre Conference Center a corpse is located on a ledge that has a number of items that can be looted. Next to the dead body is a letter that references a person named Misha -- and is signed by Jensen.
The Boys
In the Season 2 finale of The Boys, after Stormfront's Nazi connections are revealed, many memes appear including one featuring the Impala.
The Season 4 finale featured the character of Robert Singer, played by Jim Beaver, uttering his namesake's catch phrases Idjit and Balls.
Bigfoot Brewery
Sam and Dean featured in an edition of the webcomic Bigfoot Brewery
McSwenney's
Literary humour site McSweeny's publishes "Son, Your Mother And I Are Worried About The Quality Of Your Supernatural Slash Fiction" by Nathan Kamal (Feb 2022)