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Filmmaker James Gunn is busy reshaping the DC Universe’s future on the big screen. The director has been accused of nepotism while casting the upcoming projects, but Gunn’s alleged offenses are hardly anything compared to one of Warner Bros’ most recognizable brands from the past decade in the hit fantasy drama series Supernatural.

Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles starred in Supernatural (Credit: Warner Bros).

Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki were the pillars of Supernatural for its lengthy fifteen-season run. However, during this time the series turned into a bit of a family affair for the lead stars, with several of their family members appearing across different episodes. Here is what you need to know about the nepotism in Supernatural.

Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki Turned Supernatural Into a Family Business

Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki played the roles of brothers Dean and Sam Winchester in Supernatural. Over the show’s lengthy run,...

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Supernatural returns to its largely successful monster-of-the-week formula that made Season One such an enjoyable romp. Heartache wasn’t the strongest episode it’s ever aired but it was efficient and held enough subtext to imply that this season is still going as strong as the previous two episodes have suggested.

The monster-of-the-week turns out to be a Mayan warrior’s group of crazed fanatics. The warrior, obsessed with competition, made a collection of deals and sacrifices, enabling himself to turn up, time and time again, as a different sporting hero, perpetually triumphing in his chosen field. His legacy isn’t as clean-cut as one might expect it to be, however, when a host of individuals begin to make their own sacrifices in order to stay fit and healthy forever. Fanaticism at its darkest – more subtext perhaps…

Everything passes by in a satisfactory manner; Dean and...

Supernatural fans, eat your heart out.

This essentially one-off episode about organ transplants, Mayan gods and bloody beating hearts was not only directed by Jensen Ackles, Mr. Dean Winchester himself, but it even starred his father, Alan Ackles.

There was an obvious resemblance and it was clear pretty quick that Papa Ackles can hold his own against Dean. Talk about entertaining Acktion.

It's actually pretty impressive that Ackles was in so much of this episode considering that he was directing. When he first did "Weekend at Bobby's," Ackles popped in here and there, but the brunt of his presence was behind the camera. The same could certainly be said for last season's "The Girl Next Door," allowing for much of the focus to be on Sam and his past love.

Yet "Heartache" featured a lot of Dean screen time and I could tell that being the one in control allowed...

Note: Do not read on if you have not seen Season 8, Episode 3 of The CW's "Supernatural," entitled "Heartache."

Episode three of "Supernatural" Season 8 (which was actually filmed first this year to give director Jensen Ackles time to prepare) was basically a standard "Monster of the Week" installment, but like many of the show's best standalone entries, it also helped contextualize the brothers' relationship to help the audience understand what's motivating them at this point in the season.

Up until this week's episode, Dean had seemingly convinced himself that Sam would eventually reacclimatize to the life and rediscover his passion for hunting, just as Dean did in Purgatory, but "Heartache" saw Sam tell his older brother, in no uncertain terms, that he fully intended to quit the family business once they'd found Kevin and laid their Hell Gate quest to rest.

It's both refreshing and a little heartbreaking to see the...

On TV this Wednesday: American Horror Story: Asylum gets its scary start, Suburgatory returns for Season 2, there’s a lot of questions being asked in Nashville and Supernatural‘s Jensen Ackles steps behind the camera. As a supplement to TVLine’s original features (linked within), here are nine programs to watch for tonight.

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Here are 13 photos from Supernatural Episode 8.03, “Heartache.” They feature Jensen Ackles as Dean, Jared Padalecki as Sam, Liane Balaban as Amelia, Paul Boyle as Arthur, and Alan Ackles as Detective Pike.

Notice any resemblance between Dean and Detective Pike?

“Heartache” was written by Brad Buckner & Eugenie Ross-Leming. Jensen Ackles directed.

Sam and Dean investigate a string of unusual murders where the victims were all recipients of organs from the same donor. The killer is captured, but things become even more complicated when the brothers find their killer in a trance mumbling an ancient prayer.

*Photos courtesy of Jack Rowand/The CW...

Jared Padalecki super fans back up! In this batch of promo images for “Heartache”, the upcoming third episode of Supernatural’s 8th season, we have a couple of good looks of Liane Balaban, who plays Sam Winchester’s new lady of interest, Amelia. We told you about Liane’s Supernatural stint during the Summer and you probably have already formed some opinions on one of the reasons why Sammy wasn’t too active in handling business during Dean’s trip to Purgatory. You also see Alan Ackles Detective Pike, who is Jensen’s Ackle’s pop. Jensen also directed this episode, and the word is that he will be in this one a lot, unlike other episodes of Supernatural he has helmed in the past.

Supernatural “Heartache” (8.03) airs on October 17th on the CW. Now, next week’s episode is called ”What’s Up, Tiger Mommy?” (8.02) and Boomtron already has...

Awww. When "Supernatural" star Jensen Ackles took his turn behind the camera this summer to direct the season's third episode, "Heartache," he kept it all in the family and cast his dad, Alan Ackles, in a fun cameo role. Judging from this behind-the-scenes photo, the Ackles men had a blast working together.

It's Jensen's third time directing an episode of his show. "He always does -- even though it doesn't air first -- the first episode of the season. We do that because than he couldn't actually have prep time if he did an episode in the middle," says executive producer Bob Singer.

For Jensen's first time in the director's chair, he helmed an episode that focused on Bobby (Jim Beaver), so his character was in it very little. His second episode centered on Sam (Jared Padalecki) -- and Jensen's character, Dean, was laid up with a broken leg, allowing...

Still wondering what made Supernatural‘s Sam fall in love with Amelia? We’ve got a sneak peek at Season 8′s third episode — directed by star Jensen Ackles! — which offers a glimpse into their relationship as the hunter and his new girl go on a picnic with their pooch.

Related | Supernatural Premiere Recap: It Was Pure Purgatory — Plus, Scoop on What’s Next!

The Oct. 17 installment (The CW, 9/8c) also deals with another type of heart-related issue as Sam and Dean investigate a series of bizarre murders in which all the victims were recipients of organs from the same donor.

Jensen Ross Ackles was born on 1 March 1978 in Dallas, Texas. He is of Irish, Scots and English ancestry. Jensen's parents were going to name him Justin, but settled on Jensen as it wasn't too well known a name. He attended Dartmouth Elementary, Richardson, Texas and graduated from Lloyd Berkner High School, Richardson, Texas in 1996. He is 6' 1" and his height has been the brunt of many a joke in Supernatural. An avid sportsplayer, keen on Lacrosse and baseball, he had aspired to become a sports therapist and wanted to study Sports Medicine at Texas Tech University. Jensen's father, Alan Ackles is also an actor and his mother is Donna. He has an older brother, Josh and a younger sister, Mackenzie. Jensen's Texan accent comes and goes, but is especially strong when he's back home. At the tender age of 2, he began modelling and appeared in such commercials for Wal-Mart, Radio Shack and Nabisco.

Got a scoop request? An anonymous tip you’re dying to share? Just want to say hi? You can send any/all of the above to [email protected]

Question: NCIS scoop, please! —Milea

Ausiello: Ziva’s about to get a major rival. Israeli actress/model Sarai Givaty (pictured) has just been cast in a November-sweeps arc as Liat, a Mossad liaison charged with keeping Ziva’s dad out of harm’s way. Before long, Ziva-With-a-z is feeling replaced both professionally and personally, so she does what any smart, self-confident tough chick would: She has a knock-down, drag-out fight with the new “her.