Earlier this week it was revealed that The CW is moving forward with their long-planned Supernatural spinoff, which is said to focus on "the clash of hunter and monster cultures in Chicago."

The spinoff is being designed as a backdoor pilot that will run in Supernatural's upcoming ninth season (as The Originals pilot ran as an episode of Vampire Diaries last season). Supernatural supervising producer Andrew Dabb will pen the script, which will feature new characters and, unlike its parent series, take place in the one central location.This morning, Mark Pedowitz, president of The CW was on hand at the TCA (Television Critics Association) press tour where he confirmed that there is no plan to cross any existing characters over into the new series at the moment."It's a planted spinoff and right now it's the beginning of development. There will be hunters, there will be monsters, it will be set in Chicago, at the moment no one's planning to have continuing characters that are on Supernatural right now."As to whether the planned spinoff in an indication that Supernatural may be cresting towards a conclusion as is heads into Season 9, Pedowitz again stressed that if the ratings maintain, the network will keep the show alive."I would love Supernatural to continue as long is it can continue; from what I've read (of the upcoming season's scripts) there are character arcs that could go longer. As long as the fanbase is there, and the stories are there, there's no reason it can't go longer."We will keep you updated as details emerge.