The Originals is an American fantasy-drama television series picked up by The CW television network for their fall 2013 schedule, after a backdoor pilot for the series aired as an episode of The CW series The Vampire Diaries in April 2013. It is a spin-off of The Vampire Diaries, sharing similar themes and depictions of reality as its predecessor. The show revolves around three Mikaelson siblings, Klaus (Joseph Morgan), Elijah (Daniel Gillies), and Rebekah (Claire Holt), collectively known as "original vampires", or simply the "originals". The Originals is set in the city of New Orleans. It was created by Julie Plec.