The Originals is an American supernatural drama television series created by Julie Plec for The CW. A spin-off of The Vampire Diaries, the series makes use of certain characters and story elements from the series of books of the same name. The first season premiered with a special preview on October 3, 2013, following the season premiere of its parent series, before premiering in its regular time slot on October 8, 2013.
The show is set in New Orleans which the Mikaelson family and Original vampires helped to build. In the first season, the focus is primarily on Klaus (Joseph Morgan), Elijah (Daniel Gillies), and Rebekah (Claire Holt), who discover in the series's backdoor pilotwhich aired on April 25, 2013, as an episode of The Vampire Diariesthat Hayley Marshall (Phoebe Tonkin) is pregnant with Klaus' child.
Having fled the city many years ago, they return to find Klaus' former protégé, Marcel (Charles Michael Davis), in control of the French Quarter. Klaus decides to take back the city and enlists Elijah and Rebekah's help. The show also revolves around their relationship with other supernatural beings such as witches.
Cast
Main Joseph Morgan as Niklaus "Klaus" Mikaelson Daniel Gillies as Elijah Mikaelson Claire Holt as Rebekah Mikaelson Phoebe Tonkin as Hayley Marshall Charles Michael Davis as Marcellus "Marcel" Gerard Daniella Pineda as Sophie Deveraux Leah Pipes as Camille "Cami" O'Connell Danielle Campbell as Davina Claire
Recurring Shannon Kane as Sabine Laurent (possessed by Celeste Dubois) Eka Darville as Diego Callard Harris as Thierry Vanchure Sebastian Roché as Mikael Malaya Rivera Drew as Jane-Anne Deveraux Karen Kaia Livers as Agnes Steven Krueger as Joshua "Josh" Rosza Alexandra Metz as Katie Raney Branch as Celeste DuBois Shane Coffey as Timothy Todd Stashwick as Kieran O'Connell Matt Kabus as Sean O'Connell Shannon Eubanks as Bastianna Natale Yasmine Al-Bustami as Monique Deveraux Diana Chiritescu and Natalie Dreyfuss as Cassie (herself; possessed by Esther) Tasha Ames as Eve Jesse C. Boyd as Cary Owiso Odera as Papa Tunde Elyse Levesque as Genevieve Aubrey DeVaney and Alexa Yeames as Abigail Nathan Parsons as Jackson Kenner Chase Coleman as Oliver Teri Wyble as Clara Summerlin (possessed by Celeste DuBois) Peta Sergeant as Francesca Correa
Special guest Michael Trevino as Tyler Lockwood
Guest Nathaniel Buzolic as Kol Mikaelson Devon Allowitz as Henrik Mikaelson McCarrie McCausland as Marcel Gerard (young) Johnny Walter as Dwayne Morgan Alexandria as Lana Aiden Flowers as Klaus Mikaelson (young) Perry Cox as Elijah Mikaelson (young) Callie McClincy as Rebekah Mikaelson (young) Yusuf Gatewood as Vincent Griffith (possessed by Finn Mikaelson)
Notes
Episodes
Casting Joseph Morgan, Daniel Gillies and Phoebe Tonkin were the first members of the cast announced, reprising their roles from The Vampire Diaries. On February 1, 2013, Daniella Pineda was announced as Sophie Deveraux. In February, Charles Michael Davis was announced as Marcel Gerard, Danielle Campbell was announced as Davina Claire, Leah Pipes was announced as Camille O'Connell, and Claire Holt was confirmed to have joined the series, reprising her role of Rebekah Mikaelson from The Vampire Diaries. In July, Shannon Kane and Steven Krueger were announced as Sabine, a witch, and Josh, respectively. Josh was originally supposed to die after a few episodes but this was changed. In August, Todd Stashwick was announced as Kieran O'Connell. It was also confirmed that Sebastian Roché would reprise his role as Mikael from The Vampire Diaries.
Reception The first season received mixed reviews with 7.8 from IMDB. On Rotten Tomatoes the season holds a 57% based on 28 reviews, with an average rating of 5.61/10. The critics consensus reads, "The Originals may overwhelm casual viewers with its myriad twists and bevy of supernatural beings, but this is a sleek, atmospheric Vampire Diaries spinoff with potential."
Ratings
References