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‘The Originals’ Moving To ABC For Season 4?

By Alexandria Ingham
Published on: 03:30 PST, Oct 12, 2016

There are currently rumors going around that The Originals is moving to ABC for Season 4. Just how true are these rumors, and does that mean the January 29, 2017 premiere date is right after all?

It’s worth noting that there is nothing official about The Originals Season 4 at this time. The cast and crew are still filming the first set of episodes and the CW hasn’t announced a release date yet. All we know is that the show is going to air sometime in January 2017.

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As for the move to ABC, this is very unlikely. At least, it hasn’t been confirmed yet, despite GamenGuide stating that The Originals Season 4 would premiere on January 29, 2017 on ABC. It is likely that a publication has shared the wrong network initially and then many others have believed that there is a change. Some fans have taken to Facebook groups to share this news, making many question the legitimacy of the information.

Moving to ABC wouldn’t make sense for a number of reasons. The viewing ratings are already extremely low. There were worries that The Originals would be canceled by the CW after last season, but in March the CW announced that Season 4 would definitely happen. Mark Pedowski, the head of CW entertainment, later stated that the premiere of the new season would be pushed to the mid-season lineup in an attempt to strengthen the programming at this time.

If the show was going to move to ABC, it would need higher ratings. Once Upon a Time has higher ratings and looked to be canceled at the end of Season 5. It wouldn’t make any sense for the network to take another low-rated show, even if it was on a Sunday night.

While Supergirl has seemed to have proven that moving networks could be a good thing, this wouldn’t likely be the case for The Originals. Supergirl moved networks because the ratings were low for CBS. They were still good enough for the younger network; a network where there are already three other DC superhero shows. This isn’t the case for The Originals, where the parent show The Vampire Diaries is still on the CW.

If the show was moving to a new network, it would be major news. Larger, more reputable publications would be sharing the news. As it is, there isn’t anyone right now and there is nothing official from the like of the CW and ABC making an announcement.

It is likely that The Originals will remain on the CW until its series finale. Now there are possibilities that Season 4 will be the end. The show hasn’t just been pushed to a January start, but has also received a shorter episode order. Rather than the 22 episodes to a season, there will only be 13. This hints that the network is looking to create a final season just to tie up some loose ends.

Fans will not be happy. The Vampire Diaries is coming to an end this year with just 16 episodes to Season 8. However, TVD fans have at least had some warning. At San Diego Comic Con 2016 there was a video from the cast and crew to say their goodbyes. The Originals never shared anything like this, so fans have assumed that there is still at least a Season 5 as long as the viewing ratings are good enough.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiH0kapmkXk

So for now, all we definitely know is The Originals Season 4 will premiere on the CW in January 2017. It is unlikely to move to ABC and January 29 remains an unlikely date for the CW with it being a Sunday.

[Featured Image by Michael Buckner/Getty Images]

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