Fall TV preview: Joseph Morgan, ‘The Originals,’ reach beyond ‘The Vampire Diaries’

With all of our other editions of the Fall TV Preview series (at least when we have been talking about pilots), there has been one constant: Some sort of new video footage to share. However, this is not entirely possible when you have a show like “The Originals,” mostly because the only video footage out there is from the backdoor pilot that aired a little earlier on in the year.

But will this show really be successful? More so than any other new program on The CW’s fall schedule, it has a shot. Joseph Morgan has a huge fan following already, as do the likes of Daniel Gillies, Claire Holt, and Phoebe Tonkin for some of their respective work. Not only that, but putting these characters in a new city (New Orleans) with their own stories should provide a great opportunity explore who they are, along with where they came from in the centuries of history that exist. If there was ever a group of people to make flashback episodes about, this is it.

Since “The Originals” has everything on paper to be a huge show, let’s instead focus on what has us concerned. For one, the backdoor pilot posted only a 1.0 in the 18-49 demographic, which is on the low end of the “Vampire Diaries” ratings spectrum. Also, you’re moving it (for some ridiculous reason) to a night in Tuesday that has “The Voice” as competition, and we’re equally worried about “Pretty Little Liars” in the winter months given the shows’ crossover audience.

It is already clear what you are going to get out of this show (intense vampire drama with a little bit of humor), and that is very much a good thing. We are just not going to know what the show’s real long-term potential is until once we watch an episode that does not have the likes of Elena, Stefan, or anyone else around for a change to fill in the cracks.

What is your early gut reaction on “The Originals”: Will it produce handsome results, or end up in serious need of a staking?