Fans of the vampire-themed show "The Originals" were pleased to know that it will be returning for a fourth season. However, it was recently announced that showrunner Michael Narducci will be exiting the series.

Entertainment Weekly (EW) has revealed that Narducci won't be coming back in case "The Originals" gets signed up for a fifth season. The showrunner has also worked on "The Vampire Diaries," the parent show of the spin-off series starring the Mikaelsons and their friends and allies.

EW has confirmed that Narducci "has left the spin-off show for a two-year deal at ABC Studios." Meanwhile, Julie Plec's publicist has also confirmed that Plec will be taking Narducci's place as showrunner for "The Originals."

When "The Originals" first hit TV screens in 2013, Narducci was the show's Executive Producer for all 66 episodes. Narducci also produced "The Vampire Diaries" from 2011 to 2013. He is no stranger to NBC as he collaborated with them in November 2015 when he inked "a deal to develop and adapt [the] Vertigo comic book Unfollow."

"The Originals" is a midseason show and as such it "was not given a season 5 order," but fans are hoping for a fifth season to fully flesh out the show's story. At the Television Critics Association's press tour on Jan. 8, CW's President Mark Pedowitz seemed to share the same sentiment when he said, "Julie and I spoke ahead of time about this."

Pedowitz continued, "The Originals has not yet premiered for the season. It'll probably be a discussion in May. I'm a big Julie Plec fan. I'm hoping The Originals will continue. A lot of it will depend on performance."

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Plec, while sad that Narducci is leaving the team working on "The Originals," is happy for him just the same. She shared, "Mike got an opportunity he couldn't pass up." Plec continued, "He has been a brilliant partner and friend and I'm going to miss him desperately."

Season 4 of "The Originals" will premiere on Friday, March 17, on The CW.