'The Secret Circle' preview: Will Gale Harold make us love the bad guy?

We've got to hand it to The CW this year. Not only are all three of their new pilots compelling and smart, but they've been churning out the most beautiful promo posters and the most intriguing preview trailers we've seen in years. This preview for "The Secret Circle" is no exception.

We're thrilled to see "Life Unexpected's" Britt Robertson get the chance to dig into another great role on The CW -- in fact, "Secret Circle" executive producer Andrew Miller tells Zap2it that casting Robertson as Cassie was "the easiest decision ever made."

As a counterpoint to Cassie's innocence and good intentions, we have Gale Harold as Charles Meade. It's no secret that in the first scene of the series, Charles kills his old friend Amelia... who happens to be Cassie's mother. You can see bits and pieces of the tense scene in the above preview. It left us wondering, though -- after such a violent introduction to the character, will the audience ever like him?

Miller is confident that we will indeed, and he uses an example we can relate to. "Damon Salvatore kills like a hundred people in the first six episodes of 'The Vampire Diaries,'" he laughs. "And you can't not love that guy. I'm learning from the master of storytelling in this genre, Kevin Williamson, and he can make anything happen. Yes, you'll definitely come to love Gale's character in a way that no one would ever believe when you see the pilot."

Tune in at 9 p.m. EST on Sept. 15, right after the Season 3 premiere of "The Vampire Diaries," for your first taste of "The Secret Circle."