The Originals Picked Up As Series

News just in: The Originals has been picked up as a series on the CW for next fall. The CW President Mark Pedowitz had this to say about the back door pilot of last nights 'The Vampire Diaries'.

“As soon as we saw last night’s episode of ‘The Vampire Diaries,’ we knew we wanted more of ‘The Originals’ – Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson have done a fantastic job with ‘The Vampire Diaries,’ which is as fast-paced and well-written as ever, and Julie has created an equally compelling world for ‘The Originals,’”

Vampire Diaries 4x20 Song List

Ep 20 'The Originals'

Dr. John "Revolution"
Martin Harley "Ball & Chain"
The Heavy "How You Like Me Now" (Marcel's Karaoke)
Leagues "Walking Backwards"
Caught A Ghost "No Sugar In My Coffee"
Steve Nathanson "Testified BK"
Martin Harley "Mojo Fix"
The Neighbourhood "How"
TV On The Radio "New Cannonball Blues"
The National "Terrible Love"
Rebirth Brass Band "Do Whatcha Wanna"

4x21 'She's Come Undone' Extended Promo

4x21 'She's Come Undone' Short Promo

Vampire Diaries 4x23 Official Synopsis

Ep 23 'Graduation'

WHO WILL TAKE THE CURE? — On Graduation Day, Mystic Falls is overrun with ghosts intent on settling old scores and fulfilling their supernatural destinies. Damon’s (Ian Somerhalder) life is in danger after a ghostly encounter, while Matt (Zach Roerig) and Rebekah (Claire Holt) join forces to battle a ghost determined to find the cure. As everyone gathers for the graduation ceremony and the ghosts converge, help comes from an unlikely hero. Caroline (Candice Accola) receives a touching and unexpected graduation present, and Bonnie’s (Kat Graham) plan leads to the closing of the veil. Elena (Nina Dobrev) makes a decision about the Salvatore brothers and faces an epic confrontation with Katherine (Nina Dobrev). Finally, Stefan (Paul Wesley) discovers a horrifying clue to the mystery surrounding Silas. Chris Grismer directed the episode written by Caroline Dries & Julie Plec (#423).

Vampire Diaries Bite - 24th April 2013

Vampire Diaries Writer and Producer Previews Season 5

What can we expect for the rest of the season?

They are filming the finale right now, that Julie Plec and I wrote. We are proud of the fact that... the first few episodes of the season - 401, 402 - all the mythology we started the show with, the massacres and the hunters - the chickens come home to roost in the finale. Everything we’ve been building towards happens as the students are graduating high school. It feels like a huge payoff. So things should feel surprising, but at the same time, we have really set them up.

We get to look forward to our gang graduating high school. We get to unfold the different layers of Silas as we get to know him better as the villain. There are some huge surprises with Bonnie and her magic that will shake us to our core, I think. We saw how Katherine and Elijah’s relationship kind of came out of left field, and yet made perfect sense - at least to me. We get to see that [relationship] evolve a little more and learn more of Katherine’s story. Then there is Elena, who we saw at prom as this heartless bitch who tried to kill her best friend. The boys need to put a stop to it because Elena is becoming her own worst nightmare. Elena has become the villain of the season at this point. So the Salvatores have to test their own limits with Elena, and do everything in their power to make her turn her emotions back on. It puts a huge strain on them because this is the woman they both love. How do you make her turn her emotions back on?

One of the things that was hinted at in the prom episode was that the only emotions Elena seems to respond to are fear and pain. Can we expect to see the boys just torturing the shit out of her?

Yes. In the least pretty fashion. This is where they realize - and the audience sees - how strong Elena is as a character - and as a villain, because she is able to withstand so much of their torture. Damon and Stefan torturing her is actually torture for them because they love her so much. So she is able to play with that dynamic. If you think Elena is a villain now, she manages to become an even greater villain. By the end of the season, we will find a way for her to become the Elena we know. Ultimately, we need to answer the question of the cure - the cure is still out there. And once Elena is back to being regular Elena Gilbert, with her emotions and her humanity, the question is hanging over our heads: were her feelings for Damon due to the sire bond? Were they real? Does she still love Stefan? So she has to answer that question, which is the big emotional journey for her this season.

The Vampire Diaries has never been afraid to kill off main characters, as we have seen time and again. Will everyone who was alive as of the prom episode survive the end of the season?

Um..... no. You know everything can’t go that well! There is always a body count.

That is one of the things I love about Vampire Diaries. It is “realistic” in the sense that, unlike in other TV shows, not everyone makes it to the end; they don’t all get out of their sticky situations. I think that is what keeps the show exciting and keeps viewers on their toes.

