I worried that Jensen would be Dean and I would have been disappointed. But Jensen has acting chops. The similarity with Supernatural is Jensen plays the big brother. The dissimilarity is that Justin Hartley (Colter) brings his own dynamic and it feels real. This show needs more opportunities for Colter to show emotions with people in long term relationships and not just a person of the week; or the analyst; or the ladies at base.
Finally we see Colter in an emotional conundrum which is interesting.
The Reenie relationship could also be interesting but her role is written to be a little too transactional at this stage. I hope they put more personal / romantic tension there.
The problem with Jensen is he is a scene stealer. I saw there was an effort to make him the supporting actor. It's a strong pairing. The question is can Justin Hartley's ego ( it would be hard for any lead actor) make room for everything that is Jensen Ackles? It will upgrade the show, but Jensen will get a lot of fan love. But so will justin Hartley because this relationship brings the ability for him to be more multifaceted, gives him more depth, allows for more emotional scenes. They had great chemistry .