'Vampire Diaries' and 'The Originals' Debut

It's been a busy week in Mystic Falls. Not only did "The Vampire Diaries" make its season-five debut, but the premiere episode of that series served as a lead-in for the first episode of a new spin-off series, "The Originals." The two series got solid ratings for the CW, although they were understandably at a disadvantage against ratings powerhouses "The Big Bang Theory," "The X Factor," "Scandal" and "Grey's Anatomy."

In Mystic Falls proper, "The Vampire Diaries" continued to explore the plight of Stefan (Paul Wesley), who was dumped into a watery prison by Silas at the end of last season. Meanwhile, Silas is wreaking doppleganger mayhem all over town, Katherine (Nina Dobrev) is struggling with the stress of being human, and Elena and Damon (Ian Somerhalder) are heating things up romantically.

"The Originals" shifted the focus to New Orleans, where Klaus (Joseph Morgan) is attempting to assert himself as the vampire king of the city, much to the chagrin of his rival, Marcel's (Charles Michael Davis). The series' first episode devoted most of its energy to recapping what we already knew about but also contributed some new moments, including Klaus's discovery of Hayley's (Phoebe Tonkin) pregnancy.

"The Vampire Diaries" attracted 2.6 million total viewers to its season premiere, which was up from last season's finale but down from last season's premiere. "The Originals" managed to hold on to three quarters of those viewers, for a viewership total of 2.2 million.