CW Picks Up 'Vampire Diaries' Spinoff 'The Originals'

The CW has picked up its first pilot for the 2013-14 season,
The Vampire Diaries spinoff The Originals, the network announced
Friday.

Originals aired as a back-door pilot during
Thursday's episode of TVD, averaging a 1.6 rating with the net's target
women 18-34 demo and a 1.0 rating with adults 18-34 and 2.24 million total
viewers.

"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 CW president Mark
Pedowitz.

The CW also renewed freshman drama Beauty and the Beast,
which is averaging a 0.5 rating with adults 18-49, and picked up Hart of
Dixie
, which is averaging a 0.6 rating, for a third season.

Those join Arrow, The Vampire Diaries
and Supernatural on the network's slate for next season. The fate of Nikita and The Carries Diaries remains uncertain.