How to Watch The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, and Legacies in Chronological Order

Summary

  • the Vampire Diaries
    introduced the Mikaelson family, which led to
    The originals
    AND
    Inheritance.
  • The originals
    AND
    the Vampire Diaries
    share interconnected timelines and characters, making it fun for fans to follow.
  • Both shows feature time jumps, with
    Inheritance
    continuing the post- story
    the Vampire Diaries
    events.



the Vampire Diaries attracted a huge fan base during its original run. The series has grown into a large franchise with two spin-offs added to the shared universe. Fan-favorite villains and characters often travel between different shows, delighting fans with surprise appearances and interconnected references. There is so much to explore within the Vampire Diaries franchising. One thing that separates the Vampire Diaries after all, it's the way the events in the series intertwine.

The originals It came to fruition in 2013 after the Vampire Diaries had begun to captivate fans with its cast of fascinating characters bound by blood and the curse of vampirism. As the original vampires, the Mikaelson family had been a part of history since the Viking era. However, instead of delving into the Mikaelsons' past, The originals takes place more or less in the same period as The Vampire Diaries, while the original series tackles the family's deep history. Both shows have incorporated time jumps of varying lengths at different stages of each show, so the timeline can get a little confusing.Inheritancethe second spin-off that follows The originals, continues the story with a new angle.



The Vampire Diaries first introduced the Mikaelson family

How to watch shows in chronological order

the Vampire Diaries Season 1 – Season 5, Episode 1

The originals Season 1, Episodes 1 and 2

the Vampire Diaries Season 5 and The originals Season 1

the Vampire Diaries Season 6 and The originals Season 2

the Vampire Diaries Season 7 and The originals Season 3

the Vampire Diaries Season 8

The originals Season 4

The originals Season 5

Inheritance Season 1

Inheritance Season 2

Inheritance Season 3

Inheritance Season 4


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the Vampire Diaries marks the beginning of everything. The originals It is the spin-off of The Vampire Diaries, AND Inheritance It is essentially the spin-off of both The originals AND the Vampire DiariesThe timeline gets a little complicated as The originals it's not a prequel. It does not go into the backstory of the Mikaelson family. Instead, the story of their origins takes place in the Vampire Diarieswhich means that the main show should always be watched first if viewers want to know the family's Viking history and its vampiric origins. the Vampire Diaries The lore, including how to kill an Original Vampire, the Original Witch, and how Klaus became the first hybrid, is all wrapped up in the plot of The Vampire Diaries.


The chaotic Mikaelson family has been part of the original show's plot since its introduction. The Mikaelson family has received a spin-off, The originals, which follows Klaus' departure from the Vampire Diaries in New Orleans, where he starts a new family. However, The originals Vampires also appear all over the world The Vampire Diaries. Many events in the two shows take place simultaneously, with some exchanges between the two shows, which makes the explanation a little more complicated.

the Vampire Diaries first introduced love and hate to the Mikaelson family when Katherine revealed that she was running away from Klaus, a half-werewolf, half-vampire. The show begins to build hype for the original vampires in season 2, and the focus begins to shift heavily to them in season 2, episode 6, “Plan B.” After much suspense, the Vampire Diaries introduced the first original vampire in episode 8, “Rose.” Elijah, the fearful but honorable vampire, has come to visit Elena Gilbert, Petrova's new doppelganger. The original family becomes the main protagonist in the second and third seasons and becomes part of the plot until the first episode of the fifth season.


The Originals has a timeline intertwined with The Vampire Diaries

Hayley fights with Klaus on The Originals.

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The originals takes place after Klaus's failed attempt to create a hybrid army. His visit to New Orleans, a city that once belonged to him, sparked interest. With things tying up in Mystic Falls, Klaus has nothing to do with Elena and her friends anymore, except to provide an occasional cure if one of them is bitten by a werewolf. Klaus and Caroline's romance also had no future, so he found a new venture. The first season of The originals takes place around season 5 of the Vampire Diaries, where Bonnie, Elena and Caroline attend the fictional Whitmore College. Klaus informed Caroline that he was moving to New Orleans and asked her to come with them, but unfortunately their paths headed in different directions.


