CW approves ‘Vampire Diaries’ spinoff, ‘The Originals,’ ‘Hart of Dixie’ season 3 and ‘Beauty and the Beast’ season 2

The CW has announced a few renewals for its network.  The CW has officially greenlit the spinoff of The Vampire Diaries, titled The Originals, to series.

Julie Plec will be exective producer as the The Originals will premiere this fall and will focus on Joseph Morgan’s character, Klaus, moving to New Orleans, the CW Network confirmed.

The network also renewed the drama series Hart of Dixie for a third season and Beauty and the Beast for a second season, respectively.

Original programming for the younger audience appears to be the niche for the CW, which already renewed The Vampire Diaries, Arrow, and Supernatural for the fall. – More here

Full press release below:

THE CW ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL EARLY PICKUPS FOR

THE 2013-2014 SEASON

The CW Orders First New Series of Next Season with “The Originals”

“Beauty And The Beast” and “Hart of Dixie” Picked Up For Next Season

Joseph Morgan as Klaus, will be set for the fall in ‘The Originals’

April 26, 2013 (Burbank, California) – The CW Network has given early pickups to three additional dramas for next season, including the first new series order of the season with THE ORIGINALS, the highly anticipated spin-off of The Vampire Diaries, which was introduced during last night’s episode.  The network also gave advance orders for the second season of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST andthe third season of HART OF DIXIE.  The pickups were announced today by Mark Pedowitz, President, The CW.

“As soon as we saw last night’s episode of ‘The Vampire Diaries,’ we knew we wanted more of ‘The Originals’ – Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson have done a fantastic job with ‘The Vampire Diaries,’ which is as fast-paced and well-written as ever, and Julie has created an equally compelling world for ‘The Originals,’” said Pedowitz.  “We’re also very excited to bring back ‘Beauty And The Beast’ and ‘Hart of Dixie’ for next season – both series continue to be creatively strong and compelling, and their fans are incredibly passionate.  I’m very happy to have all three series on the schedule for next season.”

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, starring Kristin Kreuk and Jay Ryan,was this year’s People’s Choice Award winner for Favorite New Drama, and HART OF DIXIE, starring Rachel Bilson,is one of The CW’s top performers on digital platforms, behind only THE VAMPIRE DIARIES.

All three of these series see big lifts in Live+7 Day delayed viewing versus Live + Same Day, with THE VAMPIRE DIARIES jumping 52% increase among adults 18-34 and a 56% gain among women 18-34 once all time-shifted viewing is included.  HART OF DIXIE averages a 53% increase among adults 18-34 and a 61% gain among women 18-34, and BEAUTY AND THE BEAST seeing a 43% jump in adults 18-34 and a 45% bump in women 18-34 from the overnight Live+SD to Live+7.

The CW has already given advance orders to ARROW, THE VAMPIRE DIARIES and SUPERNATURAL for next season.