Yeah, it totally does. What I realized when I first started working on this show is that what really makes this show pop is that it lives in the truth. The truth is an ugly, uncomfortable place. Rather than running from it, you just charge into it, and that is where the best stories come from. That’s why I think Damon pops off the page so much, because he just says truthful things. They are hurtful, but that is what makes it shocking.

What can you tell us about The Originals pilot that airs this week?

It feels like Vampire Diaries but it has a new layer to it because it is set in New Orleans. It has a different vibe to it and it’s own set of characters. It’s a very compelling show. I feel like it was well done and a very interesting story.

If The Originals goes to series, will there be crossover episodes?

Yes. The plan is to do some crossover episodes. We don’t have any specifics yet.

The Vampire Diaries has already been picked up for a fifth season. Have you guys started breaking scripts yet? Do you know what will happen after the kids graduate?

Yeah. Even though we are done with season four story-wise, we do this thing called “Vampire Diaries Boot Camp.” We gather in the writer’s room, and now that we don’t have to deal with production phone calls and writing scripts, we just have full days of brainstorming the big ideas of the next season. That is what we are in the process of doing right now. We are thinking of the big stuff: Elena is going to go to college, which will be huge, but we want to keep it grounded in Mystic Falls as well. Obviously Damon isn’t going to go to college; but Caroline and Bonnie and Elena are roommates.... We want to keep the stories intertwined, and not just have separate college storylines.

A lot of shows set in high school seem to have a difficult time making that transition to college. Are you at all worried about that? I mean, truly, Vampire Diaries stopped being about high school long ago.

I think we will handle college the way we handle high school. They’re not going to be sitting in class every five minutes, but we are hyper-aware of it. We want to make sure the season feels fresh and new, like we are starting at a new place in Elena’s life. That’s what we like about college. What we don’t like about it is having these isolated college people in one place, then these other people in another place. So the challenge for us is to make sure all the storylines are intertwining and keeping the ensemble alive.
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Joseph Morgan Interview with Alloy Entertainment

Congrats on the pilot! On a scale of one to ten fangs, how wicked does Klaus get in the Big Easy?

Now do you mean ‘wicked’ in my English sense of the word or ‘wicked’ as in how evil does he get?

Ha! Let’s stick to “evil” for the time being.

(Laughs) Oh, man. That’s interesting. I haven’t been asked that before. And, for certain reasons which will become very clear when you watch the episode, I think that he makes some of the most evil choices he has ever made — certainly one of them. Given the circumstances he’s presented with, he is psychologically and emotionally more evil than we’ve ever seen him. (Pauses) But then he should be, shouldn’t he? I mean, this is a supernatural show here. We have to raise the stakes and go as far as we can. (Laughs) But yea, hes absolutely taking no prisoners in that sense.

TVD has a central love triangle at its core. Will one be established in The Originals as well?

Possibly. I know that they love the love triangles, but there isn’t one in the pilot. I mean, there could be. I could see how they might bring that in with the characters, but that’s not something we’ve talked about. Actually, when the first three of us — Gillies , Phoebe and I — committed to the pilot, people immediately assumed, ‘Oh, there we go. Two brothers, a beautiful girl. It’s a love triangle alright.’ But I don’t know if there will be one in the series. Potentially, I suppose.

While it might not be of the romantic variety, there’s definitely another sort of triangle to look forward to — the constant power struggle among Klaus, Rebekah, and Elijah. Should we expect any heartfelt or epic Original family moments? Will there be any flashbacks in the pilot?

There’s no flashbacks because the episode is so jam-packed with new characters. Even New Orleans itself is a huge character on the show — it’s very vibrant and present as are the people there. However, we can expect the most…(Laughs)…the most extreme….How can I describe this without revealing too much? There’s a family moment in the pilot that will rock all of them to the very core. It’s something that will change the dynamic of the family forever. Also, in terms of the triangle between the three of them, at the moment it’s very much a straight line with Klaus on one end, Rebekah on the other end, and Elijah in the middle. That’s how I’d reconcile them.

Well, you must be psychic because you touched upon our next question. What would say is the biggest difference between New Orleans as a setting versus Mystic Falls?

The director Chris Grismer really wanted to exploit the vivaciousness of New Orleans so, in tone, it’s a much more colorful show. It still retains the shadowy quality of The Vampire Diaries, but it has absolutely more vibrancy to it. This goes for the music as well. New Orleans is filled with wonderful jazz, blues, and all sorts of live performances. We very much wanted to embrace that. And we had to embrace that while filming. For example, people are allowed to drink in the streets there and we couldn’t force them to be quiet or force them to do exactly what we wanted. NOLA is very much a place that has its own rules so we wanted to capture its vigor, and I really think this comes across in the pilot. It’s a very different, much more lively town.
Also, Vampire Diaries is a very coming-of-age story and The Originals focuses more on characters who have embraced their true nature and love being vampires. There’s less guilty and remorse.

