The Originals (TV series)

Lore & Background

The series centers on three of the Mikaelson siblings: Klaus, Elijah, and Rebekah. The Mikaelson family, also known as 'the Originals,' are the first vampires ever to exist, born as witches from their mother Esther Mikaelson. Klaus is the son of a witch and a werewolf and an original vampire, making him a vampire-werewolf hybrid. The backdoor pilot, 'The Originals,' aired on April 25, 2013, and revealed that the werewolf Hayley, with whom Klaus had a drunken one-night stand in season 4 of The Vampire Diaries, is pregnant with his child, the first ever tribrid.

Reader's Guide

The Originals began airing on the CW on October 3, 2013. On July 20, 2017, it was announced by series creator Julie Plec that the series' fifth season would be its last. The final season began airing in April 2018 and finished on August 1, 2018. The series follows the Mikaelson siblings returning to New Orleans, where they confront Marcel, Klaus's former protégé who rules the French Quarter, and face threats from witches, werewolves, and their own family. The series explores the birth and protection of Klaus's daughter Hope, and the family's battles against ancient enemies like the Hollow.

Did You Know?

• The series is a spin-off of The Vampire Diaries and the first television series expansion of that franchise.
• Klaus Mikaelson is a vampire-werewolf hybrid, making him one of the most powerful supernatural beings.
• The final season aired in 2018.

Origins & Franchise Position

The Originals launched as the first spin-off of The Vampire Diaries, premiering on The CW on October 3, 2013. Its backdoor pilot, which aired on April 25, 2013, served as the narrative bridge between the two shows, introducing viewers to the Mikaelson siblings—Klaus, Elijah, and Rebekah—alongside their parents Esther and Mikael, and siblings Kol and Finn. The series is rooted in the concept that the Mikaelsons are the first vampires ever to exist, born from Esther's witchcraft. Klaus, the half-brother, carries a unique hybrid nature as the son of a witch and a werewolf, a trait his siblings lack. The narrative is anchored in the French Quarter of New Orleans, a city the Mikaelsons originally built before fleeing their vengeful father in 1919. In their absence, Klaus's former protégé Marcel seized control, setting the stage for the central power struggle that drives the series.

Central Conflict & Character Dynamics

At the heart of the series is a multi-generational family saga set against the backdrop of supernatural warfare in New Orleans. Klaus, Elijah, and Rebekah return to the city they once built, only to find it under the iron rule of Marcel, their former ally turned rival. The immediate crisis centers on Hayley, a werewolf pregnant with Klaus's child—the first tribrid in existence—whose birth is manipulated by the French Quarter witches to force Klaus into their service. The first season culminates in Hope's birth and the faking of her death to protect her from witch sacrifice, while Hayley is turned into the first unsired hybrid through her own blood after being murdered. The dynamics between the siblings, their fraught relationship with their parents, and their complicated ties to Marcel, Kol, and Finn create a web of loyalty, betrayal, and protection that defines the show's emotional core.

Seasonal Arc & Escalating Threats

Each season of The Originals escalates the stakes through new threats drawn from the Mikaelsons' deep past. Season two brings back their parents and Esther's sister Dahlia, who covets Hope as the first-born of every generation, while Kol and Finn return in witch bodies with Finn seeking to destroy vampires. Season three introduces Lucien Castle, Klaus's first vampire, who allies with Tristan de Martel and Aurora to fulfill a prophecy of the family's downfall, resulting in the deaths of Jackson, Camille, and Davina. Season four, set five years later, finds Marcel as an Upgraded Original ruling the city while the ancient entity known as the Hollow targets seven-year-old Hope for her tribrid powers. The fifth and final season, set seven years later, sees fifteen-year-old Hope at the Salvatore School as the family confronts Nazi vampires and Hayley's kidnapping, with each sibling holding a quarter of the Hollow within them.

Legacy & Franchise Expansion

Creator Julie Plec announced on July 20, 2017, that the fifth season would be the series' final chapter, which concluded on August 1, 2018. The Originals' legacy extends well beyond its own run, as the fifth season functions as a soft backdoor pilot for the next installment in the CW supernatural franchise. Small incorporations of the Salvatore School for the Young and Gifted, where Hope enrolls, along with characters like Alaric, Landon Kirby, and the Saltzman twins, plant the seeds for what would become Legacies. Caroline Forbes, Klaus's past love interest and co-founder of the school, also features prominently. The series thus serves as the connective tissue between The Vampire Diaries and its successor, expanding the franchise's mythology while giving the Mikaelson saga a definitive conclusion. The show's five-season arc on The CW established New Orleans as a permanent fixture in the supernatural television landscape.

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