Before season 5, episode 2 of the Vampire DiariesViewers should watch the first two episodes of The originals. Klaus's visit to New Orleans has brought with it many surprises. The city his family helped build 300 years ago now belongs to someone else. A new conspiracy is against him. Hayley, the werewolf he had a brief fling with, is pregnant with his child. In episode 2, Hayley gives birth to their daughter, Hope, who later becomes the protagonist of Inheritance. However, Inheritance' the timeline is set much further into the future, as the show's focus is on the next generation of supernatural beings. Chronologically speaking, a lot will have to happen before viewers can get to the storylines in Inheritance.


The events of the fifth season of the Vampire Diaries and season 1 of The originals occur simultaneously. Characters from each series also sometimes make occasional appearances in the other show; there is a lot of back and forth between the Vampire Diaries AND The originals. The simultaneous timeline and surprise appearances make the game really fun for fans. From this point on, some viewers may enjoy watching two episodes each and alternating between the two shows. However, this method is not suitable for everyone, as it can be potentially confusing. Some may choose to alternate seasons, keeping in mind the continuity of each show. On the other hand, the two shows also exist as independent series, which can be watched even without knowing much about each other.

The Vampire Diaries and The Originals include many time jumps

Alaric, Jo, Josie and Lizzie reunite in Legacies.


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the Vampire Diaries Season 7 features a three-year time jump. During the three years skipped, Stefan was on the run with Valerie while Caroline gave birth to Jo and Alaric's twins, Josie and Lizzie, and raised them as her own with Alaric. Similar to Klaus's daughter, Hope, the two girls later become main characters in Inheritance. As members of the Gemini group and born siphonists, their childhoods were destined to be different. With their special gifts in mind, Caroline and Alaric founded the Salvatore School for the Young and Gifted in the Vampire Diaries final after receiving funding from Klaus.


The originals The third season aired simultaneously with the Vampire Diaries Season 7. Hope is a little girl in The originals Season 3. To protect herself from her father's enemies, she must stay away from Klaus. As she watches the Vampire Diaries In season seven, many viewers are left confused as to why Klaus disappeared when Caroline took the girls to New Orleans to search for him. The originals didn't address the event directly, but viewers find out what happened to Klaus in The originals Season 3 finale.

The entire season 8 of the Vampire Diaries can be watched in its entirety before diving back into seasons 4 and 5 of The originals. There is a 5 year time jump between The originals Season 3 and Season 4.

Legacies is set after The Vampire Diaries

Hope Mikaelson clasps her hands at night.


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the Vampire Diaries The season finale again incorporates time jumps to tell the stories of the main characters, giving them appropriate send-offs. The time jump here gives fans a glimpse into Damon and Elena's future and even their afterlife. The two got married and had children, living out the rest of their lives as a human couple. The storyline serves as a template for what happens to them in Inheritance.

Season 4 of The originals includes a five-year time jump and takes place after the events of the Vampire Diaries. After spending years apart, Hope and Hayley have finally reunited with the rest of the Mikaelson family. The season focused on the young Tribrid, who hasn't had the chance to get to know her father and uncles. During the season finale, Hayley enrolled Hope in Caroline and Alaric's school. To ensure that the storylines in Inheritance make sense, The originals kicked off its fifth and final season with a seven-year time jump and introduced a teenage Hope, giving long-running characters satisfying send-offs. Inheritance then picked up the storyline two years after Klaus and Hayley's deaths. Hope, along with Alaric and her daughter, take center stage in Inheritance. Josie and Lizzie often give fans updates on how Damon and Elena are doing as humans after the events in the Vampire Diaries.


  • Damon, Stefan, Elena pose on the poster of the TV series The Vampire Diaries

    the Vampire Diaries

    The Vampire Diaries follows the lives, loves, dangers and disasters of the town of Mystic Falls, Virginia. Creatures of unspeakable horror lurk beneath this town as a teenage girl suddenly finds herself torn between two vampire brothers.

    Release date
    September 10, 2009

    Launch
    Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, Ian Somerhalder, Kat Graham

    Seasons
    8 seasons

  • Poster for the TV series The Originals

    The originals

    Release date
    October 3, 2013

    Launch
    Joseph Morgan, Daniel Gillies, Claire Holt, Phoebe Tonkin

    Seasons
    5

  • Legacies TV Show Poster

    Inheritance

    Release date
    October 25, 2018

    Launch
    Danielle Rose Russell, Aria Shahghasemi, Quincy Fouse, Matthew Davis

    Main genre
    Adventure

    Seasons
    4


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