Wow. That’s a great distinction to point out — how TVD is more of a “rites of passage” show whereas the spin-off would delve more into the hedonistic lifestyles of these vamps.

That’s exactly what it is. Hedonism is a beautiful way to describe it. There are even specific scenes in the pilot which I would describe it as, “Yea! There’s a hedonistic vampire party.” (Laughs) The Originals has a really Babylonian quality to it.

Just like you and Charles Michael Davis, Klaus and Marcel have been long-time friends. However, we sense tension between them. What’s their dynamic like?

Well, first of all Charles [Michael Davis] is magnificent on the show. By the middle of the season, if we get picked up, the show is going to be centered around Marcel rather than Klaus. He just killed it. I saw the pilot recently and he’s just absolutely fantastic. He currently must have 8 or 9 thousand twitter followers and I can’t wait to see, after the episode airs, his tremendous rise in new followers and fans. He just plays an exuberant character and the dynamic between [Marcel] and Klaus is one of the most interesting in the show, I think, due to the history that exists between them.
And so, for me, their camaraderie is as intriguing as the complex relationship among the Original siblings because Marcel and Klaus are people who simultaneously love and hate each other. Even within the episode, their dynamic has its own arc and, certainly, if the series gets picked up there will be more to explore. And it would be a crying shame if the character of Marcel was never seen on television again after this episode, because Charles really did something special with this role.

Oh, we totally agree with that last point. Charles is basically the heartthrob of New Orleans.

(Laughs) So handsome — damn it — with his huge smile!

Aside from Charles, there are a lot of new faces in The Originals pilot. What was it like working alongside Danielle Campbell, Leah Pipes, and Daniela Pineda?

It was a great experience! First of all, I love everyone in my new cast. I don’t know them all very well though so that may change in the future, but right now I love everyone. (Laughs) Daniela is just really, really funny and she posts these hilarious sketches on YouTube under the name DW Diaz. You have to look them up. She’s just doesn’t take herself too seriously, which is wonderfully refreshing and so that was a lot of fun.
As for Leah who plays Camille, I filmed my favorite scene with her. It’s later on in the episode and I don’t really say much, but I think it’s some of the best acting I’ve done. I don’t know what you guys will think but to me, that scene stood out. For me, she was really solid. She made some interesting choices as an actress and came across so strong in the pilot.
I haven’t acted yet with Danielle, but I adore her as a person. However, I saw her scene in the pilot we pitched to the networks and she’s amazing. Also, she’s ridiculously beautiful. She’s so young but, to me, she resembles a young Katie Holmes. She should be made of porcelain. (Laughs)

It’s truly such a talented cast. We can’t wait to see everyone action!

It feels like a show full of real actors. I know that The CW has a reputation for being a network of pretty people, but to me it felt like talented actors working together, which was so fun, so good.

Hayley (Phoebe Tonkin) will also be popping up in New Orleans in [TVD] episode 4.20. Will we witness any interesting interactions between her and Klaus, especially after their steamy hookup?

It’s absolutely made reference to in the pilot and we do share screen time. Not loads of screen time but is there a scene between the two. And what they’ve done with that hookup is give our characters a sort of history to draw upon and something very awkward and interesting to refer to. We’ll definitely see that as well as some of the aftermath of how they’re feeling about [their hookup], which is a very human moment in a supernatural show.

We know that you can’t tell us if Caroline is coming to New Orleans or not. However, if she did happen to visit what ideal day would Klaus plan for just the two of them?

First of all, let me say, Klaus' relationship with Caroline is made reference to in the pilot. It’s not as though the writers brushed past it and all of a sudden it’s like ‘Hey! He’s forgotten her now that he’s with his old pals and meeting new people. Hey!’ But I think that he would want to do what he’s always said to her, which is to show her the world. He’d be so enamored with the idea of introducing her to the arts and the music and all of the aspects that make New Orleans a culturally rich city. Just like he promised her when he saved her life on her birthday in TVD Season 3, there’s a whole world out there waiting for her and he wants to be the one to show it to her. I think he would have a wonderful time playing tour guide. Absolutely.

And just for kicks, what’s the juiciest fact about yourself that not a lot of people know yet?

