However, if you finish Season 5 and feel that "Mikaelson-shaped hole" in your heart, do not despair. The story continues in the sequel series, .

The fifth season was intended to be the final season, but it wasn't a surprise cancellation. The network and the showrunners mutually agreed that Season 5 would be the end. The decision was made to allow the writers to craft a proper, definitive conclusion for Klaus, Elijah, and Hayley.

If you’ve just finished binge-watching The Vampire Diaries and fallen head-over-heels for the Original family (specifically the dangerously charming Klaus Mikaelson), you’re probably ready to dive into their spin-off series.

Legacies (which ran for 4 seasons) follows Klaus’s daughter, Hope Mikaelson, at the Salvatore School for the Young & Gifted. While the parents are gone, their legacy (pun intended) lives on through flashbacks and mentions. Absolutely. While The Vampire Diaries focused on high school romance, The Originals is a darker, more mature show about family, power, and sacrifice. Five seasons is the perfect length—long enough to fall in love with the characters, but short enough to avoid the "zombie season" slump that plagues many long-running fantasy shows.