Good news to fans of the “The Originals.” The CW has just recently confirmed that the popular TV series is going to be back for a fifth season - and Season 4 has not even ended yet. The early approval came amid rumors that the show will say goodbye after Season 4 because of declining ratings.
“The Originals” premiered as a spin-off to "The Vampire Diaries," and it tells the story of Klaus, Elijah, Rebekah, aka the Mikaelson siblings who returned to New Orleans to reclaim the city that they originally built. When the series premiered in 2013, it got more than 2 million viewers, however, ratings declined as the story progressed.
Ratings of “The Originals” Season 4 has remained relatively stable, although there is a decrease of about 11 percent compared to Season 3.
Season 4 went down to just 13 episodes
Seasons 1 through 3 all had 22 episodes, but the “The Originals” Season 4 only has 13 - that's almost half the number of episodes that the previous seasons had. This alone was enough to make some people think that the show will not come back for a Season 5. But many fans are still hopeful because the series has a lot of unanswered questions, and one more season, at least, could give closure to the characters. Before the renewal was announced, actor Charles Michael Davis who plays Marcel Gerard was positive that they will get a slot for 2017-2018.
Fans have since started social media campaigns, promoting the hashtags #RenewTheOriginals and #SaveTheOriginals to call for "The Originals” Season 5 renewal. During a previous interview, Davis said that he "feels really good" about the show getting renewed and that he has heard some information. Thankfully, that has now been confirmed.
'The Originals' rank 10th among The CW shows
Currently, “The Originals” Season 4 ranks tenth among The CW's 16 TV shows. The series will have a new showrunner as Michael Narducci is leaving his post. Series creator Julie Plec will assume his position, while Leslie Morgenstern will executive-produce.
Another series from The CW, “iZombie,” has also been given the greenlight.
The series' rating also went down, and some sources say that it only has about 905,000 viewers per episode for Season 3. “iZombie" will come back for Season 4, and just like “The Originals,” the current season for “iZombie" will run until June. Other currently renewed shows include “Arrow,” “D.C.’s Legends of Tomorrow,” “The Flash,” “Supergirl,” “Jane the Virgin,” “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” and “Supernatural.”
