Lead star cast in 'The Originals'

Later this spring, The CW is set to premiere The Originals, a spin-off of its wildly successful series The Vampire Diaries (which I will not even pretend to know a thing about). 

The Originals, set to premiere as a backdoor pilot on April 25, has cast Charles Michael Davis (The Game) to play Marcel, the protégé of Klaus and one of the main roles on the series.

The plot of The Originals revolves around Klaus (Joseph Morgan) returning to New Orleans, specifically the French Quarter (maybe he wants some King Cake). Klaus helped build the city centuries ago and here he reunites with his former protégé Marcel, who is not the nicest guy in the Big Easy (that is Drew Brees). 

Marcel now runs the supernatural streets in New Orleans, and is not terribly thrilled to see Klaus return to town.

Daniel Gillies and Phoebe Tonkin will be reprising their Vampires Diaries roles in the spin-off, as Elijah (Gillies) and Hayley (Tonkin). Danielle Pineda has also joined the cast as a regular, as she will play witch Sophie.

I have no idea about the Vampire Diaries and, therefore, about The Originals. I have believed Vampire Diaries to be aimed at teens and not worth spending any time on. Is that accurate or should I give it a shot?