Jensen Ackles has remained plenty busy since playing Dean Winchester on Supernatural, which ended in 2020 after 15 seasons. Most recently, he starred in the crime drama Countdown on the 2025 TV schedule. Unfortunately, Prime canceled the show after one season. Luckily, he still has The Boys’ fifth and final season to look forward to, along with prequel series, Vought Rising. But if that doesn’t work out, another show wants him for a spinoff.
Tracker's Showrunner Would Love An Ackles-Fronted Spinoff
Aside from the multiple projects he has streaming with a Prime Video subscription, Ackles has also been appearing on CBS’ Tracker as Russell Shaw, the older brother of Justin Hartley’s Colter. He was first introduced in the first season as Colter’s estranged brother, but now that they’ve been learning more about their complicated family history, the two have been growing closer. Ackles guest starred in the two-part Season 3 premiere, but showrunner Elwood Reid tells TV Insider he would love nothing more than to snag him for more than just a guest appearance:
That’s always my dream. Look, Jensen is very well-employed by Amazon right now. He’s on The Boys spinoff [Vought Rising]. But you never know. A boy can dream. I can hope for it.
What kind of storylines Reid would have cooked up for a Russell spinoff is unknown, but there is much to learn about him. And it would be good to see what he’s doing when he’s not dealing with his brother. Of course, given Ackles’ commitment to Amazon, that might be hard to do, but it sounds like Reid would immediately give him a spinoff if he were able to.
What Ackles Has Going On At Amazon
Ackles and his wife, One Tree Hill star Danneel Ackles, entered a first-look deal at Amazon in 2023 for their production company Chaos Machine. This means that Amazon will be a priority for Ackles when it comes to projects he’s producing and acting in, such as Countdown. Also under the agreement will be the upcoming The Boys prequel, Vought Rising.
The series was announced at San Diego Comic-Con in 2024 and is set to follow the origins of Vought. Executive producers Paul Grellong and Eric Kripke shared that the series is a “twisted murder mystery” in the 1950s. Along with Ackles reprising his role as Soldier Boy, Aya Cash will reprise her role as Stormfront. The stacked ensemble cast also includes Mason Dye, Elizabeth Posey, Will Hochman, Jorden Myrie, Nicoló Pasetti, Ricky Staffieri, Brian J. Smith, and KiKi Layne.
Until Vought Rising premieres on Prime Video, it’s hard to predict how things will go. At the very least, if it doesn’t match the success of its predecessor, it sounds like Ackles won’t have any trouble landing another show. And it’s likely Russell Shaw will still be popping up on Tracker regardless, which will be better than nothing. Fans will just have to wait and see what happens.
