Supernatural: Every Season Ranked According To Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score

In 2005, a story about two brothers searching for their father while they went up against ghosts, demons, and all manners of creatures that go bump in the night premiered on the WB. When the WB became the CW, Supernatural moved to the new network, its mythology expanded, and it became the longest-running WB series on the CW. After 15 seasons, it came to an end.

Thanks to websites that compile both critical and audience reviews like Rotten Tomatoes, fans can look back and see just which seasons were most loved. Supernatural, even with its ups and downs over the years, has an average series score of 93% from critics, and one of 75% from the audience. All of the Supernatural seasons ranked on Rotten Tomatoes vary in their audience ratings as there are clearly fan favorites.

Updated on July 30th, 2021 by Amanda Bruce: Since sites like Rotten Tomatoes are fluid, ratings are always in flux. As new fans are introduced to shows like Supernatural through streaming options, older seasons can obtain new reviews and the more recent seasons might find themselves falling out of favor. In the case of Supernatural, there’s clearly a fan preference for the earlier seasons of the show as Rotten Tomatoes scores have shifted since the series finale.

15 Season 14 (2018–2019): 59%

● No. of episodes: 20

The idea of Sam and Dean being the vessels for archangels Michael and Lucifer begins early in the show and the storyline nearly never ends. It’s retread in the fourteenth season to an extent, which might explain the audience’s low rating for the penultimate season.

Lucifer’s former vessel Nick spends the bulk of the season trying to avenge the murder of his family – and get Lucifer back. Dean, having been Michael’s vessel, also finds himself going through a lot of changes as the ramifications of getting rid of Michael hit him. While the season still features appearances from fan favorites, like Jody Mills and Bobby Singer, it’s clear that fans weren’t loving it.

14 Season 12 (2016–2017): 60%

● No. of episodes: 23

It’s a little surprising that this particular season didn’t sit well with fans since it worked to answer a lot of long-standing questions and tie up plenty of loose ends – while still opening the door to new storylines.

The season features the Winchesters on the trail of Lucifer, as usual, but also reintroduces his yellow-eyed demons, confirming them as his Princes of Hell, and the first demons created after Lilith. It also features a bit of a double-cross from Crowley, the introduction of part-human-part-angel Jack, and the idea that alternate universes really exist. Supernatural still manages to expand on its mythology and give the audience answers after 12 years of content.

13 Season 13 (2017–2018): 63%

● No. of episodes: 23

This time around, 13 isn’t so lucky. The season brought back a lot of characters previously seen killed off on the series. of course, the bulk of those dead characters weren’t themselves, but those from an Apocalypse World.

It allowed the writers to have some creative fun with those characters, but it also means fans aren’t happy about favorites like Kevin (albeit, the Apocalypse version of him) being killed off. Fans are also still upset about the backdoor pilot featured in the season. Season 13 brings Jody Mills and a handful of teenage girls who know about the supernatural together as they help the Winchesters. Their series would have been Wayward Sisters, but it never came to fruition.

12 Season 15 (2019–2020): 64%

● No. of episodes: 20

The final season of Supernatural was clearly uneven for a lot of fans. While the writers did their best to satisfy the audience by closing out old stories and bringing back a huge number of characters from the Winchesters’ past, the finale didn’t bring the closure fans wanted – despite being literally the only season of the series to not end with a cliffhanger.

The main antagonist for the final season, after years of going between numerous demons and angels, is God himself. It makes perfect sense that the show ends that way, though fans are going to be angry about certain character deaths for a very long time.

11 Season 8 (2012–2013): 67%

● No. of episodes: 23

One of the most fascinating parts of Supernatural is just how it tackles its own mythology when it comes to angels. Their story gets significantly expanded in the eighth season as Dean Winchester returns to Earth from Purgatory, and Castiel finds himself resurrected and used by another angel to achieve her own ends.

This season also sees Sam and Dean cross paths with their grandfather as the man uses a time travel spell to get to the future, expanding on the story of the Men Of Letters, which becomes a big story point for the show moving forward.

10 Season 11 (2015–2016): 68%

● No. of episodes: 23

The eleventh season of Supernatural is all about The Darkness, also known as Amara. Expanding on the show’s mythology surrounding God, Amara is revealed to be God’s sister, and she wants revenge for being banished.

The season-long struggle sees the Winchesters turn to Lucifer for help, who uses Castiel as a host. Angels and demons even unite in the struggle against Amara, though she eventually reconciles with her brother – and even grants one of Dean’s biggest wishes. The season ends with Amara resurrecting Sam and Dean’s mother, moving the show into some new territory for the following seasons.

9 Season 7 (2011–2012): 72%

● No. of episodes: 23

With Castiel declaring himself the new God after absorbing every soul in Purgatory, this season of Supernatural started to take the show in a slightly new direction with its angel and demon mythology.

The only beings whose souls Castiel doesn’t end up returning after his journey is over are those of the Leviathans. Leviathans also happen to be the oldest and most powerful as the first monsters created by God. It introduces a whole new – and very strong – entity for the Winchesters to battle. While the previous journeys of the brothers always saw them quickly finding answers to their supernatural problems, nothing they’ve already learned works against the Leviathans, making for a very tense and entertaining season.

