Buffy
Okay, WWBD. What would Buffy do? Huh?
When Supernatural started, comparison to the successful Joss Whedon shows Buffy and Angel were inevitable. Like them, Supernatural featured ordinary people fighting the Supernatural, and it also aired on The WB where Buffy had started and Angel had aired until it finished in 2003. An early review of the Pilot described Supernatural as "new X-Files meets the OC, meets Buffy type show from the WB" Source (yeah we have no idea where The O.C fits in either !)
Supernatural is set in in a world where Buffy exists - as a TV show - as we find out when Ghostfacer Ed Zeddmore references it in 1.17 Hell House.
Supernatural certainly attracted many viewers who had also been fans of the Whedon show. This can particularly be seen in Supernatural/Buffy Crossover crossover fanworks. The pairing of Dean with the rogue slayer Faith.
Buffy fandom invented the term Jossed - to be jossed is to have fan theories or events in Fanfic be invalidated by new canon in the Show. By contrast Kripked was a term coined in Supernatural fandom to refer to having fan theories supported by canon. See also Fan Fic Cliches
The most significant crossover between the series is Ben Edlund. Ben started working with Joss on Firefly before moving to Angel for the last couple of seasons. He wrote and directed the Hugo nominated episode Smile Time aka the one where Angel gets turned into a puppet.
Keith R.A. DeCandido has written tie-in novels fro both Supernatural and Buffy.
Many actors from Buffy and Angel have appeared on Supernatural - the first were Amy Acker who appeared in 1.03 Dead in the Water and Julie Benz was in 1.12 Faith. Following Amber Benson's appearance as Lenore in 2007, EP Bob Singer said "I thought Buffy had a great cast, and we used Amber Benson. I’d like to get Spike [James Marsters] on our show. I never thought I would particularly like Buffy, but my wife got me hooked on it, and I was hooked on him. Plus, that series was so well written. It was so smart." Source
Other Whedon alumni who have appeared on Supernatural are:
Actor/Actress | Role on Supernatural | Role in Whedonverse | Whedonverse Show |
Jeffrey Dean Morgan | John Winchester | Sam Ryan | Angel |
Robert Peters | Deputy Hein | Arney | Angel |
Andrea Barr | Winifred Burkle/Illyria | Angel | |
Kristin Richardson | Jenny | Tracy Bellows | Angel |
Julie Benz | Layla Rourke | Darla | Buffy and Angel |
Megalyn Echikunwoke | Cassie Robinson | Vaughne | Buffy |
Ridge Canipe | young Dean Winchester | Tommy | Angel |
Chad Lindberg | Ash | David Kirby | Buffy |
Amber Benson | Lenore | Tara | Buffy |
Annie Wersching | Susan Thompson | Margaret | Angel |
David Monahan | Thomas Gregory | Garrett | Angel |
Jeff Kober | Randall | Zachary Kralik and Rack | Buffy |
Aldis Hodge | Jake Talley | Masked Teen | Buffy |
Mercedes McNab | Lucy | Harmony Kendall | Buffy and Angel |
Aimee Garcia | Nancy Fitzgerald | Cynthia York | Angel |
Brittany Ishibashi | Maggie Zeddmore | Vivian | Angel |
Todd Stashwick | Dracula | Vocah (Angel) and M'Fashnik Demon (Buffy) | Angel and Buffy |
Jack Conley | Sheriff Al Britton | Gib Cain (Buffy) and Sahjhan (Angel) | Buffy and Angel |
David Mattey | Luther Garland | Behemoth Lorne | Angel |
Mark Rolston | Alastair | Boone | Angel |
Bradley Stryker | Ted and Tony | Talky meat | Angel |
Charlie The Magician | Linwood Murrow | Angel | |
Rob Benedict | Chuck Shurley | Jape | Buffy |
Jack Plotnick | Ian | Deputy Mayor Allan Finch | Buffy |
Charisma Carpenter | Maggie Stark | Cordelia Chase | Buffy and Angel |
James Marsters | Don Stark | Spike | Buffy and Angel |
Henri Lubatti | Bobby's Reaper | Dealer vampire | Angel |
Harry Groener | Professor Morrison | Richard Wilkins | Buffy |
Bryan Cuprill | George | Roy | Buffy |
Felicia Day | Charlene Bradbury | Vi | Buffy |
Tamara Braun | Cindy Cassity | Tara (vampire) | Buffy |
Treva Etienne | Tamiel | Emil | Angel |
Brigid Brannagh | Rita Johnson | Virginia Bryce | Angel |
Keith Szarabajka | Donatello Redfield | Daniel Holtz | Angel |