Supernatural season 3

Dean's year runs out while Ruby and Bela complicate the hunt.

Supernatural season 3 is the third season of the American dark fantasy television series Supernatural, created by Eric Kripke, which premiered on October 4, 2007, and concluded on May 15, 2008.

Quick Facts

Season number

Showrunner

Eric Kripke

Starring

Jared Padalecki
Jensen Ackles
Katie Cassidy
Lauren Cohan

Episodes

Network

The CW

First aired

4 October 2007

Last aired

15 May 2008

Facts from the source article.

Background

Sam and Dean Winchester track down the demons released from Hell in the previous season finale. They become allies of a demon named Ruby, who claims to know a way to free Dean from his pact, under which he sold his soul and was given a year to live in exchange for Sam's resurrection, and who wants to protect them from the new demonic leader Lilith.

As Dean's deadline approaches, the brothers are also hindered by Bela Talbot, a professional thief of occult items. Katie Cassidy as Ruby and Lauren Cohan as Bela joined as new series regulars; Ruby was created to move demons into more of a grey area instead of the earlier black-and-white approach.

The CW ordered 22 episodes, but the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike limited the season to 16, making it the shortest season of the show by number of episodes. Kripke felt this helped the season by forcing the writers to focus on saving Dean.

Despite low ratings, averaging only about 2.74 million American viewers, the series received an early renewal for a fourth season. Warner Home Video released the season as a five-disc DVD box set in Region 1 on September 2, 2008.