Supernatural’s Bobby Actor Was ‘Disappointed’ By His Character’s Death (But There’s One Thing He Still Appreciates)

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Last year marked significant anniversaries for the show Supernatural, including the 20th anniversary of the original pilot episode and the 5th anniversary of its controversial series finale. While the finale sparked debate among fans, one moment was almost universally appreciated: Jim Beaver’s final appearance as Bobby in a vision of the afterlife. Bobby played a crucial role in Sam and Dean’s lives, both before and after his death, and Beaver has recently shared his thoughts on how his character ended and what one positive thing came from it. You can stream the series now with a Peacock or Amazon Prime subscription.

Although Jim Beaver wasn’t a main character throughout the entire run of Supernatural, he was one of the few actors to appear in at least one episode of all fifteen seasons. This is remarkable considering his character, Bobby, died in Season 7. Beaver later worked with Supernatural creator Eric Kripke on The Boys, and recently spoke with TV Insider about Bobby’s final appearance on the show.

The show’s creators, Bob Singer and Sera Gamble, told me my character would die, but then be brought back as a ghost. I actually ended up working on several more seasons even after that. However, I was a little let down that instead of being in half the episodes each season, I was only in one or two.

It’s understandable why Jim Beaver was upset about Bobby’s death, particularly since it happened during a weaker season and at the hands of a less compelling villain. The showrunners, Bob Singer and Sera Gamble, kept their promise and brought the character back as a ghost shortly after his initial death in Season 7. Beaver also later played an alternate version of Bobby, which allowed him to continue with the show.

After the original Bobby passed away, Beaver ended up appearing in 19 more episodes. He later talked about what he liked about how the show wrote his character off.

I think ‘Death’s Door,’ the episode featuring my character’s death, was one of the best TV episodes I’ve ever worked on.

The episode “Death’s Door” differed from typical Supernatural episodes by using flashbacks to show Bobby’s fading memories as he neared death, and featured a return performance by Steven Williams as Rufus, for Bobby’s final appearance. Importantly, the show’s decision to keep Bobby dead made his death in this episode more impactful than many others.

It’s hard to remember how many times Dean died before Jensen Ackles portrayed his last death, and Misha Collins had plenty of Castiel deaths to pick from—all while there were still several seasons left to go! As the show went on, deaths started to feel less impactful, making Bobby’s death particularly heartbreaking because it was permanent. (Although he did briefly come back to life after his initial death in Season 5.)

Jim Beaver got to play Bobby Singer one more time, but it wasn’t on Supernatural. He appeared in the final episode of The Winchesters, a spinoff series executive produced by Jensen Ackles. Unless the show gets revived – something Ackles and Jared Padalecki have suggested – this might be the last time audiences see Bobby Singer on TV.

You can still watch all fifteen seasons of Supernatural on Peacock and Prime Video, even though it’s leaving Netflix in late 2025.

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2026-01-28 11:08