On Monday afternoon, 'Supernatural' fans finally received word that many had been waiting for with bated breath: Misha Collins is set to return to the cult series for episode 717 and at least two more when the show comes back from winter hiatus.

The news was met with such enthusiasm that Collins' name became a worldwide Twitter trending topic soon after his guest spot was announced.

Reps for the show informed us that they couldn't give specific details about Collins' return or which other episodes the actor would be appearing in, so AOL TV went straight to the source. Though Collins admitted that he couldn't reveal much, he would offer one tantalizing hint about what fans can expect when he makes his much-anticipated return ...

'Supernatural' fans, Castiel is coming back to the show for at least three episodes in 2012.

A spokesperson for Warner Bros., which makes the CW show, said that Misha Collins, who plays the fan-favorite character Castiel, will return in the current season's episode 17. Depending on how many breaks the show takes before it airs the seventeenth episode of season 7, Castiel could be back on our screens by February or March.

Castiel will also appear in two subsequent episodes, but the spokesperson did not say which episodes those would be.

'Supernatural' star Misha Collins is set to guest star in an upcoming episode of the CW's 'Ringer,' reports TVGuide.com.

Collins will star as Dylan, someone from Bridget and Siobhan's (Sarah Michelle Gellar) past when they were in Tahoe. Dylan plays a pivotal role in the sisters' lives. As it turns out, he's part of a reason the sisters had a falling out.

Collins, known for playing Castiel on the CW's 'Supernatural,' will first appear alongside Gellar in episode 14, which means that we'll have to wait until after 'Ringer' returns from its midseason break to catch Collins in action.

We're only five weeks into Season 7 of 'Supernatural,' and already, we've seen (alleged) character deaths, lies, explosions, a broken leg and a couple of seriously creepy visitations from Lucifer -- and the show seems to have no intention of slowing down any time soon. Tonight's episode (9PM ET, The CW) even boasts 'Buffy' alums Charisma Carpenter and James Marsters as a quarreling couple at the center of a suburban bloodbath.

But with so many unexpected twists, questions are sure to follow. Yesterday, I caught up with executive producer Sera Gamble to get some insight into Dean's current mental state (and Sam's, for that matter), the Leviathans' nefarious scheme to draw the Winchesters into the open and a potential return for a fan-favorite character (but not the one you're thinking of).

Spoilers ahead.

['Supernatural' - 'Meet the New Boss']

It's so good to have 'Supernatural' back. But it's just as delightful to have 'Supernatural' fans back. I look forward to hearing what you all have to say about the season 7 opener.

So, what if God was one of us? Except he's not really one of us, he's a mutated angel stuffed with millions of souls from purgatory plus lots of scary beasties from Ye Olden Days?

That wouldn't go so well. But it would make for a good hour of television.

There's a reason why 'Supernatural' fans refer to the summer break between seasons as "hellatus" instead of "hiatus" -- since May's cliffhanger finale, viewers have been fretting over everything from the fate of Castiel to the fate of Dean's beloved Impala, and the producers have been content to tease for the past four months.

Thankfully, the wait is almost over; the show returns for its seventh season tomorrow night (Fri., Sept. 23 at 9PM) and it's a surprisingly satisfying premiere, managing to tie up many of the loose ends left in the season finale while simultaneously creating more problems for the long-suffering Winchesters to solve.

Hit the jump for our advanced review of the episode, plus highlights from the Q&A that executive producers Sera Gamble and Robert Singer conducted with press on Wednesday. Needless to say, there are light spoilers ahead.

The boys of the CW's 'Supernatural' are back in town (San Diego, to be precise), and this time they took over the monstrous Hall H, Comic-Con's big kahuna.

But before the stars took to the stage, we caught up with them in the press room -- it was a double-team effort, actually, with Mo Ryan on the press line and Laura Prudom doing roundtable interviews. Together we were able to glean a few hints about what's coming up in Season 7, so watch and read carefully.

First, check out our video interviews with Jensen Ackles, Misha Collins and Jim Beaver, including talk of Castiel's new role ("Aw, sh*t, how am I gonna do that?," Collins said with a smile), the show getting dark ("It's always gonna get back to the root of these two brothers," Ackles said) and getting things done ("We'll figure out some sort of proactive approach," Beaver said).

Then read highlights from our chats with Jared Padalecki, Sera Gamble and Ben Edlund and a bit more with Beaver, including hints about next season's big bad, Castiel's future and how Sam and Dean will deal with an ever-changing landscape when all of their old tricks are rendered useless.

And there's more! Scroll all the way down for highlights from their shriek-filled Comic-Con panel as well. Yep, everything 'Supernatural' from Comic-Con is all right here.

There has always been a stigma attached to the word "fan." Thanks to Hollywood, it conjures up images of pale, socially awkward young men who occupy their parents' basements and spend their time playing Dungeons and Dragons or debating the minutiae of 'Star Trek' episodes on the internet (both of which are totally valid lifestyle choices, by the way).

In reality, everyone is a fan of something. Even if you don't frequent online message boards to dissect the shocking twist at the end of last week's 'Vampire Diaries,' or dress up like a warrior princess for a weekend in the woods with your buddies, find me a person who doesn't obsess over sports or fashion or cars or another vice of choice.