8 Season 9 (2013–2014): 74%

● No. of episodes: 23

Another season that focuses on the conflict amongst angels, this one sees two separate factions going after Castiel. With Castiel having previously lost his grace, he has no angelic power, forcing him to live as a human and making him vulnerable.

Sam and Dean differ on how to handle multiple situations, causing them to go their separate ways. Their separation causes them to take desperate courses of action. Dean decides to get the Mark Of Cain to give himself the power to wield the First Blade against an enemy, but it has serious consequences – including him being turned into a demon at the end of the season.

7 Season 6 (2010–2011): 75%

● No. of episodes: 22

The fifth season marked the end of original showrunner Eric Kripke’s plan for the series. With the sixth season of Supernatural, the story picked up a year later, revealing Dean attempting to live a normal life, but unable to when Sam returns from Hell.

Over the course of 22 episodes, Dean discovers that, though his brother has returned to him, his soul hasn’t come with him, and he formulates a plan to get it back. Castiel also becomes a surprising antagonist as he works in the background with Crowley to release all of the souls from Purgatory so that he can absorb them and take over the role of God himself. It provides the right balance of mythology-based episodes and a focus on the relationship between the two brothers.

6 Season 10 (2014–2015): 78%

● No. of episodes: 23

Though Dean begins Supernatural’s tenth season as a demon working for Crowley, Castiel and Sam find a way to make him human again. The Mark of Cain, however, proves to make things difficult for Dean throughout the season as he gives in to his darkness repeatedly.

While Dean’s struggle is the big story of the season, it’s also known for introducing a fan-favorite villain: Rowena. The witch turns out to be Crowley’s mother, and it’s Rowena that rids Dean of the Mark of Cain, releasing the villain that comes into play the next season.

5 Season 4 (2008–2009): 82%

● No. of episodes: 22

The big arc of Supernatural’s fourth outing is Lilith attempting to break the 66 seals that will allow Lucifer to walk the Earth. Castiel is also introduced as he rescues Dean from Hell and tries to help the Winchesters prevent Lilith from succeeding.

Sam and Dean, as is par for the course, find themselves on opposite sides of a big issue – even though their goal is the same. Dean is worried about Sam embracing his darker side, and Sam thinks he can control his darker side, that it’s a risk he needs to take to stop Lilith. Lilith does eventually succeed in her plan, having used Ruby to manipulate Sam right into her path. The end of the season brings Lucifer to the series in the flesh.

4 Season 5 (2009–2010): 85%

● No. of episodes: 22

Originally, many fans believed the fifth season of Supernatural would be the last of the show. It is Eric Kripke’s last season as the showrunner and the last season of the original story plan for the series.

With Lucifer released from his cage at the end of the fourth season, this one sees the Winchesters try to stop him on earth. Sam is meant to become Lucifer’s vessel, while Dean is meant to become the angel Michael’s. Both brothers try to avoid their fate as much as possible, but nothing works out the way they want it to. Their half-brother ends up as Michael’s vessel, while Sam gives his own body to Lucifer, using his own body to trap Lucifer in his cage all over again.

3 Season 1 (2005–2006): 88%

● No. of episodes: 22

For a lot of long-running television series, the first season is not ranked near the top. The first complete story arc, however, is looked upon extremely fondly by fans and is considered one of the best seasons of Supernatural.

Originally, Supernatural kicks off with monster-of-the-week episodes as Sam and Dean search for their missing father. Raised with a dad who hunted supernatural creatures and tracked down urban legends, Sam wants no part of the hunt, while Dean is following in his father’s footsteps. It causes a lot of tension between the two, but they bond over the course of the season, setting up their deep bond for the rest of the series.

2 Season 2 (2006–2007): 92%

● No. of episodes: 22

If the first season of Supernatural introduces the audience to the Winchester brothers, it’s the second season that really sets the foundation for the show. In it, the brothers track the demon Azazel, who is the primary antagonist in the early seasons – and clearly, some of the best Supernatural seasons.

The season also expands the world of the hunters, introducing several allies for Sam and Dean. Season two brings the Harvelles, Ash, and Bobby to the fray who become huge parts of the show moving forward.

1 Season 3 (2007–2008): 95%

● No. of episodes: 16

What is the best season of Supernatural? The best Supernatural season also happens to be the shortest. With just 16 episodes, Season 3 was shortened from the original 22 as a result of the 2007 writer’s strike. That shortened season seems to work in the fans’ favor.

In season two, Dean makes a deal that would send his soul to Hell a year later. Much of the third season is spent trying to make sure that Dean doesn’t wind up in Hell. This brings about the introduction of Ruby, who claims to be able to find a way out of Dean’s contract. It also introduces the idea of Lilith – because she holds the contract on Dean’s soul. The season even features an homage to fairy tales in “Bedtime Stories” that remains a fan favorite episode full of Easter eggs.

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