(Laughs) I’ve revealed everything of ‘slight juice’ that I’m willing to at this point. But I’ll tell you something else — the juiciest fact about Klaus that viewers don’t know yet is going to revealed in The Originals pilot, which will be very exciting to see. I’m not sure what the one about me would be although, if there’s anything about myself that I haven’t shared yet, then it’s probably never going to be revealed.

Interview With Joseph Morgan From Zap2It

"The Originals" is just two days away! There's been so much anticipation for this show. Are you nervous, at all, for the fans to finally see the pilot?

I'm really excited for people to see it. I'm interested, because I've seen the pilot which was presented to the network and the studio, but that's a different version than what's going to air. The episode that's going to air has slightly more "Vampire Diaries" in it, as opposed to just "The Originals." They've got extra scenes. I know the network and the studio really like it, but it's going to depend on people's reactions. I really hope that people respond to the new characters that we introduce and to the storyline. Right now I'm just ready for it to be out there. I'm tired of the world not knowing what's happening, what the storylines are. I think it's time for people to see. There's been so much support and anticipation, I'm looking forward to the fans being rewarded for that.

Klaus's relationship with Elijah and Rebekah is as bad as it's ever been. At this point, it's hard to imagine them deciding to move to New Orleans as one big happy family. Will their relationship improve over the course of this episode?

Things are definitely getting more complicated, but I don't know if that's an improvement or not. At the beginning of the episode, it feels like there's a line. Klaus is on one end of it, Rebekah's on the other, and Elijah is sort of in the middle, the great mediator -- but also still kind of siding with Rebekah. He's trying to bring things together in the family, but I think the most interesting thing about "The Originals" is that their dynamics are complicated. There's certainly some hate for one another, there are things you think they'll never forgive each other for, but there's love as well. As an actor, I make a conscious decision that there's love. When he says these terrible things to Rebekah -- "You're not my family, you're not my sister, you're nothing to me" -- I think that I have to make him go to a place where he shuts off his emotion. He puts up a wall around how he feels for her, as opposed to not ever feeling for her. Those are the things which make it really interesting. I don't know if the relationship is going to improve or not, but I know it's going to have more layers.

Tell us about some of the new characters we'll meet. Camille [Leah Pipes], who has been set up as a love interest for Klaus, is the human figure in the show. From what I've heard, she's not an Elena Gilbert-esque ingenue.

"The Originals" has been pitched as a darker, more adult show, and Camille personifies that. She's the only human regular character that's in the show, but she comes at it very damaged. The characters in "Vampire Diaries," at the beginning, had experienced tragedy, but they came at it from a very innocent place. She's coming in much more jaded, with an understanding of darkness. I have one proper scene with her -- a few run-ins with her, but one proper scene -- and I think that's some of the best work I've done. Even though I don't say much in the scene, it was a challenge for me. I really like working with Leah. She makes interesting choices with Julie. She's a beautiful girl, but to me, she doesn't look like the majority of the fans out there who watch the show, for example. They might have a slightly harder time relating to her, which is what makes her so intriguing. She's a fantastic character.

We'll be meeting Marcel [Charles Michael Davis], who has been holding down the fort in New Orleans. From the trailer, it seems that Klaus is poised to overthrow him.

There's a history there, there's a friendship there, but absolutely Klaus is envious of what Marcel has managed to achieve in his absence. Klaus is by far the more powerful being -- he's an Original vampire, and he's a hybrid, all these things. Marcel is just a vampire, sired by Klaus. But what Marcel has that Klaus doesn't is this army. He runs the town, he runs the vampires, he has the witches in the palm of his hand. They can't do magic without his say-so. What he lacks in personal power, he makes up for in influence. Should things come to a head between the two of them, that's where the challenge will be. Klaus is a one-man army, but Marcel actually has an army.

It sounds as if Marcel has managed to create the family that Klaus wanted, but couldn't create with the hybrids.

That's very astute of you, yeah, because that's absolutely where the envy and the jealousy comes from. Also, people just like Marcel. The characters respond to him; he's charismatic. Klaus doesn't have that, and he can't understand it. He mistrusts people, people betray him, and he betrays them. He doesn't have the leadership qualities Marcel has. He's envious of the charisma this guy has.

Will there be much talk of Caroline in this episode? If Klaus is gearing up to relocate to New Orleans, I imagine she'd be the biggest motivation to stay in Mystic Falls.

It's made reference to in the episode. Klaus makes reference to it and it's acknowledged in the writing toward the end. It's not like he's in this new place and he's like "Well, forget her!" I think the ideal thing for Klaus would be for her to come to New Orleans, and he's still enamored with her. They're not going to introduce a new love interest and immediately go, "Hey, he's with this girl now!" They respect the fans enough to keep acknowledging Caroline and potentially work in some crossovers.

