“The Originals” takes “Vampire Diaries” to New Orleans

It’s about time all these ancient vampires started acting their age.

The CW’s latest fang fest takes characters introduced in the decidedly youth-friendly Vampire Diaries universe and lets them take a more “bacchanalian” approach to immortality, as executive producer Julie Plec puts it.

“We graduated high school [with The Vampire Diaries] and went to college and are getting our little master’s degree in The Originals,” she says.

Klaus (Joseph Morgan), Elijah (Daniel Gillies) and Rebekah (Claire Holt) make the journey from Mystic Falls to New Orleans, where vampires, werewolves and witches are locked in a deadly struggle for control. Marcel (Charles Michael Davis), Klaus’ former protégé, grows in power, and they all must then deal with the astonishing news that werewolf Hayley (Phoebe Tonkin) is pregnant with Klaus’ child.

Morgan takes his cue from Plec, saying, “It’s like The Lost Boys — party all night and sleep all day. I like to take that vibe into it. But it’s really less about the guilt of being a vampire and more about really reveling in that. Plus, we’re in New Orleans, so you put us in that decadent situation and we have a lot more vampire parties and crazy kind of indulgence in our true nature.”

The Originals premieres tonight at 9pm on The CW.