In an age when many network television shows are lucky to last a single season before the axe comes down, the CW's long-running hit Supernatural has proven to be a consistent, crowd-pleasing ratings draw. The ongoing saga of the monster-hunting Winchester brothers has been renewed for a 10th season and is also getting a spinoff series of its own.

Originally titled Supernatural: Tribes, the spinoff has cast its two leads: Australian actor Nathaniel Buzolic, who made his U.S. television debut on The Vampire Diariesand British actor Lucien Laviscount. The bulk of the plot details are being kept under wraps, but we know the show will be set in Chicago, will be penned by longtime Supernatural writer/producer Andrew Dabb, and directed by executive producer Robert Singer.

Now we know a couple more things. Along with a new cast member, it appears that the spinoff is being renamed, as well. According to EW, the show will now be called Supernatural: Bloodlines, and will add Melissa Roxburgh as a series regular. Roxburgh, who has appeared on The CW's hit superhero series Arrow along with a one-episode guest spot on Supernatural, will apparently play a character named Violet, a member of "the werewolf pack." 

Bits and pieces of the spinoff's storyline have been hinted at up to this point, but this update includes a concise synopsis (courtesy of THR). The show is described as a:

“sweeping drama about the various mafia-esque monster families that, unknowingly to humans, run the underbelly of Chicago and are being tracked by a newly minted Hunter who’s trying to stop them and rid Chicago of anything or anyone supernatural.”

Melissa Roxburgh

As for Roxburgh's character, she's been given the following back-story:

“Violet hides her true nature because of her forbidden love for family rival David (Nathaniel Bozulic), but when cornered, her inner wolf breaks free.”

So beyond the mafia-of-monster-theme of the show, we'll get a hint of Romeo & Juliet as well, or so it seems. The overall plot also has elements of the ongoing Canadian sexy-monsters series Lost Girl, too. Will fans come to embrace the one-location setting of Bloodlines, which shifts the cross-country monster-hunting paradigm of Supernatural to Chicago's hidden, creature-infested underbelly?

If Supernatural really will end after season 10, (or not, if ratings hold) it might be up to Bloodlines to keep the established brand going. We'll see how strong an impression it makes during its backdoor pilot in April.

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Supernatural: Bloodlines will (sort of) premiere during the April 29th, 2014 episodes of Supernatural, with a full season most likely debuting in Fall, 2014.

Source: EW