The fifth season of ''

Supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

'', an American

dark fantasy Dark fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy literary, artistic, and cinematic works that incorporate disturbing and frightening themes of fantasy. It often combines fantasy with elements of horror or has a gloomy dark tone or a sense of horror and dr ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

created by

Eric Kripke Eric Kripke (born 1974) is an American writer and television producer. He came to prominence as the creator of the fantasy drama series ''Supernatural'' (2005–2020) which aired on The CW. He served as the showrunner during the first five seasons ...

, premiered September 10, 2009, and concluded on May 13, 2010, on

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

. Season five regular cast members include

Jared Padalecki Jared Tristan Padalecki (born July 19, 1982) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the role of Sam Winchester in the TV series '' Supernatural''. He grew up in Texas and rose to fame in the early 2000s after appearing on the televi ...

, Jensen Ackles and Misha Collins, who was promoted to series regular this season. After the conclusion of this season, series creator Eric Kripke stepped down as

showrunner A showrunner (or colloquially a helmer) is the top-level executive producer of a television series production who has creative and management authority through combining the responsibilities of employer and, in comedy or dramas, typically also th ...

. The fifth season was released on DVD and Blu-ray in region 1 on September 7, 2010. The season follows Sam and Dean as they set out to take down Lucifer, whom Sam had inadvertently released from

Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...

at the end of the previous season. Mark Pellegrino plays the role of Lucifer. Paris Hilton guest stars in the episode "Fallen Idols", in which she plays Leshi, a god that takes the form of various well-known faces including herself. The season also features the return of Jo and her mother Ellen Harvelle, as well as hunter Rufus Turner, the

Trickster In mythology and the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a character in a story (god, goddess, spirit, human or anthropomorphisation) who exhibits a great degree of intellect or secret knowledge and uses it to play tricks or otherwi ...

and the prophet

Chuck Shurley '' Supernatural'' is an American television drama series created by writer and producer Eric Kripke. It was initially broadcast by The WB network from September 13, 2005, but after the first season, the WB and UPN networks merged to form The CW n ...

Cast

Starring

Sam Winchester Samuel "Sam" Winchester is a fictional character and one of the two protagonists of the American drama television series ''Supernatural'' along with his older brother, Dean. He is portrayed primarily by Jared Padalecki. Other versions of the char ...

/ Lucifer * Jensen Ackles as

Dean Winchester Dean Winchester is one of the two protagonists from the American drama television series '' Supernatural'', along with his younger brother Sam. He is portrayed primarily by Jensen Ackles. Other versions of the character having been portrayed b ...

* Misha Collins as Castiel

Special guest star

* Paris Hilton as Herself / Leshi

Guest stars

* Jim Beaver as

Bobby Singer Robert Steven Singer is a fictional character in The CW Television Network's horror-drama television series ''Supernatural'' portrayed by Jim Beaver. Named after the show's executive producer, Bobby first appears in the first season finale "Dev ...

* Mark Pellegrino and Bellamy Young as Lucifer *

Rob Benedict Robert Patrick Benedict (born September 21, 1970) is an American stage, film and television actor and writer. His 25 year career includes more than 70 television and movie credits. He is best known for his work on the television series '' Supe ...

Kurt Fuller Kurt Fuller (born September 16, 1953) is an American character actor. He has appeared in a number of television, film, and stage projects. He is best known for his roles in the films ''No Holds Barred'' and ''Ghostbusters II'' (both 1989), ''Way ...

as Zachariah *

Mark A. Sheppard Mark Andreas Sheppard (born 30 May 1964) is an English actor and musician. He is often credited as Mark A. Sheppard. Sheppard is known for playing the demon/King of Hell Crowley on ''Supernatural'' and for his recurring roles as lawyer Romo La ...

as Crowley *

Jake Abel Jacob Allen Abel (born November 18, 1987) is an American actor. He has appeared in the film adaptations of the young adult novels ''Percy Jackson'' (2010–2013), ''I Am Number Four'' (2011), and '' The Host'' (2013), along with portraying musi ...

as Adam Milligan /

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

Samantha Ferris Samantha Ferris (born November 2, 1968) is a Canadian actress, best known for her starring role as Nina Jarvis on ''The 4400'' and her recurring role as Ellen Harvelle on ''Supernatural''. Career Ferris began her career as a radio announcer and i ...

as Ellen Harvelle * Matt Frewer as Pestilence * Rachel Miner as Meg Masters *

Emily Perkins Emily Jean Perkins (born May 4, 1977) is a Canadian former actress, best known for her roles as Crystal Braywood in the TV series ''Hiccups'', young Beverly Marsh in '' Stephen King's It'', and Brigitte Fitzgerald in ''Ginger Snaps''. Since the l ...

as Becky Rosen *

Cindy Sampson Cindy Marie Sampson (born May 27, 1978) is a Canadian director and actress (film and television). She is known for her role in the Canadian television series '' Private Eyes''. Biography Sampson was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada on Ma ...

Lisa Braeden ''Supernatural'' is an American television drama series created by writer and producer Eric Kripke. It was initially broadcast by The WB network from September 13, 2005, but after the first season, the WB and UPN networks merged to form The CW net ...