Being a "fan" is a badge of honor you should wear with pride, something that binds you to a much wider community of equally passionate, equally inspiring people. The abstract concept of "fandom" illustrates that, even in an age where some argue we're more disconnected than ever -- conducting our friendships through the sphere of social networking and the magic of electronic devices -- we're still part of something larger than ourselves.

Occasionally, that community of like-minded geniuses can band together to change the world, or at least change a life or two, as was the case with Random Acts' "Hope to Haiti" trip.

The CW's 'Supernatural' has spent six years defying audience expectations and gleefully leaving us on the edge of our seats with every season finale, but last season's climactic close proved to be one of the most shocking yet.

Fan-favorite character Castiel (Misha Collins) pulled a dirty double cross in the last few episodes, revealing an unholy alliance with the demon Crowley for dominion over purgatory ... and let's just say that the finale didn't leave Cas and the Winchesters on the best of terms.

I recently had the privilege of traveling to Haiti with Collins and his charity, Random Acts, for a life-changing voluntary excursion (we'll have an in-depth feature on the trip next week), but during our wide-ranging interview, I couldn't resist slipping in a couple of questions about his status next season, and his response to the outpouring of fan support for his character.

There's not much new information here, but proceed with caution, there are mild spoilers ahead.

There's big news in the 'Supernatural' realm: Misha Collins, who plays the angel Castiel, won't be a series regular in season 7 of the CW show. 'Supernatural' executive producer and showrunner Sera Gamble told TV Line's Vlada Gelman that though there will be angelic story lines next season, they'll be more "self-enclosed."

"We love Misha. We love and adore the character of Castiel," Gamble said. "His character developed to this extent and went in this unexpected direction because we were so inspired by him."

The unexpected development in Friday's season finale (which I wrote about here): Cas has incredible new powers, which he acquired when he broke open Purgatory and used the souls there to give himself god-like abilities.

From terrorist on 'General Hospital' to rogue angel on the CW's 'Supernatural,' Sebastian Roché has made a career out of being unpredictable.

After spending his formative years travelling the world on a sailboat with his family (yes, really), Roché graduated to theater, film and television work, first in his native France, and then on American shores.

As the charismatic Balthazar on the spooky genre show, Roché has made a habit of popping in to cause mischief and mayhem for the Winchester brothers -- for good and for ill. His allegiances will truly be tested in tonight's two-hour season finale (8PM ET on the CW) when Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) find themselves literally caught between heaven and hell, and Crowley and Castiel's alliance puts Balthazar in a very tenuous situation.

Join us after the jump to read what Roché had to say about the season finale (not much!), his first experience with the 'Supernatural' fans and how exactly one goes about getting into character to play an angel. Mild spoilers ahead.

Few men epitomize the moniker of "evil genius" quite like Ben Edlund, the multi-talented executive producer, writer and director of the CW's 'Supernatural.'

After conceiving the quirky, cult-favorite character of 'The Tick' while still in high school, Edlund graduated to TV greatness working alongside Joss Whedon as a writer-producer on 'Firefly' and the later seasons of 'Angel,' before joining the 'Supernatural' team in 2006.

Edlund is responsible for many of the most comedic episodes of the spooky CW drama, but he's also credited with a number of the show's most mytharc-heavy, emotionally satisfying entries, and this week's episode looks to be no exception.

'The Man Who Would Be King' (Fri., May 6, 9PM ET on The CW) marks Edlund's first foray into directing since 2004, and AOL TV caught up with him earlier this week to discuss the challenges of directing his own script, as well as what fans can expect from the last three episodes of the season. Tread lightly, there are spoilers ahead.

You'd be hard-pressed to find a more fearless series currently on air than the CW's 'Supernatural'. Over the past six seasons, the dashing Winchester brothers have faced everything from Santa Claus to a spoof of Dr. McDreamy, but this Friday, they're facing a genre that few shows (or movies) dare to touch these days: The Western.

'Supernatural' already smashed the fourth wall with great aplomb earlier this season, but pulling off a believable Western on a TV budget would be a feat for any show without a premium cable network footing the bill. So it gives us great pleasure to report that, not only is 'Frontierland' gorgeous to look at, it's also one of the series' strongest episodes to date, providing humor and action while keeping up the momentum of the mythology as we approach the season finale.

TV Squad was lucky enough to see an advanced screener of this Friday's wild Western episode, and we've managed to whittle down an hour of memorable moments into a list of six reasons why this episode is not to be missed. Proceed with caution, pilgrims: there are mild spoilers ahead.

We may be a little biased, but we think that PaleyFest 2011's event to honor the CW's 'Supernatural' was a fairly special occasion. Not only did the hard-working cast -- Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Misha Collins and Jim Beaver -- take the time to fly back from filming the show in Vancouver to celebrate the occasion and answer the fans' burning questions, but TV Squad's own Maureen Ryan moderated the panel (and did an excellent job, if we do say so ourselves).

We were able to spend a little time with the cast and executive producers on the press line before the Q&A, and though predictably coy on the subject of spoilers, they were more than willing to drop a tantalizing hint or two about the rest of the season to ensure that we'll be itching with anticipation until the show returns from hiatus on April 15. Where's a time-traveling angel when you need one? Spoilers ahead.