Could there be a last minute twist, with Candice Accola joining "The Originals"?

I think "Vampire Diaries" would suffer greatly losing Caroline Forbes. I really feel that wouldn't be good for that show, for her to come over to "The Originals," and we've got to keep the balance now that the world's got bigger. There's two shows to maintain, potentially, so they might be in a bit of a long-distance relationship, if anything, for a while.

What about Hayley [Phoebe Tonkin]? Is she a viable love interest for Klaus, or was their hookup a one-time thing?

I think that's kind of a one-time thing. I think there's going to be some resolve, some of the aftermath of their liason in the episode. We'll see how they feel about it and how it's affected them both. He's not looking to rekindle that, and I think neither is she. I really loved that that happened between them, because it just goes to show the flawed nature of Klaus' character. I think it was a very bold choice of Julie and the writers, because they absolutely knew the repercussions that it would have, the backlash from all the fans. The Klaus and Caroline fans hate that she'd done that, but he's always been a flawed character. He's in no way perfect. He's made more mistakes in his lifetime than hundreds of people combined, so to show him make a mistake in that way -- I mean, he's a guy, to show him respond to his nature, his instinct -- I think that's a bold and right choice. I supported that.

Now that Klaus is the central figure of the show, should we expect to see him as the hero of this story, or is he still maintaining his villain status?

I think I'd go as far as to say anti-hero. He's definitely not a hero. He does awful things in the pilot; he makes one of the most disgusting emotional choices we've ever seen him make. He's not the villain of this piece. We're rooting for him -- I hope we're rooting for him, or the show's not going to work. That's what attracted me to the show. I would've never thought that the guy who came in and slaughtered Aunt Jenna could have his own show and people would actually be hoping he'd succeed. I think as long as we keep showing the cracks, the glimpses of vulnerability, we'll root for him. He's an anti-hero. I think, if I stand for anything, it's that if this goes to series, the eventual tale could be the tale of Klaus's salvation.

Spoiler From TV Guide - 23rd April 2013

Will Elena get her humanity back this season on The Vampire Diaries? She really sucks!

That remains to be seen, but in next week's episode, Damon will put one of Elena's friends in extreme (aka life-or-death) danger in order to get some emotion — maybe even tears! —out of her. But who's the pawn in Damon's plan? Hint: He's a dying breed on the series.

Spoiler From TV Line - 23rd April 2013

Anything new on the season finale of The Vampire Diaries?

The May 16 climax finds Rebekah “just trying like hell to graduate and have that true-life human experience,” previews EP Julie Plec. But perhaps she should be more concerned about this teaser from Plec: “We’ll get a surprise visit from at least one more Original.”

Spoiler From TV Guide - 23rd April 2013

It's high school graduation! But who has time to think about that when Silas must be stopped? But can he be? "When the season is over, it's pretty clear that they haven't seen the last threat from this guy," executive producer Julie Plec teases. Elsewhere, Tyler's fate rests solely in the hands of Klaus, who will decide whether to let Tyler and Caroline be happy. Most importantly, someone will ingest the cure, but the ramifications will spill into next season. Could that have something to do with the major shakeup of the Damon-Elena-Stefan triangle that's to come? "The end of the season will be changing the dynamic of the three drastically and sending each individual party off on a very new and distinct future," Plec says.

4x20 'The Originals' Webclip 3

Spoiler From Zap2It - 22nd April 2013

Elena's not going to get free from the Salvatore dungeon any time soon. Stefan and Damon team up with Caroline, Bonnie, and Matt in an effort to torture Elena's humanity out of her by stealing her ring and exposing her to sunlight. But there's a problem. They're trying to use fear to inspire emotion, but Elena's not afraid, because she knows that while everyone else might have reached their breaking point with her, Damon still won't ever let anything truly bad happen to her. He can't help but save her.

4x19 'Pictures Of You' Rehash

4x20 'The Originals' Webclip 2

4x20 'The Originals' Weblip

Spoiler From TV Line - 22nd April 2013

The Vampire Diaries‘ Klaus and Caroline have formed a twisted friendship as of late — but what comes next? Here is an exclusive first look at an upcoming scene between the two, and it appears that a big, confrontational turn in their relationship is ahead.

On the May 2 episode (The CW, 8/7c), the blonde vamp has a “confusing and dangerous encounter” with the Original, the official episode description says. Is Caroline confused about her feelings for Klaus? And does the photo look “dangerous” as in violent, or on the cusp of a passionate moment?

Do you think the pair will stay purely platonic, cross the line into something more or go back to being sworn enemies?

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4x21 'She's Come Undone' Stills