Release OrderRecommended
0 / 3 watchedEach show complete and in the date it premiered, which is how the spin-offs were written to be watched and the shortest path through all 331 episodes.
- 1 The Vampire Diaries Eight seasons and 171 episodes, September 10, 2009 to March 10, 2017. The backdoor pilot 'The Originals' is season 4, episode 20.
- 2 The Originals Five seasons and 92 episodes, October 3, 2013 to August 1, 2018. The Mikaelson family in New Orleans, watched after you know the Mystic Falls crowd.
- 3 Legacies Four seasons and 68 episodes, October 25, 2018 to June 16, 2022. The final chapter of the franchise, cancelled after season 4.
Chronological Order
0 / 9 watchedSeasons placed by when their stories happen, with The Originals split up and paired beside the Vampire Diaries seasons that aired at the same time. Longer list, tighter timeline.
- 1 The Vampire Diaries Seasons 1 to 4 September 2009 to April 2013, ending with the backdoor pilot 'The Originals' on April 25, 2013.
- 2 The Vampire Diaries Season 5 Premiered September 10, 2013, three weeks before The Originals began its own run.
- 3 The Originals Season 1 October 3, 2013 to May 13, 2014, airing beside The Vampire Diaries season 5 with story threads running back to Mystic Falls.
- 4 The Vampire Diaries Season 6 and The Originals Season 2 Both ran through the 2014-15 season, continuing the parallel schedule.
- 5 The Vampire Diaries Season 7 and The Originals Season 3 The 2015-16 season, the last full year the two shows shared a schedule.
- 6 The Vampire Diaries Season 8 October 2016 to March 10, 2017, the final season of the show that started it.
- 7 The Originals Season 4 Thirteen episodes from March 17 to June 23, 2017, starting one week after The Vampire Diaries ended.
- 8 The Originals Season 5 Thirteen episodes from April 18 to August 1, 2018, opening on a seven-year jump and closing the Mikaelson story.
- 9 Legacies Premiered October 25, 2018 and ran to June 16, 2022, after both earlier shows had finished.
About The Vampire Diaries
The Vampire Diaries ran eight seasons and 171 episodes from September 10, 2009 to March 10, 2017. Its backdoor pilot aired as episode 20 of season 4, on April 25, 2013, and became The Originals, which ran five seasons and 92 episodes from October 3, 2013 to August 1, 2018.
Legacies finished the set with four seasons and 68 episodes, from October 25, 2018 to June 16, 2022. That comes to 331 episodes across 17 seasons, and release order is the safer first run since The Originals assumes you already know Mystic Falls and its history.
Good to know
The interleaved list only changes the middle stretch. The Originals seasons 1 to 4 ran inside The Vampire Diaries seasons 5 to 8, often within days of each other, then jumped seven years ahead for a fifth season that aired after The Vampire Diaries had already ended. Legacies comes last either way. No fourth series in this universe had been announced as of September 2026, so both orders end at the same place.
