Whenever I stumble across a series on Netflix and I see it has a healthy five seasons and 22 episodes a season, my heart does a little leap of joy. Let the binge watching commence! And that's exactly the case with The Originals.
Created as a spin-off to The Vampire Diaries, it originally started airing in the US on CW in 2013. But now all five seasons are available to stream on Netflix.
The show is based around vampires, witches and werewolves so it's packed full of fantasy drama.
Set in New Orleans the premise is that siblings Klaus, Elijah and Rebekah Mikaelson are the first ever vampires on earth, making them The Originals. That special title also comes with complete immortality so the trio have been roaming around the earth for a thousand years.
The Originals Official Trailer
In fact, they created New Orleans but left decades ago to get away from their father. Fast forward to the 21st century, they are back only to find the city in turmoil.
The vampires have well and truly taken over and are at war with the witches. To make things worse, Marcel, who was sired by Klaus, is now the self-proclaimed ‘King of the vampires'.
Is The Originals Worth Watching?
In a slightly more complicated twist, Klaus is also part werewolf and has managed to get fellow werewolf, Hayley, pregnant.
Given that the family believed this was impossible, the pregnancy is seen as a small miracle. Not everyone is as overjoyed (including Klaus) and with a lot of people out to harm both Hayley and the baby, The Originals must do whatever they have to, to protect her.
It's very similar to either Grimm or Lucifer (review here) in it's theme. Throw in complicated family dynamics, spells, humans, plenty of treachery and deceit and you have all the makings of a solid tv show.
The only issue with the show is that it was initially created to air weekly on tv so I struggled with the pace of it.
If you watch the episodes back to back some of the plots become a little repetitive. Klaus plots against Marcel to get his city back. Things go wrong. Elijah bails him out. Marcel gets hoodwinked. He fights with Klaus. They become friends again. Rebekah tut tuts a lot.
The good news is that the rest of the stories do move along. Plus there were only five seasons made so the whole Mikaelson saga does get wrapped up in a neat bow.
And if you want to know where to watch The Originals click here!
