Legacies (TV series)
Legacies is an American fantasy drama television series, created by Julie Plec, that premiered on The CW on October 25, 2018. It is a spin-off of The Originals and features characters from both that series and its predecessor, The Vampire Diaries. Danielle Rose Russell stars as the 17-year-old Hope Mikaelson, continuing the role she originated in the fifth and final season of The Originals. Matt Davis also features prominently in the series, reprising his role as Alaric Saltzman from The Vampire Diaries. In January 2019, The CW renewed the series for a second season which premiered on October 10, 2019. In January 2020, The CW renewed the series for a third season, set to premiere in January 2021.
Premise
Legacies follows Hope Mikaelson, the daughter of Klaus Mikaelson and Hayley Marshall, who is descended from some of the most powerful vampire, werewolf, and witch bloodlines. Two years after the events of The Originals, 17-year-old Hope attends the Salvatore School for the Young and Gifted. The school provides a haven where supernatural beings can learn to control their abilities and impulses.Cast and characters
Main
- Danielle Rose Russell as Hope Mikaelson: Hope Andrea Mikaelson is a 17-year-old orphan and student at the Salvatore School for the Young and Gifted who is descended from some of the most powerful vampire, werewolf, and witch bloodlines via her parents, Klaus Mikaelson and Hayley Marshall. The character was first introduced on The Originals.
- Aria Shahghasemi as Landon Kirby: Rafael's foster brother and an old acquaintance of Hope who eventually becomes her boyfriend and fellow student at the Salvatore School. Initially thought to be a human, he is then suspected of being a supernatural being, and is later revealed to be a phoenix. The character was first introduced on The Originals.
- Kaylee Bryant as Josie Saltzman: A witch and student at the Salvatore School. She is Alaric's 15-year-old daughter, Lizzie's twin, and was named after her biological mother, Josette "Jo" Laughlin of the powerful Gemini coven. Josie is deferential to her sister, Lizzie, and lacks self-confidence. The character was first introduced on The Vampire Diaries.
- Jenny Boyd as Lizzie Saltzman: A witch and student at the Salvatore School. She is Alaric's 15-year-old daughter, Josie's twin, and was named after Elizabeth Forbes, the late mother of the twins' surrogate mother, Caroline Forbes. Lizzie is narcissistic, and is prone to emotional meltdowns. The character was first introduced on The Vampire Diaries.
- Quincy Fouse as Milton "MG" Greasley: A good-natured vampire who works as Alaric's student aide and is friendly with the Saltzman twins.
- Peyton Alex Smith as Rafael Waithe: A recently triggered werewolf and Landon's foster brother. After suffering an abusive childhood in the foster system, he becomes a student at the Salvatore School.
- Matt Davis as Alaric Saltzman: Josie and Lizzie's father and the human headmaster of the Salvatore School. Davis described Alaric's role in the series as "somewhere between Professor X and Dumbledore". The character was first introduced on The Vampire Diaries.
- Chris Lee as Kaleb : A vampire student who is revealed to be drinking the blood of humans, a practice that is banned at the school.
Recurring
- Demetrius Bridges as Dorian Williams: The librarian at the Salvatore School. The character was first introduced on The Vampire Diaries.
- Lulu Antariksa as Penelope Park : A witch and Josie's ex-girlfriend. She despises Lizzie. Penelope leaves the Salvatore School in "Let's Just Finish the Dance".
- Karen David as Emma Tig: A witch and the school's guidance counselor. She takes an indefinite leave-of-absence from the Salvatore School in "I'll Tell You a Story". She returns in "This Is Why We Don't Entrust Plans to Muppet Babies" before leaving again with Dorian in "There's a Place Where Lost Things Go".
- Ben Levin as Jed: The hot-headed and violent alpha werewolf at the school, he is soon replaced as alpha by Rafael.
- Ben Geurens as The Necromancer: one of the creatures from Malivore.
- Nick Fink as Ryan Clarke: A seemingly good-natured agent working for Triad Industries, he is later revealed to have sinister motives, and a connection to both Malivore and to Landon.
- Ebboney Wilson as Kym : Kaleb's human sister with whom MG begins a relationship
- Bianca Kajlich as Sheriff Mac : the new sheriff in Mystic Falls, as she has taken over the job from Matt Donovan when the latter is elected mayor. She is also the mother of Ethan and Maya.
