‘Supernatural’ season 9, episode 20 preview: A look at Nathaniel Buzolic in ‘Bloodlines’

Is “Supernatural: Bloodlines” really going to launch into a successful spin-off show? After watching the latest sneak peek released by The CW, we ultimately have to stay that we are just as unsure about this now as we were when it was first announced.

Let’s start with what works: Nathaniel Buzolic. Given how popular he was as Kol on “The Vampire Diaries,” it was smart to hire him for his own show. He brings a good bit of energy to this part as David Hayden, a member of the Chicago supernatural community who Ennis Roth (Lucien Laviscount) has to work with in order to get to the bottom of a mystery plaguing the city.

This is where we start to run into a few problems. There’s just something a little off-kilter about most of the characters as a whole in this preview, and the whole premise of the show sounds a lot like “The Originals,” but in a different city. We’re also unsure about Laviscount as a lead, since he doesn’t have that grittiness that Jensen Ackles or Jared Padalecki brings to their characters. We actually pictured more of Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (a.k.a. Mr. Eko on “Lost”) when we first pictured the character in our mind, but obviously the show wanted someone that was younger in the part so that they could appeal to their target demographic.

Despite the fact that this promo does very little to ease up on some of our anxieties over this episode, we are still interested in watching it, and consequently seeing where the story goes. While this show getting picked up is far from a sure thing, the audience reaction to this episode could help to turn the tide if it ends up being popular.

You can see more from this pilot just by heading over to the link here, and also be sure to sign up to get further TV updates via our CarterMatt Newsletter.

Photo: The CW, video via USA Today