CW favorite Tom Welling of Smallville and Professionals fame, has joined the cast of Supernatural prequel series The Winchesters.

Welling takes on the role of Samuel Campbell, Mary’s (Meg Donnelly) father and patriarch of the Campbell Hunting family.

An official bio for Sam Campbell describes him as gruff and pragmatic. He’s a veteran Hunter who prefers actions over words—and it’s always his way or the highway. Although Sam taught Mary everything she knows, when he teams up with his daughter and her friends to save the world, he won’t only have to defeat the most dangerous monster he’s ever faced—he’ll also have to mend his broken relationship with Mary.

Welling will make his first appearance as Samuel Campbell in episode seven, despite his character being unofficially featured in the pilot episode’s opening scenes.

“When we were discussing casting the iconic character of Samuel Campbell, everyone felt it had to be someone who could step into the role and provide instant gravitas and history,” said executive producer and showrunner Robbie Thompson.

“Jensen and Danneel brought up the idea of Tom Welling and the second his name was mentioned we all knew he was the perfect person for the part. Tom is a fantastic actor and wonderful human, and we are so excited to be welcoming him to The Winchesters and the Supernatural Family.”

The Winchesters premieres Tuesday, October 11 (8:00-9:00pm ET) on the CW.

Welling is also starring the the CW’s acquired drama Professionals, also premiering Tuesday, Oct. following the series premiere of The Winchesters.

The Winchesters is the epic, untold love story of how John Winchester (Drake Rodger) met Mary Campbell and put it all on the line to not only save their love, but the entire world. A prequel to The CW’s long-running hit series Supernatural, the series is written and executive produced by Robbie Thompson.

Jensen Ackles and Danneel Ackles executive produce via their Chaos Machine Productions.

Glen Winter serves as executive producer and pilot director. David H. Goodman and John Showalter serve as executive producers.

The series is from Chaos Machine Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television and CBS Studios.