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 was primarily on Klaus (Joseph Morgan), Elijah (Daniel Gillies), and Rebekah (Claire Holt) who found out in the backdoor pilot, aired on April 25, 2013, how Hayley Marshall (Phoebe Tonkin) was pregnant with Klaus' child. Having fled the city many years ago, they return to find Marcel (Charles Michael Davis) (Klaus' protégé) leading the city. The family decide to take back the city. The show also revolves around the relationship between them and other supernatural beings, including witches. In the second season, Kol (played by both Nathaniel Buzolic and Daniel Sharman) and Finn (Yusuf Gatewood) come back.
On March 11, 2016, The CW renewed the series for a fourth season consisting of 13 episodes, which is set to premiere on March 17, 2017. As of May 20, 2016[update], 66 episodes of The Originals have aired, concluding the third season.
"No. overall" and "No. in season" for the pilot dictate the airing and location of the episode within the parent series.