- Alexis Denisof as Professor Vardemus : the temporarily new headmaster of the Salvatore School, before the position is given back to Alaric. He remains at the school as a teacher.
- Thomas Doherty as Sebastian : an over 600-year-old vampire who died as a teen, and who appears at the Salvatore School and starts a relationship with Lizzie Saltzman.
- Olivia Liang as Alyssa Chang : a student witch at the Salvatore School who likes to instigate drama among her peers, and who ends up as Hope's roommate when Hope returns to school.
- Charles Jazz Terrier as Chad : a follower and servant to the Necromancer.
Special guest stars
- Zach Roerig as Matt Donovan : The town's sheriff. The character was first introduced on The Vampire Diaries.
- Steven R. McQueen as Jeremy Gilbert : Alaric's old friend who saves Rafael and Landon from a werewolf hunter. The character was first introduced on The Vampire Diaries.
- Riley Voelkel as Freya Mikaelson : Hope's aunt and a powerful witch. The character was first introduced on The Originals.
- Chris Wood as Kai Parker : Josie and Lizzie's evil maternal uncle. The character was first introduced on The Vampire Diaries.
Notable guest stars
- Jodi Lyn O'Keefe as Josette "Jo" Laughlin : Alaric's deceased ex-fiancée, and Josie's and Lizzie's biological mother. The character was first introduced on The Vampire Diaries.
- Ayelet Zurer as Seylah Chelon : Landon's mother
- Jedidiah Goodacre as Roman : Hope's former boyfriend from two years prior who was involved in the death of her mother. The character was first introduced on The Originals.
Episodes
Series overview
Season 1 (2018–19)
Season 2 (2019–20)
Production
Development
In August 2017, it was announced that early discussions on the development of a spinoff of The Originals focusing on Hope Mikaelson, the daughter of Klaus Mikaelson and Hayley Marshall, were taking place with Julie Plec, creator of The Originals and co-creator of The Vampire Diaries. In January 2018, it was revealed that a pilot for the spinoff had been ordered; Plec penned the pilot script and is credited with creating the series. It was announced in March 2018 that the spinoff had been ordered to pilot, but instead of a traditional pilot, a fifteen-minute pilot presentation of the series would be presented to The CW.On May 11, 2018, it was announced that the spinoff, titled Legacies, had been ordered to series for the 2018–19 U.S. television season. In June 2018, it was announced that the series would premiere on October 25, 2018. On October 8, 2018, The CW announced that they had ordered three additional scripts for the series, bringing the first season total script order to sixteen episodes.
On January 31, 2019, The CW renewed the series for a second season. The second season premiered on October 10, 2019. On January 7, 2020, the series was renewed for a third season, set to air in January 2021.
In March 2020, production was shut down following the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 26, 2020, it was announced that the sixteenth episode that aired that same night would serve as a spring finale as the production team had run out of episodes to air following the production shut down.
Casting
It was announced in March 2018 that The Vampire Diaries veteran Matt Davis would reprise the role of Alaric Saltzman and that Danielle Rose Russell would star as Hope Mikaelson. Quincy Fouse, Jenny Boyd, Kaylee Bryant, and Aria Shahghasemi were also set to star. Shahghasemi would debut in the twelfth episode of the fifth season of The Originals as Hope's friend Landon. It was revealed at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2018 that Paul Wesley would direct an episode and that Zach Roerig would appear in the series. Steven R. McQueen was revealed to be reprising his role as Jeremy Gilbert in the series' third episode.In July 2019, it was announced that Thomas Doherty would appear in the second season, and that Alexis Denisof would recur in the second season as Professor Vardemus. In August 2019, Bianca Santos, Bianca Kajlich, and Leo Howard were cast in recurring roles for the second season. In September 2019, it was reported that Riley Voelkel will be reprising her role as Freya Mikaelson for the sixth episode of the second season. In November 2019, it was announced that Chris Wood is set to reprise his role of Kai Parker in the twelfth episode of the second season. The same month, it was reported that Chris Lee has been promoted as a series regular during production on the second season and that Olivia Liang was cast in a recurring role for the second season. On January 20, 2020, Charles Jazz Terrier was cast in a recurring capacity.