Richard Speight, Jr. Richard Speight Jr. (born September 4, 1969) is an American actor, director, screenwriter and producer who is known for a variety of roles including CBS TV series ''Jericho'', '' The Agency'', and the HBO miniseries '' Band of Brothers''. Spei ...

as the Trickster / Gabriel * Alona Tal as

Jo Harvelle Joanna Beth Harvelle is a fictional character on The CW Television Network's drama/horror television series ''Supernatural'' portrayed by Alona Tal. Aspiring to be a hunter of supernatural creatures like her parents, she was introduced in the s ...

Demore Barnes Demore Barnes (born February 26, 1976) is a Canadian actor. Barnes is best known for his roles as Sergeant First Class Hector Williams in the CBS television series ''The Unit'', the archangel Raphael in '' Supernatural'' and Deputy Chief Christia ...

as Donnie Finnerman / Raphael *

A. J. Buckley Alan John Buckley (born 9 February 1977) is an Irish-Canadian actor. He is known for playing nerdy crime lab technician Adam Ross on the television series ''CSI: NY'' (2005–2013) and Navy SEAL Sonny Quinn on the television series '' SEAL Tea ...

as Ed Zeddmore *

Traci Dinwiddie Traci Dinwiddie is an American film and television actress. Biography Dinwiddie was born in Anchorage, Alaska, of Syrian and Cherokee descent. She made her debut in 1998 movie ''Target Earth''. She has appeared in films including ''Summer Catch ...

Pamela Barnes Pamela Jean "Pam" Barnes Ewing is a fictional character from the CBS primetime soap opera ''Dallas''. Pamela is portrayed by actress Victoria Principal, first appearing on the show in the first episode, entitled "Digger's Daughter", which was ...

* Carrie Fleming as Karen Singer * Jon Gries as Martin Creaser *

Chad Lindberg Chad Tyler Lindberg (born November 1, 1976) is an American actor. He is known for his film roles in ''The Fast and the Furious'' and ''October Sky'', as well as television roles on ''Sons of Anarchy'' and ''Supernatural''. Lindberg was also the c ...

Ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...

* Julie McNiven as Anna Milton * Adrianne Palicki as Jessica Moore *

Kim Rhodes Kimberly Rhodes (born June 7, 1969) is an American actress who is known for portraying Cindy Harrison on the soap operas '' Another World'' (1996–1999) and ''As the World Turns'' (2000–2001), Carey Martin on the Disney Channel sitcoms ''The ...

as Sheriff Jody Mills * Matt Cohen as Young John Winchester /

Julian Richings Julian Richings (born 30 August 1956)''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at Ancestry.com is a British-Canadian character actor. He has appeared in over 225 films and television series. Career After touring th ...

Death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

Samantha Smith Samantha Reed Smith (June 29, 1972 – August 25, 1985) was an American peace activist and child actress from Manchester, Maine, who became famous for her anti-war outreaches during the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. I ...

as Mary Winchester *

Amy Gumenick Amy Jaclyn Gumenick ( ; born 17 May 1986) is a Swedish-born American actress, best known for her roles as Natalee Holloway in the television film of the same name (2009) and its sequel, as the young Mary Winchester in '' Supernatural'' (2008– ...

as Young Mary Winchester *

Travis Wester Travis Wester is an American actor. He was born on October 8, 1977, in the United States. Career An actor in American film and television, Wester's first role was in 1996's '' The Paper Brigade''. Portraying Jamie in 2004's '' EuroTrip'', Rot ...

as Harry Spangler *

Steven Williams Steven Williams (born January 7, 1949) is an American actor in films and television. He is known for his roles as Captain Adam Fuller on ''21 Jump Street'', Lt. Jefferson Burnett on '' The Equalizer'', Det. August Brooks on '' L.A. Heat'', X on ...

as Rufus Turner * Michael Shanks as Rob *

Eric Johnson Eric Johnson may refer to: Music *Eric Johnson (guitarist) (born 1954) an American guitarist and recording artist * Eric D. Johnson (born 1976), member of multiple indie-rock bands including Fruit Bats, The Shins and Califone Politics * Eric Joh ...

as Brady

Episodes

In this table, the number in the first column refers to the episode's number within the entire series, whereas the number in the second column indicates the episode's number within that particular season. "U.S. viewers in millions" refers to how many Americans who watched the episode live or on the day of broadcast.

Reception

The fifth season received critical acclaim, and is widely regarded as one of the show's best seasons. The

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

reported a 90% approval rating for ''Supernaturals fifth season, with an average rating of 7.83/10 based on 10 reviews. The critics consensus reads, "''Supernatural'' continues to benefit from its charismatic leads and a solid script, creating a story that is almost supernaturally addictive."

Controversy

The episode "Hammer of the Gods" was controversial among Indian and

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

audiences, as it depicted

Kali Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hinduism, Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In t ...

and

Ganesh Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva_(Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is ...

in a negative light.

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Supernatural Season 5 Supernatural 05 2009 American television seasons 2010 American television seasons Hinduism-related controversies in television