Entertainment

Should You Watch 'The Originals'?

by Kaitlin Reilly

The CW premiered trailers for their five upcoming shows, and, from the looks of things, the network has officially traded in Queen B of the Upper East Side for Mary Queen of Scots. Following in the footsteps of surprise superhero hit Arrow comes a slew of darker shows that promise to bring some more action to the soap-heavy network. While we'll all miss 90210 (wait, just me?) the CW's new lineup does look pretty promising... at least, for the most part. Before you plan out your DVR schedule, here's a list of the CW's new 2013-2014 shows ranked from “totally worth watching” to “might be worse than Cult”. (Watch the CW trailers here!)

1. The 100

Earth is deemed too hazardous for humans to live on, causing the entire population to move to a gigantic (and impressively CGI-ed) space-station. One hundred juvenile delinquents (read: attractive young cast) are sent to explore Earth where they encounter crazy mutants and other super dangerous things. To top it off, the trailer boasts some Lord of the Flies-level tension between the delinquents and a power struggle within the space-station. A little Revolution-y? Sure. But definitely worth a tune-in.

2. The Tomorrow People

A boy with a serious sleepwalking disorder finds out that he's actually part of an elevated race of humans and has superhero-like powers. That'd be awesome, but, unfortunately, that also means that a ton of people want him dead. The preview is sleek and action-packed with solid performances by the young-and-pretty cast. (This is the CW, guys.) If the series keeps up the fun of the preview, it could potentially be the network's next Arrow.

3. The Originals

This Vampire Diaries spin-off series features our favorite OV's (that's Original Vampires, for the uninitiated) doing very bad things in New Orleans. The new series will follow where the back-door pilot — featured during Season 4 of The Vampire Diaries — left off. While I'm psyched that Klaus was never actually killed on The Vampire Diaries (despite the way-too-long arc where that was all Stefan ever talked about), I'm a bit worried that changing Klaus and the gang from fun and ferocious part-time players to series regulars will turn down their likeability. Plus, the distant between Mystic Falls and New Orleans is totally going to kill the potential for a Matt and Rebekah relationship, and that makes me genuinely sad.

4. Reign

This period piece features a young Queen Mary as she maneuvers through the dangers that come with taking the throne. While Adelaide Kane makes a beautiful and believable new queen, the preview feels a bit like The Tudors-lite. It's seems a bit dull, but perhaps the series will feature more excitement than the preview.

5. Star-Crossed

Think District 9, if all of the aliens were really hot. Matt Lanter of 90210 and Aimee Teegarden of Friday Night Lights star as the Romeo and Juliet in this alien/human love story. Yes, the preview is terrible, but we'll have to wait for the show to premiere to see if it's turn-off-the-TV terrible or love-to-hate-watch terrible.

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Image: The CW