'The Originals' season 4 spoilers: EP explains why delay is good for the show

Fans were not happy about the midseason premiere of "The Originals" season 4, but executive producer Julie Plec says it is actually beneficial, story-wise.

"When they shifted the air date, it actually gave us the freedom, weirdly, to shift the timeline in our favor so that we could have more time pass in The Originals' between seasons than The Vampire Diaries," Plec told TVLine.

"So we get to add an extra couple years on to our time lapse between seasons. It's actually a good thing. It's positive to not have to worry about being side by side," she added.

"The Originals" season 4 is set five years after the events of the third season, which saw the Mikaelsons utterly defeated at the hands of Marcel (Charles Michael Davis).

Klaus (Joseph Morgan) is still being held by his surrogate son while his siblings are in a different dimension that allows them to be away from Marcel's clutches and buys Hayley(Phoebe Tonkin) some time to get help.

She took baby Hope with her, and since there is a time jump, "The Originals" season 4 will see an older version of Klaus and Hayley's daughter.

"Even though she hasn't been around her dad for the last five years, I think there's a lot of Klaus in her—good or bad," Tonkin told TVLine about Hope.

Klaus, on the other hand, will feel nervous about meeting his daughter after five years. He missed a big chunk of her life and he has no idea how Hope will deal with that.

"The Originals" season 4 is expected to integrate Hope in the story. The youngster could actually be the most powerful Mikaelson alive at the moment with power that can save her clan.

With regards to the release date, "The Originals" season 4 is expected to premiere around the month of January next year, which means it will not be much of a long wait when the new year comes.