‘The Originals’ to End After Season 5 on The CW

The CW series “The Originals” will end after its upcoming fifth season.

Showrunner Julie Plec made the announcement on Twitter on Thursday ahead of the series’ San Diego Comic-Con panel later this week. Plec said it was only fitting to make the announcement one year after announcing the end of the series’ parent program, “The Vampire Diaries.”

“It’s both a gift and a burden to be able to control the ending of a series,” Plec wrote. “Many shows are not lucky enough to have a hand in deciding when the end has come.” Read her full statement below.

Fans will be able to attend a panel Q&A with the cast and creators on Saturday, July 22, at 12 p.m. PT at the Indigo Ballroom in the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel.

“The Originals” follows Joseph Morgan’s Klaus Mikaelson and his family in New Orleans. Morgan stars alongside Daniel Gillies, Phoebe Tonkin, Charles Michael Davis, Yusuf Gatewood and Riley Voelkel. Plec serves as executive producer with Leslie Morgenstein. The series hails from Bonanza Productions Inc., My So-Called Company, Alloy Entertainment, Warner Bros. Television and CBS Television Studios.

The show was one of several renewals for The CW for the 2017-2018 season. The other renewals were “iZombie,” “Arrow,” “D.C.’s Legends of Tomorrow,” “The Flash,” “Supergirl,” “Jane the Virgin,” “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” and “Supernatural.” The network cancelled freshman series “No Tomorrow” and “Frequency.”

It was spun off from “The Vampire Diaries” in 2013. “Vampire Diaries” wrapped up earlier this year after eight seasons and 171 episodes.

The series marked Plec’s fourth with The CW. In addition to “Vampire Diaries” and “The Originals,” she also created “The Tomorrow People” and “Containment” for the network, with both shows airing for one season.

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