Over the past two decades, Eric Kripke has built a reputation for creating ambitious genre shows filled with morally messy characters, dark humor, emotional stakes, and apocalyptic chaos. Whether he is tackling superheroes, time travel, or demon hunters cruising across America, his projects rarely play it safe. As TV fans bid farewell to the award-winning The Boys, there’s a lot to look forward to in Kripke’s upcoming prequel series, Vought Rising.
However, not every series in his filmography reached the same level of success, though. Some became pop culture phenomena, while others disappeared after a single season. Looking back at every show he created offers a fascinating view of how his storytelling style evolved long before the world of The Boys made him one of television’s most recognizable creative voices.
7. Tarzan (2003)
As surprising as it may seem to newer fans of the writer, Eric Kripke once developed a Tarzan series. Long before he became associated with horror and superheroes, Kripke took a swing at reinventing a literary icon with Tarzan. The short-lived WB drama relocated the classic jungle hero to modern-day New York City, turning the familiar story into a strange urban mystery series.
While the concept sounded intriguing on paper, the execution never fully clicked. The show struggled to balance romance, action, and mythology, and audiences never connected with it strongly enough to keep it alive. Even so, traces of Kripke’s later storytelling instincts were already visible, especially in the way he explored outsiders struggling to fit into society. Tarzan was canceled after airing only eight episodes.
6. Ghostfacers (2010)
Created as a spin-off from Supernatural, Ghostfacers focused on the hilariously incompetent paranormal investigators Ed Zeddmore (A.J. Buckley) and Harry Spangler (Travis Wester). The web series leaned heavily into mockumentary-style comedy while poking fun at ghost-hunting reality television.
Although it never aimed to become a major standalone franchise, Ghostfacers succeeded as a fun side project for dedicated fans. Its low-budget charm and absurd humor gave audiences a different perspective on the Supernatural universe. Still, compared to Eric Kripke’s larger productions, it remains more of a novelty than an essential entry in his catalog.
5. Revolution (2012–2014)
https://youtu.be/i_V-74WnzkI?si=zZ3UENkeNurkN-J2
Eric Kripke followed up the success of Supernatural with this ambitious post-apocalyptic drama. Revolution imagined a future (interestingly, in 2027) where all electricity on Earth suddenly stopped working, forcing humanity back into a primitive existence filled with militia groups and political chaos.
The series started with strong ratings and a compelling premise, but maintaining momentum proved difficult. Some audiences loved its expansive world-building, while others found the storytelling uneven as the seasons progressed. Even with its flaws, Revolution deserves credit for attempting a large-scale network sci-fi story at a time when that genre was becoming increasingly rare on broadcast television.
4. Timeless (2016–2018)
Of all Eric Kripke’s canceled shows, the Abigail Spencer-led Timeless series may be the one fans still mourn the most. The NBC drama followed a team traveling through time to stop a mysterious organization from rewriting history. What could have been a routine procedural instead became an entertaining blend of science fiction, historical drama, and emotional character work.
One week, the characters were visiting the Wild West, and the next, they were dealing with World War II or the space race. The show handled these historical settings with surprising energy while building strong chemistry among its cast. Although it lasted only two seasons and a finale movie, Timeless earned a loyal audience thanks to its heart and creativity.
3. Gen V (2023–2025)
Spin-offs often struggle to escape the shadow of their parent series, but Gen V quickly proved it could stand on its own. Set in the same universe as The Boys, the series follows young superheroes attending Godolkin University as they uncover disturbing secrets behind the institution.
What makes Gen V work is its effective balance of outrageous violence and surprisingly emotional storytelling. The show expands the mythology of The Boys universe without feeling repetitive, introducing a younger cast while maintaining the franchise’s sharp satire. It also demonstrated that Kripke’s television world still has room to grow ahead of Vought Rising.
2. Supernatural (2005–2020)
Before there was Homelander or Compound V, there were Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles) driving across America in a black Chevy Impala. Supernatural became the defining series of Eric Kripke’s early career and one of the longest-running genre shows in television history.
Originally envisioned as a five-season story, the series evolved into a cultural phenomenon spanning 15 seasons. Its blend of horror, mythology, family drama, and humor created an intensely loyal fanbase that stayed committed for more than a decade. Kripke stepped away as showrunner after season five, but the emotional foundation he built remained central to the series until the end.
1. The Boys (2019–2026)
No show better represents Kripke’s evolution as a creator than The Boys. Based on the comic series by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, the Prime Video hit imagines a world where superheroes are celebrities, corporations control morality, and power corrupts absolutely.
The series became a massive success because it delivers more than shock value. Beneath the graphic violence and outrageous humor lies a biting satire about politics, media, fame, and unchecked authority. Characters like Homelander, Butcher, and Starlight helped transform the show into one of streaming television’s biggest hits.
Kripke’s fingerprints are everywhere in The Boys. It combines the emotional character dynamics of Supernatural with the cynicism and ambition he explored in later projects. The result is the strongest and most culturally relevant series of his career so far. With Vought Rising on the horizon, it is clear that Eric Kripke’s television universe is still expanding.
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